In lieu of a company fistfight. This, my reply.

This is in response to a circulated blog entry which has almost cost us our jobs. Har har.

I have decided to print the original and my comments below paragraph after scandalous paragraph.


Open letter to our leaders
Dear Tita Cory, Senators, Congressmen, Businessmen, Media people, Leftists, and all Bleeding Hearts Out There:

I am angry. And I know that there are many out there who are angrier than I am for the same reason. And that reason is simple. I am sick and tired of all you guys claiming to speak for me and many Filipinos. I feel like screaming every time you mouth words about fighting for my freedom and my rights, when you obviously are just thinking about yours. You tell me that the essence of democracy is providing every citizen the right to speak his or her mind and make his or her own informed judgments, but you yourselves do not respect my silence and the choices I and many others have made. In other words, your concept of democracy is limited to having your rights and your freedoms respected, at the expense of ours.


The writer of this letter started off on the wrong foot by addressing it to such a big group, coming from all colors of the political spectrum. This, without taking into account that different personalities and groups may have different opinions on this matter, and very different prescriptions for the ills that are currently besetting this country. I know I'm nitpicking, but when you talk about senators or congressmen, which ones are you talking about? The opposition? The independent bloc? Or the JDV supporters in the majority? It's really funny that this was phrased this way, because if we remember our very recent history, it was precisely in the filthy halls of the House of Representatives where the impeachment complaint was trashed.

"Your concept of democracy is limited to having your rights and freedoms respected, at the expense of ours." Can you tell me what rights and freedoms of yours are not being respected? After all, nobody is forcing anyone to go out on the streets and protest here. I will be the first to say that it's such a hassle. But many people do go (uncompensated, too, despite what many people may think), because it is their personal choice. How is your silence being disrespected? And, how can you say, that in all your middle class glory, YOU know what majority of Filipinos think? Sure, you may be familiar with middle class sentiments, but have you ever tried going to the most depressed of areas (where the true MAJORITY is), and asked the people what they want? It's infuriating when the middle class arrogantly proclaims itself superior, implicitly or otherwise, when it only makes up less than 10% of the national population.


I am utterly flabbergasted that you still do not get it: we already responded to your calls, and our response has been very clear - we chose not to heed your calls to go to EDSA or to Fort Bonifacio not because we do not love our country or our freedoms or our rights, but precisely because we love our country even more. Because quite frankly, we are prepared to lose our freedoms and our rights just to move this country forward. You may think that is not correct, you can tell me all the dire warnings about the evils of authoritarian rule, but quite frankly all we see is your pathetic efforts to prop up your cause. You tell me that you are simply protecting my freedoms and my rights, but who told you to do that? I assure you that when I feel that my rights and my freedoms are at a peril, I will stand up and fight for them myself.


That's precisely the problem. Many of us are simply too numb and selfish to feel when our rights and freedoms are threatened. And don't even start with "oh I don't go out to the streets because I love my country even more." It would be much better, and much more honest to simply admit that we're too comfortable, going out to the streets is such a drag, or that we never even stopped to make a critical analysis of the national situation based on the material conditions to find out if there's actually a reason for us to start moving our asses and working for meaningful change.


You tell us that GMA is not the right person to lead this country because she has done immoral acts. As someone who sees immorality being committed wantonly in many ways every day and by everyone (yes, including the ones you do), I may have become jaded. But you have not been able to offer me any viable alternative, while GMA has bent over backwards many times to accommodate you while continuing to work hard despite all the obstacles and the brickbats you have thrown her way. From where I sit, she is the one who has been working really hard to move this country forward while all of you have been so busy with one and only one thing: to make sure she does not succeed. So forgive me if I do not want to join you in your moral pissing contest. Forgive me if I have chosen to see things from another perspective. You say she is the problem. I say, we are the problem, more to the point, I think you are a bigger problem than she is. Taking her out may solve part of the problem, but that leaves us with a bigger problem: you. That is right, YOU!


