Thursday, August 14, 2008
No to Cha-Cha! Repost from 2005
This is a repost of a blog entry, written more than three years ago at a time when the Arroyo regime was facing its worst crisis yet - the Hello Garci scandal of July 2005.
Then and now, the regime foists Charter Change as its viable alternative to the country's worsening political and economic situation - political illegitimacy then and the twin energy and food crises at present, in order to subvert the incorrigible fact that this government is beyond reform and deserved to be ousted from power in the soonest possible time.
Nonetheless, the people's response is the same still today - neither federalism nor parliamentarism can solve the chronic crisis of Philippine society. More so, GMA's continued perpetuation in power via Charter Change can only further entrench Philippine semi-feudalism and imperialist subservience, notwithstanding enabling the futher division of spoils of corruption and pervasive bureaucrat-capitalism among her closest national and regional allies.
Friday, July 25, 2005
Hands-down, the charter change proposal must be shot down at once by the people.
It will only serve the interests of the ruling clique as their knees shake relentlessly over the threat of ousting this regime by the very people who led two successful uprisings against despotic presidents.
They shout parliamentarism and federalism. Again, these measures are spoils sold by the fascist Ramos to woo local warlords in the countryside in supporting the Cha-Cha measure. Besides, in a parliamentary form of government, there are no term limits for the members of parliament. So Noynoy Aquino will forever be the MP of Tarlac, so will the Duranos and Garcias of Cebu, the Dutertes of Davao, the Singsons and Marcoses of Ilocos, the Dimaporos of Mindanao, the Dys of Isabela and all the other landlord-comprador politicians in the reactionary Congress.
Warlordism and feudal political domination will persist. Bureaucrat-capitalism will have reached its finest hour as the best MP lapdog of US Imperialism will be the PM for life as he will forever kowtow to the interests of foreign capital, and the landlords in the countryside who wield the power to the vote of no confidence against him, in the event he decides to go against the whims and caprices of the imperialist and the comprador ruling class.
The sectoral representation of the marginalized we all dream of will soon be a pipe dream. At its worse, it could lead to the abolition of the partylist system - the singlemost effective voice of the people in a ruling class-dominated Congress, and demonized as entrypoints for communists to power.
Federalism is no better. They shout that Visayas and Mindanao are left behind against the development of Luzon. It diverts the point that it is the entire country, and the entire toiling masses that are left behind regardless of their location, in the countryside nor in the cities, as the ruling class isstill the one who benefit from this semi-feudal economy of cheap exports and influx of surplus imports that permits this extent of poverty and underdevelopment.
Besides, how do you expect the state of Samar-Leyte and others to take off economically as effectively as the Cebu or Davao state in the future? It will only heighten the contradictions in the countryside, as the people in the most depressed of areas in the country will forever be bound to the fields that they toil but do not own. The prospects are far more disastrous than what what we have at present.
And as with parliamentarism, warlordism, patronage politics and bureaucrat capitalism will have its field day as soon as federalism exists as there would never be a need to answer to the federal government on accounts of political repression such as militarization in the countryside and supression of basic rights such as rights to education, among others.
As they blur the debate on political issues on the Charter amendments, the reactionary elite is also scheming to change the nationalist economic provisions set out in the Charter, which has always angered foreign investors and most importantly, US imperialism. As they have done with the Mining Act of 1995, the 60-40 equity ratio between Filipino and foreign ownership will most definetely be scrapped and also allow foreign private ownership of land.
This definitely contradicts constitutional edicts on national patrimony and disregards decades of people's struggles to expel imperialist economic controls on Philippine laws. As we speak, these equity ratios are not even followed by a lot of transnational companies. This will only serve to legitimize the intensified ransacking of our economy and natural resources. This is in line of course with the neo-liberal globalization policies championed by Ramos during his time.
Ramos is such a great fascist and opportunist. His plans are well-crafted, letting us die and struggle our way, sacrificing lives in order to reverberate our program of systemic change to the people and yet he can posture himself so well and make pretensions that charter change is systemic change. He knows the breaking point in every political crisis and forsees the gains of the revolutionary movement. He has done so in EDSA 1 and many other times. He is at it again.
But what is by far more alarming is the prospect of reactionary efforts to obliterate the national democratic struggle waged across the archipelago. Though the armed struggle will continue snowballing across the countryside, there is a danger of the localization of legal struggles among separate states instead of the people struggling on a national scale with its center at the heart of the national government, as what we do now.
Well, let them bring it on. The broad masses of people will shoot it down at the first glance of reactionary maneuverings, as they have consistently done before and as they do now with the ousting of the current regime.
