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.

Dusk of 2006

To us, who are left behind

The last rays of the sun are beside themselves,

abandoning a year that is readying its’ farewell.

Of tasks surfeit, they will not dance to revel.

Instead, they pay their last respects---shroud in shadows

those gaping wounds in the motherland’s flesh---and pass on.

 

Many stay behind to mourn.

 

Tomorrow, when the sun shines with the vigor of a new year,

the ugly, lovely landscape will remain.

But loss’ illumination will attract no more grievers.

 

Let light bathe on every surface that glints with justice.

posted by: ilangq at 11:35 | link | comments |
malikhaing pagpanggap

Cheap shot

Representatives of the US government have done many sickening (not to mention utterly ridiculous) things ever since Judge Benjamin Pozon on Monday made Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, that sweet-faced young man, a 100% convicted rapist.

There was Smith's bodyguards refusal to leave the soldier's side, like hawks angrily gnashing their sharp beaks in an attempt to protect their not-so-innocent fledgling. If you ask me, the US authorities had every intention of taking advantage of the mayhem that erupted after Judge Pozon slammed down his gavel to quickly cart away Smith to the safety of the only territory in the country they can officially consider theirs--the US embassy. Philippine authorities had to use every inch of brawn to get hold of a man that under normal circumstances would be the easiest to handcuff and bring directly to jail. Apparently, when its erring soldier is concerned, the US government requires burly (and we presume armed) personnel to slam doors on policemen, shout at the media, and stick  their fat asses into everything, from riding in the patrol car to staying with him in a cell which come to think of it is not really a cell but a respectable little records room.

There was the US embassy's formal request to regain custody of Smith, citing a provision of the Visiting Forces Agreement that was preordained to favor them, of course. This was an expected move, though that doesn't lessen the bitter taste it leaves in the mouth, especially since Philippine government officials have been quick to nod their heads in a classic show of assent to US wishes. At this point, the President, Justice Secretary, and Foreign Affairs Secretary in my mind morph into those three co-accused who shouted "Fuck! Fuck!" and "Go, Smith, go!" while their companion raped "Nicole" inside a moving van. These officials are morbidly, as the Philippine Daily Inquirer's editorial pointed out, "parties to rape" because they watch and at the minimum do absolutely nothing, at the maximum, cheer their hearts out while the US ravishes the country's most treasured sovereignty to leave us with nothing but shame and anger at the injustice. And in the end they are acquitted.

But these acts are nothing compared to US Ambassador Kirstie Kenney's recent attempt to salvage the image of the VFA, which in the past year has been exposed to be inimical to the country's interest. It, after all, afforded a rapist one whole year of special treatment that he most certainly did not deserve, and portents to give him more. Kenney said that there was no reason to think that the agreement works against Filipinos, because it allows US soldiers to help out the country in times of disaster, very much frequent nowadays. And voila! On cue, relief food and clothing straight from their home country, as well as a slew of Smith look-alikes, arrive to help thousand of grieving families in Bicol where supertyphoon struck a deadly blow.

For the US government to play on the Philippines' tragedy in a cheap shot to restore the credibility of the VFA is unconscionable. It is also tasteless show of fake benevolence, as any act of US humanitarianism ultimately is. Had we been less desperate it would've been actually proper to stuff back Uncle Sam's lurid peace offerings down his throat.

* * *

I offer the highest salute to Nicole, for being nothing less than a warrior that every woman ought to be.

posted by: ilangq at 10:21 | link | comments |
political chuvachuva

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