blame my gun

(O huwag mo kalabitin ang aking gatilyo)

"The lesson today is how to die..."
Which Strange Little Girl would you be?
You have a strong sense of justice, and believe that ultimately people should pay for their crimes.

Journalists condemn Proclamation 1017

Journalists condemn Proclamation 1017 as a crackdown on mass media. Here are some of the statements which came out of the forum held by The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines in Newsdesk today:

The statement that media organizations will be taken over unless they hue to the standards that government has set. I'm wondering what the standards will be. I am sure they are not talking about the standards of accuracy, fairness, accountability, and press autonomy.

~Luis Teodoro, columnist of Business Mirror

This is the beginning of the systematic intimidation of media as in Martial Law days. We have to stop this before it reaches fruition.

~Manuel L. Quezon III, Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist

I think press freedom at the end of the day is a fundamental cornerstone of any democratic society anywhere in the world. The way this story is being reported and carried overseas will have a massive impact on how this government will be seen. Thus, the job of the correspondent is very crucial. The job is fundamental. We need to report what we see. If this is taken away...

~Karl Wilson, Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines

Our best defense is just to do what we do at this time.

~Conrado de Quiros, Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist

Kung nagagawa nila ito sa national papers, lalo na sa campus publications. Sa kasalukuyan, very critical ang campus papers sa gobyerno.

~Jose Cosido, College Editors Guild of the Philippines

I think (Proclamation) 1017 is a case of overkill. It should be overturned immediately so we can return to a situation of calm...The freedom of expression is perhaps one of the most important freedoms we enjoy in a democracy. When this is lost, all other rights and freedoms go. So anyone who wants to be a dictator suppresses this freedom of expression.

~Isagani Yambot, Philippine Daily Inquirer publisher

Actually, walang banta e. Actual ito. Kailangan ba nating maghintay na maulit iyong Tribune?

~Ariel Encarnacion, Asosasyon ng Pilipinong Mamamahayag

When unrest and confusion reigns, as is happening at the moment, it becomes ever more vital for the people and members of the media to jealously protect the freedom of the press and expression.

~National Union of Journalists in the Philippines

The Filipino people have the right to be truly informed

~Antonio Zumel Center for Press Freedom

The harassment of the press is uncalled for, the guidelines are unnecessary and unconstitutional, and the whole move to control the media is suspicious.

~Southeast Asian Press Alliance

We are expressing the highest condemnation of Proclamation 1017.

~Noel Barcelona, Pinoy Weekly

posted by: ilangq at 17:58 | link | comments |

Now is there any doubt?

posted by: ilangq at 12:52 | link | comments |
political chuvachuva

The Arroyo dictatorship

President Arroyo's Proclamation 1017 feels like the midday sun that beats down your back in the open battlefield---real, unmerciful and inescapable. Indeed, the whole nation has been under emergency rule since yesterday afternoon and there will be no respite until the Filipino people consider it an emergency to finally put an end to the illegitimate and immoral Arroyo administration.

I consider yesterday exhilarating because it momentarily offered a glimpse of how Arroyo could be booted out of Malacañang--- a combination of withdrawal of support by disenchanted troops and a show of force on the streets by civilians disgusted by the regime. The Filipino people, on whom the President's mandate solely lies, have every right to unseat a President whom they never did elect.  Similarly, the armed forces, on which the President's powers solely rest, have every right to exercise their ultimate loyalty to the Filipino people. Maliciously labeling the people and soldiers' heroic initiative, that which also led to the toppling of the Marcos dictatorship, as the "extreme Left and extreme Right alliance" does not in any way negate these rights. And using strong-arm tactics to suppress these rights would only further embolden, strengthen, and popularize the anti-Arroyo movement until it reaches it's inevitable triumph. This triumph is a fate sealed on the day the President desperately clung to martial rule as a last resort. For she could not have been anything but fully aware that Proclamation 1017 WAS the last resort, having declared it on the 20th anniversary of EDSA 1. It must not have been lost on her that she created the greatest political irony in recent history when she assumed a dictatorship on the very day a former dictator was brought to his knees. But it must've been lost on her that by doing so she was digging her own grave.

For a moment, forget deposed President Joseph Estrada, forget former presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos, forget the other traditional politicians whose respective moralities and intentions may be one of the reasons behind some people's reluctance to fully vent their anger against the Arroyo regime.  For a moment,  consider an ordinary cab driver, whom I interviewed last Tuesday. With a little impatience, he said that Arroyo should have been kicked out a long time ago. He rightfully maintained that it was impossible for the Filipino people to be effectively led by a self-confessed cheat and liar, and mused that a transition council representing multi-sectoral interests to replace Arroyo may not be such a bad idea after all and may in fact offer a sliver of hope for this benighted country. For a moment, consider the ordinary soldier, whom I chatted with in Camp Aguinaldo yesterday. He expressed admiration for the Magdalo soldiers who spoke the truth about corruption in the AFP, the truth that they didn't have the guts to tell. In a deeply sad voice, he confessed that it would crush him to be ordered to hurt his fellow soldiers and countrymen, who are actually correct in all their grievances, who are pushed deeper and deeper into poverty and misery everyday.