No to Cha-cha. Oust Gloria.
Then and now, the regime foists Charter Change as its viable alternative to the country's worsening political and economic situation - political illegitimacy then and the twin energy and food crises at present, in order to subvert the incorrigible fact that this government is beyond reform and deserved to be ousted from power in the soonest possible time.
Nonetheless, the people's response is the same still today - neither federalism nor parliamentarism can solve the chronic crisis of Philippine society. More so, GMA's continued perpetuation in power via Charter Change can only further entrench Philippine semi-feudalism and imperialist subservience, notwithstanding enabling the futher division of spoils of corruption and pervasive bureaucrat-capitalism among her closest national and regional allies.
Friday, July 25, 2005
Hands-down, the charter change proposal must be shot down at once by the people.
It will only serve the interests of the ruling clique as their knees shake relentlessly over the threat of ousting this regime by the very people who led two successful uprisings against despotic presidents.
They shout parliamentarism and federalism. Again, these measures are spoils sold by the fascist Ramos to woo local warlords in the countryside in supporting the Cha-Cha measure. Besides, in a parliamentary form of government, there are no term limits for the members of parliament. So Noynoy Aquino will forever be the MP of Tarlac, so will the Duranos and Garcias of Cebu, the Dutertes of Davao, the Singsons and Marcoses of Ilocos, the Dimaporos of Mindanao, the Dys of Isabela and all the other landlord-comprador politicians in the reactionary Congress.
Warlordism and feudal political domination will persist. Bureaucrat-capitalism will have reached its finest hour as the best MP lapdog of US Imperialism will be the PM for life as he will forever kowtow to the interests of foreign capital, and the landlords in the countryside who wield the power to the vote of no confidence against him, in the event he decides to go against the whims and caprices of the imperialist and the comprador ruling class.
The sectoral representation of the marginalized we all dream of will soon be a pipe dream. At its worse, it could lead to the abolition of the partylist system - the singlemost effective voice of the people in a ruling class-dominated Congress, and demonized as entrypoints for communists to power.
Federalism is no better. They shout that Visayas and Mindanao are left behind against the development of Luzon. It diverts the point that it is the entire country, and the entire toiling masses that are left behind regardless of their location, in the countryside nor in the cities, as the ruling class isstill the one who benefit from this semi-feudal economy of cheap exports and influx of surplus imports that permits this extent of poverty and underdevelopment.
Besides, how do you expect the state of Samar-Leyte and others to take off economically as effectively as the Cebu or Davao state in the future? It will only heighten the contradictions in the countryside, as the people in the most depressed of areas in the country will forever be bound to the fields that they toil but do not own. The prospects are far more disastrous than what what we have at present.
And as with parliamentarism, warlordism, patronage politics and bureaucrat capitalism will have its field day as soon as federalism exists as there would never be a need to answer to the federal government on accounts of political repression such as militarization in the countryside and supression of basic rights such as rights to education, among others.
As they blur the debate on political issues on the Charter amendments, the reactionary elite is also scheming to change the nationalist economic provisions set out in the Charter, which has always angered foreign investors and most importantly, US imperialism. As they have done with the Mining Act of 1995, the 60-40 equity ratio between Filipino and foreign ownership will most definetely be scrapped and also allow foreign private ownership of land.
This definitely contradicts constitutional edicts on national patrimony and disregards decades of people's struggles to expel imperialist economic controls on Philippine laws. As we speak, these equity ratios are not even followed by a lot of transnational companies. This will only serve to legitimize the intensified ransacking of our economy and natural resources. This is in line of course with the neo-liberal globalization policies championed by Ramos during his time.
Ramos is such a great fascist and opportunist. His plans are well-crafted, letting us die and struggle our way, sacrificing lives in order to reverberate our program of systemic change to the people and yet he can posture himself so well and make pretensions that charter change is systemic change. He knows the breaking point in every political crisis and forsees the gains of the revolutionary movement. He has done so in EDSA 1 and many other times. He is at it again.
But what is by far more alarming is the prospect of reactionary efforts to obliterate the national democratic struggle waged across the archipelago. Though the armed struggle will continue snowballing across the countryside, there is a danger of the localization of legal struggles among separate states instead of the people struggling on a national scale with its center at the heart of the national government, as what we do now.
Well, let them bring it on. The broad masses of people will shoot it down at the first glance of reactionary maneuverings, as they have consistently done before and as they do now with the ousting of the current regime.
No to Cha-cha. Oust Gloria.
# posted by Terry Ridon : 10:42 PM
