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.

This terrorist bogey...

In the news reports that were published after the March 27 bombing in Jolo, Sulu, headlines brandished the name of the Abu Sayyaf as the culprits (this is of course according to military officials). But the facts detailed in the stories reveal differently. This is my version...

AFP sa likod ng pambobomba sa Jolo?

Pinagdududahan ng isang senador na Abu Sayyaf ang nasa likod ng pambobomba sa Jolo, Sulu noong Marso 27 katulad nang pinupuntirya ng mga awtoridad.

Ayon kay Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., posibleng mga operatiba din ng AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) ang nagsagawa ng karumal-dumal na krimen para isabotahe ang prosesong pangkapayapaan sa Mindanao at bigyan ng mas malaking pondo ang AFP sa 2006 badyet.

“Saboteurs of peace in Sulu are killing innocent people to promote their own ends. It’s very unusual incidence that it’s budget time and the desire for more appropriations money could be a motive," sabi ng Lider ng Minorya sa Senado.

Dalawang suspek na miyembro ng Philippine Marines ang nahuli sa pinangyarihan ng insidente sa Sulu Consumers Cooperative na ikinasawi ng siyam na katao at ikinasugat naman ng mahigit 20.

Isang .45 kalibre ng baril, ICOM handheld radio at cellphone ang natagpuan kay Ahaddi Sabturaji, isang intelligence agent na nakatalaga sa Marine Battalion Landing Team 9, 3rd Marine Brigade na naka-base sa Barangay Buhanginan sa Patikul, Sulu.

Ngunit agad ding pinakawalan ng PNP (Philippine National Police) ang dalawang sundalo nang sunduin ang mga ito nang isang 6x6 trak ng Marines.

Kinumpirma ng AFP na isang cellphone ang ginamit para pasabugin ang bomba sa kooperatiba.

Reklamo ng grupong Mindanao Peaceweavers, kahina-hinala ang pagpapakawala ng PNP sa dalawang suspek na sundalo.

Nanawagan ang grupo kay AFP chief-of-staff Hen. Generoso Senga na huwag pagtakpan ang papel ng Marines sa pambobomba sa Sulu, gayundin sa iba pang mga krimeng umano'y kinasasangkutan ng Marines sa probinsiya.

Ayon datos sa grupo, isang sibiliyan ang namatay at 10 ang sugatan sa strafing incidents na kinasangkutan ng isang miyembro ng Marines sa isang mosque sa Patikul noong Enero 28.

Noong Pebrero 2 naman, anim na sibilyan ang namatay at anim ang sugatan sa isa ring strafing incident sa Palar, Sulu 50 metro ang layo sa himpilan ng 104th Brigade.

Samantala, kinondena ni Pangulong Arroyo ang pambobomba sa Sulu at sinamantala ang pagkakataon paera udyukin ang Kongreso na ipasa ang ATB (Anti-Terrorism Bill).

"Terror never sleeps and we need to consistently carry out our comprehensive action plan to rid our country and the world of this grave threat," pahayag ng Pangulo.

Ngunit ayon kay Bayan Muna Rep. Joel Virador, sinadya ng gobyerno Arroyo ang mga pambobomba para ipilit ang ATB.

Tinututulan ng iba't ibang sektor dahil umano'y nakaamba nitong panganib para sa  kalayaang sibil ng mga mamamayan. Sa ilalim ng ATB, pinapayagan ang warrantless arrest at arbitrary detention ng mga pinaghihinalaang terorista, na pinalawak ang saklaw para ibilang ang sinumang kritiko ng gobyerno.

"The attacks on progressive organizations and individuals will also be intensified once this bill becomes a law," ani Virador, isa sa tinaguriang "Batasan 5" na kinasuhan ng gobyerno ng rebelyon.

Nanawagan si Virador sa mga sundalo at pulis na dinggin ang kanilang konsensiya at suwayin ang anumang utos na makakapaminsala sa buhay ng mga inosenteng sibilyan.