With emergency rule in place, everyone is now fair game for the government out for blood. Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran has already been arrested, the vehicle he had been riding on with his family stopped by elements of the CIDG. Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo barely eluded the arresting team that went after him, arrogantly, with all the media from a just-concluded press conference looking on. The entire leadership of the opposition, including politicians, mass leaders, church leaders, are now vulnerable to all sorts of encroachment of civil liberties under the Arroyo dictatorship (we might as well call the presidency by it's true name).  Worse, and there is no stronger evidence of martial rule than this, the mass media is now controlled and one of the more critical outfits, Daily Tribune, has been directly taken over. Military now guards over major television stations ABS-CBN and GMA 7. And PNP director Arturo Lomibao, this time without mincing words, has declared all editorial content of all media outfits subject to government approval.

For the 45% of Filipinos who were born after 1986, today is the closest we have come to tasting the cruelty and horror of martial law. While writing this in the office, I sit in the possibility of a raid anytime. My heart is beating fast and I am angry. I feel like the midday sun is beating down my back and I am in the open battlefield. Martial law is here and it's here to stay unless we end the nightmare right now, before it can truly begin.

posted by: ilangq at 07:29 | link | comments |
political chuvachuva

Kung hindi lang masyadong nakapangangalit...

Kung hindi lang masyadong nakapangangalit at masakit sa kalooban, marahil ay lumagapak na ako sa sahig sa kakatawa sa "objective reporting" kuno ng ABS-CBN hinggil sa Wowowee stampede na nasa balikat din nila ang pangunahing responsibilidad, anuman ang tanggi ni Gabby Lopez III at gaano man nila manipulahin sa kanilang bentahe ang ulat ng task force na naatasang imbestigahan ang kaso.

Una sa lahat, kakatwang panoorin ang mga reporter ng ABS-CBN na nag-uulat hinggil sa ABS-CBN at dumadalo sa press conference ng kanilang sariling kompanya. Katulad ito ng pagbisita ni Willie Revillame sa burol ng mga namatay na ang kanyang pang-aakit ng papremyo sa unang 300 sa stage ang huling mga katagang nakakintal sa isipan bago tuluyang matangay sa daluyong ng desperasyon. Katulad ito ng bonggang parangal para sa mga biktima ng malalaking ABS-CBN stars na inaakalang sa pag-awit ng mga kung anu-anong sentimental na kanta'y mapapawi ang hinagpis at uhaw sa hustisya ng mga pamilyang naiwan. Hindi kaya nila nalalaman na ang ganitong mga aksiyon ay nauuwi lang sa lalong pagkasuklam ng mga manonood, sa pagkaasim ng sikmurang di matunawan sa kawalang-hiyaan ng network, sa pagkapait ng panlasang hindi mabatid kung paano lulunukin ang mga hungkag na pagso-sori, ang mga pangako ng hustiya't gayong pilit lumulusot sa mga litaw na kahinaan sa seguridad at nag-aaalpas sa kapiranggot na opinyong tinrato nilang parang hayop ang mga masang manonood?

Ibinunton na nila ang sisi sa lahat--sa magulong madla, sa disenyo ng ULTRA, sa pulisya-- maliban sa kanilang sarili. Halos lahat ng na-interbyu nilang biktima ay nagsasabing "walang may kasalanan sa nangyari." At sa likod ng mantrang ito na hinango sa bibig ng mga masang una nang sinadlak sa kamangmangan tila nagtatago ang pamunuan ng ABS-CBN.  

Ito ang mapait na leksiyong natutunan ng taumbayan kay Pangulong Gloria na siya ring nagkakanlong sa pamilya Lopez: ang pagso-sori ay hindi nangangahulugan ng pag-ako sa kasalanan at pagharap sa kaparusahan. Sa halip, ito lamang ang unang hakbang sa mahabang proseso ng pag-iwas at lantarang pagsupil sa katotohanan hanggang sa sikolohikal na panghihimas sa publiko nang makalimot.

Sa kabilang banda, hindi lang naman ang ABS-CBN ang may kahangalan sa pag-uulat ng stampede. 'Di mapagkakailang pinagpipiyestahan ngayon ng GMA 7 ang krisis na kinahaharap ng mahigpit na karibal. Kung mapapansin, medyo makulit at paulit-ulit ang pagpapalabas ng GMA 7 ng video ng mga bangkay at ng naghuhuramentado nilang mga kaanak sa eksena ng trahedya. Mula sa pagiging kaantig-antig ay nauwi na lamang ito sa sensationalism. Noong una'y may inilalagay pa silang babalang "sensitive video" pero malaon ay inalis na ito at isinisingit ang mga video sa bawat balita hinggil sa stampede. Pilit ding iniiwasan ng GMA 7 ang matalas na kritisismo sa mga game show at sa katunayan ay dinedepensahan pa ang mga ito ni Mike Enriquez sa komentaryo sa radyo bilang tanging nagbibigay ng "pag-asa" sa mga mahihirap. Alam kasi ng GMA 7 na maari ding nangyari sa kanila ang trahedya, sa Eat Bulaga na kawangis ang Wowowee. Alam ng manedsment na wala silang pinagkaiba sa ABS-CBN sa pang-aabuso sa karalitaan sa ngalan ng limpak-limpak na kita.

