by jun asuncion
A Prayer
We all in the first place convey our deepest condolences to the bereaved families of the policemen slained in this encounter…..
May the souls of these lost fighters be now in communion with their Creator who shall give them life everlasting and a sanctuary of eternal peace and love, – qualities that this world has failed to give them…
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The Fight
Life is a fight and Bulaneños have been fighting for survival and freedom for roughly 500 years now since the first recorded Moro attacks on Bulan and since the beginning of the colonization, during the war and until yesterday in Calomagon when this ambuscade occurred.
Too much blood has been shed on Bulan soils already. My generation had seen that from 1972 onwards…gloomy years for us young Bulaneños.
I once wrote that I´ve seen the last day of Nanette, Tony, Anihay and their comrades in Bulan. Anihay suffered agonizing pains for he was caught alive yet deeply wounded, was driven around the town on a military vehicle for people to see- and probably to intimidate future rebel recruits.
Within that repressive Martial Law context, I have no doubt to call Nanette, Tony, Fenito and their brothers-in- arms as true Bulan Freedom Fighters.
For sure Marxist´s ideology was spreading at that time all over Asia and after the war, the former HUKBALAHAP (Hukbo Ng Bayan Laban Sa Hapon) under Commander Taruc went back to its original objective of liberating the rural peasants from the feudalistic structures. Taruc was not a die-hard communist-oriented leader, realized perhaps quite early that it had no future so he voluntarily surrendered to the government; his organization practically died out.
However, poverty in the rural areas continued and so was the need for land reform and social justice continued- and with it the fight continued, this time under new leadership; names like commander Dante and Joma Sison dominated. Until this day, NPA structure and strategy is very much patterned to the old HUKBALAHAP- a guerilla and a political organization.
In the late 1960`s Marcos was still performing well and may had in fact done the right decision in fighting the resurrected HUKS which became very powerful, and Marcos was to some extent successful.
Then there was these issues of aggressive American Imperialistic presence in the Philippines and the increasingly corrupt and repressive Marcos´regime that this time democracy itself was in peril. Marcos became more and more dictatorial and under the pretext of fighting subversion and insurgency, liquidated his political rivals, suppressed political opposition (great names like Salonga, Tanada, Kalaw— and lastly NinoyAquino) and increasingly becoming a US marionette driven by his need for the US protection and legitimization of his dictatorial regime. Martial law was declared, writ of habeas corpus lifted, regime critics and student political organizations were banned, curfew hours installed.
Marcos was an unparalled political opportunist: He used the insurgency problems as means to further his own egoistic political ends- thereby encouraging the further growth of insurgency by making the Filipinos more disillusioned with the state.
Now this is what I mean that our Bulan fighters were to be viewed against this background of Marcos´dictatorship- and not against the backdrop of pure commitment to the communistic ideology. Nanette Vytiaco did not come from a poor family and she was a political mind like the rest of our young student leaders at that time. Let us bear that in our minds.
Back to Calomagon, we are all aware that poverty, poor education, unemployment, disillusionment are still not solved; that the need for social justice is present as it was.
We are also aware that the ISSUE OF CORRUPTION is as actual as before- both in the national and local levels. We are also aware that Bulan is unfortunately not spared from this virulent virus that has plagued the entire country.
Taken as it is, we are back to the circumstances that had moved Taruc and his HUKBALAHAP to continue the fight after the war and re-orient themselves to the new ideology of communism.
But now some elements have also been removed from the backdrop: Marcos´dictatorship was overthrown, our Mt. Pinatubo expelled the American bases, communism in many parts of the world was discarded.
The Bottom Line:
-The NPA should recognize that their ideology- if it is communism- is not sustainable in the Philippines no matter how long they want to fight for it. The Filipino spirit will always reject it; that if they want social justice for Bulaneños, they should fight for progress in the political arena and give up their guerilla organization and activities.
- That the local government of Bulan should stay away from dubious activities that make them suspect of corruption. They should be more transparent and genuine advocates of townspeople´s needs and aspirations.
Though feudal-like structures (when we mean by it vast landownership of some families) are still present in Bulan and in the Philippines as a whole, I do not espouse land reform for it will disperse or weaken production. Instead farmers employed should enjoy internal stake/shareholders rights, their working conditions be improved.
Why all these?
-Armed strifes do not contribute whatsoever to the attainment of more humane objectives. Did Bulan move socio-economically an inch better after yesterday´s carnage? Did the NPA become stronger and gain more acceptance from the people they want to win over? Would the military now recoil from the next planned operation and surrender to them? We all know that the killing will continue, just as it had continued till yesterday since Marcos´time, that until now we Filipinos have only lost.
-Without fighting and fear, people will be more productive.
-Without corruption in the government, people will not feel being cheated, hence will be more productive and satisfied and less susceptible to leftist propandas.