Matatandaang isa sa mga hinaing ng mga sundalong Magdalo na nakilahok sa Oakwood mutiny noong 2003 ay ang umano'y pag-uutos sa kanila ng kanilang mga kumander sa AFP na ipasabog ang iba't ibang mga lugar sa Mindanao para patuloy na maisulong ang "giyera kontra terorismo." (Ilang-Ilang Quijano)

* * *

Incidentally, I've recently watched "Paradise Now," the controversial Palestinian film that was lobbied by certain groups to be pulled out of the Oscars race (it was nominated for Best Foreign Film) because it allegedly glamorizes the lives of suicide bombers. It was the story of Said and Khaled, two Palestinians who were picked to carry out a suicide bombing mission in Tel Aviv. Their mission goes awry and the two friends were separated, giving a certain woman a chance to talk them out of it. In the end, one of them backed out, one of them went on, with the camera zooming on the suicide bomber's eyes sitting in a bus crowded with Israeli soldiers in the film's closing seconds.

I beg to disagree that the film "glamorizes" the lives of suicide bombers. I think that it juts realistically and insightfully portrays what suicide bombers go through-- the calmness and pride with which they accept their mission, their bitter personal histories and how these have shaped their political views, their relationships with their families, the intense struggle they engage in from the moment the bombs are actually strapped to their bodies until they reach (if they do) that exact point of no return. What the film achieved was something very basic. It just showed that suicide bombers are human-- no condemnation nor condonement, no judgment of any sort, just plain human. It did so with a subtlety of craft (and a bit of humor too) that is admirable for a film that dares to tackle a subject that most filmmakers wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole.

Maybe, what the film's oppositors meant by "glamorizing" was that any subject that makes it to the screen, regardless of its treatment, is "glamorized." Well, for so long Bush and his cohorts have been glamorized for unleashing this so-called "war on terrorism"--in innumerable TV shows and movies that package falsehoods and prejudices as entertainment. For so long the US government and military have been glamorized as the world's saviour despite the fact that none have waged more wars of aggression on soveriegn nations and systematically killed more innocent civilians than all those dictators they allegedly seek to crush combined. In how many movies (most of them badly made) have we seen the "human" portrayal of a US president, making difficult decisions amidst an unfolding personal drama? What is the difference, then, between "glamorizing" a US president and a suicide bomber?

I venture that both are terrorists but that the former is more unequivocally so than the latter. The latter may very well be a freedom fighter to his or her citizens, and under the rules of war has the right to annihilate enemies provided that no civilians are harmed. Of course, in many cases suicide bombers do harm civilians, and that really does fall under terrorism, but the point is, it's a case to case basis. Yet suicide bombers, or Muslims and Arabs, or Muslim and Arab-looking persons for that matter, have long been lumped together in an indistinguishable mass and relegated to the "heartless monster stereotype" in most forms of mass media, despite the fact that the injustices some of them commit have been bred by similar injustices done upon them. But what of the US President? Can cowardly air strikes that wipe out whole civilian communities be justified at all? His and the capitalist interests he protects commit injustices bred by nothing but the basest greed any yet no one has yet taken arms against the parade of TV shows and movies that glamorize the US government.

This terrorist bogey really pisses me off. Nine of my countrymen have just died from a bombing in Mindanao with evidence clear as daylight that the military orchestrated, but which they have as usual tried to pin on the local terrorist group (which by the way they themselves trained!!!) I think that if there wasn't a genuine revolutionary movement here in the Philippines that guides and channels the efforts of angry and frustrated masses towards a thriving, just, and collective struggle with a clear ideology, leadership, and set of goals, maybe some would have already been driven to the extreme act that Said (of course I gave out the film's ending) believed would deliver him to Paradise Now.