At dahil nasa aspeto na rin tayo ng pag-uulat, mabanggit ko na rin ang opinyon na palasak sa mga editoryal at kolum ng mga pahayagan hinggil sa stampede. Oo nga't may pagtuligsa sa atrasadong kultura ng suwerte na pinaiiral ng mga game show. Pero anila'y nagreresulta lang ito sa pagiging tamad ng mga PIlipino at nanawagan lang ng ibayong pagsisikap tungo sa "self-sufficiency" sa pamamagitan ng paglahok sa "small enterprises" o maliliit na negosyo na para bang nasa sariling kamay lang pala ng mga mahihirap ang kasagutan sa kanilang daantaon nang problema.

Tumututol ako, at tiyak gayundin ang sinumang ordinaryong Pilipinong makasalubong sa daan, na tamad ang mga Pinoy, isang luma pero paboritong ipalaganap na mito ng burgesya noon pang panahon ng mga Kastila. Heto't nagkakandakuba't nagkakasakit at nangangamatay ang mga manggagawa, magsasaka, at empleyado sa kakatrabaho nang hindi kailanman natatanggap ang nararapat para sa kanilang mga pagsisikap. Heto't nagiging lipakin at nauuban sa kakahanap at kahihintay ng trabahong hindi maibigay ng gobyerno't malalaking kapitalista ang milyun-milyon pang mga mamamayan. Paano makapag-iimpok para makapagtayo ng isa man lang sari-sari store? At kailan pa sumapat mapakain at mapaaral ang isang pamilya ng pagkakaroon ng isang sari-sari store? At sino ba ang nagsabing ang magkaroon lang ng sari-sari store ang pangarapin natin sa buhay?

Kung hindi lang masyadong nakapangangalit, matatawa na sana ako sa lahat ng kabalbalang itong inilalako ng bulok na industriyang kinalalahukan ko.

posted by: ilangq at 17:43 | link | comments |
political chuvachuva

Absurd deaths

"The loss of 71 lives (as of 2pm today) and scores injured at Wowowee is a clear denial of administration claims of a good economy. People wouldn't risk being crushed to death for handouts if times were good." ~Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr.

When my editor texted this morning urging us to get reactions about the Wowowee incident in Pasig City wherein many were left dead, my first thought was that a bomb attack had occured. But as I turned on the TV and radio it was clear that it was something far worse--a stampede. A stampede that resulted from the sheer number and determination of people (many of whom have been camping outside the ULTRA stadium for 3 days) to be part of the noontime TV show's anniversary special, wherein a million pesos, a car, and a house and lot were up for grabs.

I've always thought that to die in a stampede would be one of the worst ways to die because it always struck me as barbaric sort of death, essentially dying in the hands of your fellow human beings whose behaviours are distorted by blind panic.

To my knowledge, the most common stampedes around the world are during religious festivals that draw in huge ecstatic crowds such as those of pilgrims in Mecca. It is perhaps the first time, and only in the Philippines, that such a stampede has commenced in a variety show, which a lot of Filipinos flock with a passion and regularity akin to religiosity.

No longer is religion the opium of the masses, or at least is not the only one. In this age when popular culture reigns as the most effective tool of the ruling classes to appease unrest and distract people from their problems, noontime TV shows are the opium of the masses.

If you think about it, the deeper this country is mired into political and economic crisis, the grander and more ridiculous noontime TV shows become. The bigger prizes they give away in suspenseful contests, the more celebrities they invite to perform, the sillier their games become, and the lewder the typically male chauvinist hosts' jokes get. They tour the show around the country more often, and keep on drawing bigger and bigger audiences.

It has often occured to me that if the people massed during these shows were there for political action, we would have People Power everyday. Unfortunately and ironically, the people are simply weakened everytime they gather into such outwardly happy, but inwardly desperate crowds.

A woman who was interviewed by Julius Babao after the incident had to be cut off when she started making public pleas, not because a family member was lost or injured, but because she had lost a chance to win a prize she badly needed because her two sons were disabled and she had no job.

In ABS-CBN's dramatic advertisements on the Wowowee anniversary special, host Willy Revillame is shown hugging tearful contest winners who are suddenly a million pesos richer. Now, he will always represent families who are one beloved member poorer. This early, fans have professed that Willy should not be blamed for what has happened. While I'm sure he is traumatized for life, the crowd charmer Willy is easily absolved for the tragedy.

But what of ABS-CBN who had profited so much from generating false hopes among the masses and yet could not respect their audiences enough to devise a safe and systematic way of handing out tickets? What of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who has failed to generate a million jobs like she has promised such that people have no choice but depend their lives wholly upon their luck in noontime TV shows? What of the ruling elite that has been responsible for so much poverty and churns out giant TV networks to help people swallow this poverty, and yes, the absurd deaths that come with it?

I feel so sad.

posted by: ilangq at 11:02 | link | comments (1) |
popcult madness

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