Social justice is not necessarily a high living standard at once, but in the first place a pleasant feeling among the people.
Any Bulaneño who feels good in Bulan will never trade his family for an obsolete ideology or a life of killing and hiding in the hills of Bulan.
And yet, the Fight For Progress is a long way- but is made easier without killings and corruption.
If you disagree with these, show me your reasons why…
jun asuncion
Bulan Observer
—end—

“Dios marhay na hapun tabi sa iyo entero.


November 12, 2009
Wise Guys Vs. Wise Men
By Oliver Geronilla
Times have indeed changed! Gone were the days when rumor-mongering, yellow journalism, and character assassination were confined to the walls of beauty salons, roadside eateries, and other similar places where rancor and candor filled the bucolic air of yore. Now you can see people from different walks of life—fishwives, henpecked husbands, bums, government and non-government workers–doing it anytime, anywhere.
Welcome to the world of the The Chatterbox!
Expect this so-called national “pastime” to go several notches higher as more and more issues–both real and concocted– surface out in time for the local and national elections. Certainly, we’ll all be tickled pink with how political parties try to outsmart each other. This is the perfect time to spot the differences between wise guys and wise men as they engage themselves in this seasonal battle of wits and dough.
And so, this early, we find people in Bulan talking about “culture” in juxtaposition with “corruption” to peddle things and ideas with all the feigned glitter and pomp of the cognoscenti. Not surprisingly, many people are tempted to buy their “merchandise” either attractively wrapped in legalese or painstakingly presented in pathos-laden dialectics. The result: mushrooming of ideas that are meant to condition the mind which of course can eventually lead to a warped weltanschauung.
Bulaneno, who remains incognito– at least to me and to other Bulan netizens– sparked my interest to examine his shrewd ways of achieving three things: getting “feedback” from the local chief executive, winning the people’s heart and sympathy, and of course creating ripples.
Making and maintaining a blog solely for the purpose of showing those purported hard facts did not– in any manner– explicitly malign anyone nor did it put things in proper perspective. In fact, Bulaneno has left things hanging and open creating reactions that are poles apart: suspicion from the sitting chief executive including his phalanx of supporters and perhaps adulation from the other side of the fence.
It would have been better if he presented what he believed to be the crux of the matter as an integral part of his blog, not as a separate opinion piece written as a rejoinder to the Municipal PIO’s commentary. But if his only purpose was just to inform the people of Bulan about these alleged shenanigans, then he failed quite miserably. All he got was a “commentary” from the Municipal PIO and some comments from a very small group of Bulan netizens- a number too minuscule to warrant change. After all, how many households in Bulan are wired?
It’s impossible for Bulaneno not to know that only a few could read his blog; and mostly, these people already have their own beliefs and principles that are hard to change.
With that in mind, I also wonder what prompted Mr. Gilana to waste his time reacting to a mere compendium of data. Things should have been taken at face value. But perhaps the urge to protect the image of the administration from being tarnished made him write a commentary followed by a riposte.
The Municipal PIO’s decision to respond to that blog–through a commentary– was quite understandable, but the ensuing write-ups from both sides turned things askew.
So came the awful use of terms and the scathing retorts made somewhat comical by the insertion of irrelevant facts and/or red herring which did not escape the eyes of Ms. Mila Asuncion and other Bulan Observers.
Slanderous remarks were obviously sugarcoated so as to avoid legal sanctions, but the allusions were crystal clear. Had it not been for the skillful use of language, how do you think would Mr. Gilana refer to that person who “pocketed a measly amount of P2, 000?” And how would Bulaneno rephrase the title of his article and perhaps rehash his concluding sentences?
These, to me, are what the culture vultures call the edification of what’s obviously not edifying.
Well, to say that “corruption exists in Bulan” is not downright wrong. We’re not born yesterday to believe that no one is corrupt in our hometown. In fact, it’s easier to understand and believe that “there is some sort of corruption in Bulan” than to totally deny it.
Perhaps, the problem, which is further compounded by our myopic views, rests on how we define corruption vis-a-vis culture. Jun Asuncion hit the right note when he dropped the word “culture” to refer to the problem of corruption that allegedly haunts the local government of Bulan. Yes, Jun, you’re right…. that’s “The Issue of Corruption, and not The Culture of Corruption.” And most, if not all, issues can be addressed given the right frame of mind and the drive to do it.
Let’s all be reminded that when engaging in a public discourse, there’s a need to be politically correct. This should be coupled with a holistic understanding of the issue at hand, pragmatic competence, and an honest and relevant presentation of facts so as not to mislead people from the real nub of the issue.
So, I ask: What’s the real score? Is it really about those whom we accuse of committing graft and corruption? Or is it about “the subculture” that nurtures and allows it to prosper?
Makes me wonder. //
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Filed under Commentary, Oliver Geronilla's Column, Politics