posted by: ilangq at 07:07 | link | comments (2) |
political chuvachuva

Subdivision of the ruling class

No greater affirmation of living in a subdivision of the ruling class than this-- approximately an hour ago GMA was partying with one of our neighbours, cabinet secretary Leandro Mendoza, who lives a few houses down the road. I was watching Encantadia when my sister informed me that the street was chock-full of GMA' s security detail and crawling with PSG men. Peering from the window, I wanted to summon Pirena's brilyante ng apoy and incinerate right then and there Mendoza's house, where a glow of lights emanated and an entertainer has begun crooning songs. Of course, GMA was able to leave a little later without incident, myself feeling bemused, angry, and helpless. An Isuzu Hi-Lander was blocking our driveway---Mendoza's dressed-up, bejeweled, and perfumed guests have of course arrogantly claimed the whole street to themselves. This prompted my father to enter the party and have the plate number of the insolent vehicle announced (He accomplished this by chatting with Mendoza's sister, whom he incidentally knew). "Sana nga nakita ko si Mendoza, pagsasabihan ko talaga yun," said my father, who enjoys raising hell with authorities. I told him, "Tsk tsk, talagang kapitbahay tayo ng mga naghaharing-uri," and he laughed.

It was my mother who insisted that they buy a lot and erect a house here in BF Homes, which in the 80s was nothing but a sea of tall grass and half-constructed houses in lots that are way cheaper than its current price. My grandparents' house in Quezon City, where I grew up, was to be demolished to pave way for a condominium. My mother claims that were it not for her persistence in overseeing the construction of our modest two-storey house, and the money that my father saved scrimping during a scholarship grant in Japan (read: biking instead of taking public transport, using a lightbulb as an alternative heater to cut electricity costs), we would have bled dry by eternally renting a house large enough for our family. We moved here in 1995, when the sentimental home of my youth was finally rendered unlivable by a bulldozer that made huge gaping holes in its walls. Since then, I've been a resident of this subdivision whose homeowners constitute much of the ruling class--politicians, businessmen, foreigners.

My boyfriend always teases me about the "sheltered life" I live when I'm home. It's true--I always feel closeted from the real world in here--there's nothing outside my bedroom window but a small backyard with a lagundi tree quietly stretching its branches. Sometimes, sounds of videoke emanate from the smaller "less elite" subdivision beyond our backyard. But there is nothing of the chaos that is the background of other homes I've been in ordinary communities in Metro Manila. There is none of the street corner's regular homeless loony, who constantly holds an empty bottle of brandy and inks his withered and already decorated skin with a blue ballpen. There is none of the beer drinking sessions that men without shirts and bulging bellies engage in nightly. There is none of the ladies' bingo rounds, glass pebbles glittering amidst noisy chatter. There is none of the omnipresent smell of dog turd and urine. There is none of the neigbourly squabbles over the shared water pump, or the domestic fights heard from thin walls separating rented spaces. There is none of home-cooked meals being sold from your neighbour's sari-sari store, especially welcome when you are too lazy to cook anything.

All there is in a subdivision like mine is the coming and going of cars and incredibly snooty security guards. I HATE OUR SECURITY GUARDS. For the longest time I've been meaning to officially complain about how they behave but I've never gotten around to doing it. Actually, they're as polite as hell to other residents, which, as I said, come and go in luxurious cars that bear the proper sticker. But because I go out of the village on foot or on tricycle, most of the time in casual wear and carrying a bulky backpack, I get flagged down at the gate and asked, "Saan kayo galing?" Everytime I give them my frostiest look and say, "Resident ako dito," in my coldest voice. I understand that they are just following some stupid martial law-like policy of paranoid rich people that are my neighbours, still I can't help gnashing my teeth. The infuriating thing is that they change security guards every so often (contractualization is really ridiculous and self-defeating for security firms), such that as soon as a batch of guards begin to recognize me as the hot-headed girl who riles at being treated like she has just stashed her amo's jewelry in her bag, a new batch would replace them and enmity at the gates would begin all over again.

But nothing beats my favorite subdivision security guard story, which happened when I was in high school. Back then, my father drove our vehicle-- an old, yellow Anfra---into a nearby subdivision where my classmate, who hitched a ride with me, lived. The guards at the gate insisted that my father pay P10, which was the entrance fee required for school buses. My father insisted that he was not driving a school bus, but the guards kept pointing out that my classmate and I were in school uniform, our vehicle looked like it, and thus, it had to be a school bus. My father went berserk with rage and won't even show his doctor's license to prove otherwise, much less pay P10 to end the row. My classmate ended up walking to her house from the gates. The next day, my father gave me a long letter of complaint that my classmate was supposed to hand over to the village officials. I don't think she ever did.

I actually used to be quite close to some of my neighbours in the subdivision, back when I was still part of the village choir. Now that I seldom go to church I've lost touch with them, and besides, I hardly think that we would have much in common now. I go home because this is where my family is, but aside from that, this subdivision doesn't feel much like home. I think that my father, whose dream of living in a farm in Mindanao remains elusive, feels the same way. For both of us, home is where the sounds of real life and real people are just outside your door.

posted by: ilangq at 16:08 | link | comments (4) |

Konting lamig ng ulo lang po...

Nowadays, parang ang hirap makapag-relax. Palapit na ang summer at kahit napaguusap-usapan na ang mga bakasyunan na maaring puntahan sa Holy Week o sa office outing at nagpaplano na naman ang nanay ko ng lakuwatsa, parang nakakawalang-gana ang patuloy at lalong pinaigting na panggigipit at pananakot at pagpatay na nagaganap sa bawat sulok ng bansa.

Kapapasok lamang ng balita na binaril ang tagapangulo ng Bayan sa Malolos, Bulacan. Utang na loob. Pati ang Amnesty International, umaangal na sa walang puknat na pagbanat ng gobyerno Arroyo sa mga puwersa ng Kaliwa, maski yaong matatawag mong nasa mainstream, mismong mga congressman at lehitimong halal ng taumbayan. Ilang araw na bang nakapiit si Ka Bel?

Sa totoo lang, nagdurugo ang puso ko tuwing naiisip ko si Ka Bel. Noong nakaraang Sabado, binisita ko siya sa Camp Crame, isang araw bago tuluyang naghigpit ang pulisya at kapamilya na lang ang pinadadalaw. Alam ko noon pa man bawal na ang media kaya't nagpanggap ako na dating staff sa pag-asang makakalusot ako. Ewan ko ba, ang lakas ng kabog ng puso ko nang humarap ako sa mga hayop na yon (pulis) at pumayag na inspeksiyunin nila. Sa huli, pinaiwan din sa akin ang buong bag ko. Mabuti na lang at may bolpen at papel ang kanyang mga kamag-anak na kasama ni Ka Bel sa loob ng kuwarto. (Para sa buong detalye ng aking interbyu, basahin na lang ang artikulo ko sa Pinoy Weekly: Kagitingan Mula sa Piitan) Ang masasabi ko lang, lalo akong pinahanga ni Ka Bel sa kanyang katatagan ng loob at panata sa pakikibaka para sa kapakanan ng mga anakpawis na kanyang tunay na pinagsisilbihan. Ganyan ang mga taong sumasalo sa hagupit ng pangulong nangungunyapit sa poder, mga taong walang sala kundi ang hangaring masilayan ng tunay na demokrasya itong bayan nating lagi na lamang nababalot sa lagim ng kahirapan at kawalang-hustisya. (Bukod dito, walang anumang kinalaman sina Ka Bel et al. sa umano'y tangkang kudeta, basahin ang artikulo sa PW: Gobyerno Walang Kaso vs 6 Kongresista) Akalain mo, nakapiit ang isang tunay na bayani, 73 taong nagsakripisyo para sa inaaping uri, habang patuloy ang ganid sa kapangyarihang kriminal na sirkero sa Malakanyang, ginagago ang taumbayan. 'Tangna nya, naaalala niyo pa ba noong nagpakawala si GMA kamakailan ng mga matatandang preso "for humanitarian reasons" sa Muntinlupa? Ngayong ilegal niyang inaaresto ang isang beteranong lider-obrero kaya pa kaya niyang magpanggap na tao?

Kahit dentista ko galit kay Gloria. Siya raw ang "the worst president ever" at hindi niya lubos maisip kung anong mangyayari sa Pilipinas kung umabot pa si GMA sa kanyang ninakaw na puwesto hanggang 2010. Sabi rin niya, masama raw sa ngipin ang stress. Kaya nga masarap mag-isip nang tungkol sa bakasyon. Pero sino ang hindi mase-stress sa mga karima-rimarim na nagaganap ngayon? Bukas ba maaaresto na ang anim na party-list na kongresista na di makaalis sa Kamara at di matiyak ang kaligtasan? Next week ba darating ang CIDG sa opisina para mang-raid? Sino ang sunod na aktibistang ma-aambush? Sino ang aarestuhin sa susunod na kilos-protesta? Hindi ko nararamdaman na magsu-summer na maliban sa nagbabalak ako bumili ng Sunsilk summer fresh shampoo dahil malamig daw sa ulo (at least, sabi sa advertisement nito).

posted by: ilangq at 17:54 | link | comments |
political chuvachuva

Maligayang Araw ng mga Kababaihan!!!

Kapit-bisig ang mga nanay mula sa maralitang komunidad sa Quezon City

Sa nagugutom na taumbayan, mga bata at kababaihan ang pinakalubhang naaapektuhan.

Si Ka Osang, magiting na asawa ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran na hanggang ngayon ay ilegal na nakapiit sa Camp Crame

Pati ang sikat na folk singer na si Cynthia Alexander ay naki-Oust Gloria.

"There can never be, nor will there ever be real freedom, as long as there is no freedom for women..." V.I. Lenin

Muli, maligayang araw ng mga kababaihan!!!

Ipagdiwang ang laban para sa minimithing kinabukasan...

posted by: ilangq at 07:26 | link | comments (1) |

Kasalanan ko ba, Gloria?

WHEREAS, the claims of these elements have been recklessly magnified by certain segments of the national media – Proclamation No. 1017

 

Kasalanan ko ba, Gloria, kung lumaki—

butas sa botang gutay,

diwang lupasay ng ordinaryong sundalo?

Kasalan ko ba, Gloria, kung tumayog---

            mansiyon ni heneral, ikinasuklam,

nang boto’y ipagkanulo?

Kasalanan ko ba, Gloria, kung humapdi—

            kirot ng sikmura, ‘di malunasan

ng murang noodles mo?

Kasalanan ko ba, Gloria, kung kumalat—

            lawas ng dugong anakpawis,

martir ng bayan na pinaslang mo?

 

Kasalanan ko ba Gloria, kung lumobo---

utang ng bansa, ‘di mabayaran,

sinuklian pa ng gahasang Kano ?

Kasalanan ko ba, Gloria, kung dumami---

            alipin sa abroad, bangkay

lumutang dito, timbulan ng piso?

Kasalan ko ba, Gloria, kung humayo---

banda ng mga magnanakaw at bulaan

(katuwira’y katulad mo)?

Kasalanan ko ba, Gloria, kung dumoble---

kayod ng manggagawa’t empleyado,

nasilat sa VAT karampot na suweldo?

 

Kasalanan ko ba, Gloria, kung nabuyagyag---

            negosyong jueteng, pinakamahal

na kalye sa mundo, naglahong abono?

Kasalanan ko ba, Gloria, kung kumapal---

            bilang ng kritiko, tao sa lansangan,

dinadaig ng puyos ang liyo?

Kasalanan ko ba, Gloria, kung lumakas---

            ugong ng ku, mga samo sa Quiapo

            magwakas na ang ‘yong termino?

Kasalanan ko ba, Gloria, kung umigting---

krisis pambansa tugma sa huli’t

desperadong aktong kumapit sa puwesto?

 

Kasalanan bang iulat ang lahat ng nakikita ko?

 

O ‘di kaya’y sadya lang akong barumbado,

ginagawang gahiganteng bundok

‘yang nunal sa pisngi mo?

 

(30)

posted by: ilangq at 01:40 | link | comments |

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