GMA, as President of this country, is accountable for all her actions which directly and indirectly affect the nation. She must be therefore held as such. Also, it is an outrage to say that she has bent over backwards many times for this entity the letter addresses as "you." The horrific human rights record of this administration should be enough proof. Any form of dissent is automatically crushed with the iron fist. Members of activist groups are being slain every week. Maj.Gen. Jovito Palparan, the "Butcher of Mindoro," responsible for the massacres in Mindoro Oriental, as well as Eastern Visayas, has been deployed to Central Luzon where people are being killed and harassed everyday. The administration then has the gall to promote him and even give him awards (as the Commander-in Chief of the AFP, GMA must also answer this issue). Even communities in urban areas are being harassed by their local government, especially in the city of Manila, where the mayor is particularly pro-GMA. Not to sound condescending or whatever, but I have seen what this government can do to the most peaceful of dissenters, and it's not a pretty sight.

And as for the argument on "the real problem," can somebody please stand up and tell me what the "real problem" being discussed here is? Because last time I checked, the open practice of democratic rights is not the problem. The fact that somebody can get away with stealing the presidency of a country, is for me, quite alarming. The utter disregard for the voice of the people and the violation of the only arena where we are supposedly all equal (the national elections) is for me, problematic. The spate of political killings which aims to stamp out all forms of dissent and the presence of US military troops who actively engage in the war against our Moro brothers and sisters in Mindanao is scary. The statistics which show that more than 50% of the prisoners being held at Camp Bagong Diwa are actually innocent is alarming. The use of fertilizer funds (which were supposedly allotted for the advancement of peasants) for the president's (and for other politicans') gain is very objectionable. The fact that money spills like rain into the halls of Congress whenever the President wants a bill approved or a resolution killed (take the tax measures and the impeachment complaint, for instance), is scandalous. The scrapping of all protectionist provisions in the Philippine Constitution, which will therefore allow a hundred percent foreign ownership and control of lands and industries is suicide. Now tell me who is to be held liable for all these things, and now tell me what the real problem is.


While I felt outraged that she called a Comelec official during the elections and that she may have rigged the elections, I have since then taken the higher moral ground and forgiven her. Yes my dear bishops, I have done what you have told me to do since I was a child, which you say is the Christian and moral thing to do: forgive. Especially since she has asked for forgiveness and has tried to make amends for it. Erap certainly has not apologized and continues to be defiant, continuing to insult us everyday with his protestations. Cory has not apologized for her incompetence but we have forgiven her just the same because like GMA, she has worked hard after all.


Forgive me as well, but I can't help it: "taken the higher moral ground and forgiven her..." (????!!!!!) Ooh, wow, how benevolent! And can you now tell me, is that going to solve anything? And can you tell me how the President has tried to make amends? And again, I nitpick: I am not justifying Erap or defending him, because I don't like him either, but didn't he get impeached because of jueteng money? Isn't it true that what GMA is tampering with is taxpayer's money (and that jueteng is still as hot as ever today, thanks to her gambler of a husband?) Now if you really want to start talking about taking the path of lesser evil, shouldn't this entire paragraph be scrapped?


I know you do not think that GMA’s apology was not enough, or that she was insincere, or that that apology should not be the end of it, but please spare me the hypocrisy of telling me that you do so for the sake of protecting the moral fibre of society. The real reason is because you smell blood and wants to go for the kill.


I can't even begin to explain how ridiculous this statement is. Period.


Well, I have news for you. I do not like her too. I did not even vote for her. I voted for Raul Roco. But as much as I do not like her, I do not like you even more. I may not trust her, but guess what, I do not trust you even more.


You know why? Because all you do is whine and sabotage this country. You belittle every little progress we make, conveniently forgetting that it is not just GMA who has been working so hard to achieve them. Every single day, we keep the faith burning in our hearts that this country will finally pull itself out of the mess and we work so hard to do that. Every little progress is the result of our collective effort, we who toil hard everyday in our jobs. Yet, you persist in one and only thing: making GMA look bad in the eyes of the world and making sure that this country continues to suffer to prove your sorry point. In the process, you continue to destroy what we painstakinly try to built. So please do not be surprised that I do not share your cause. Do not be surprised that we have become contemptuous of your antics. You have moved heaven and earth to destroy her credibility, you have convened all kinds of fora and hearings and all you have done is test our patience to the core. For all your effort, you have only succeeded in dragging us further down. I say enough.


If you want to talk about progress, let's go back to the issue of what the problem is, and what the government is actually doing to address it. Please go back to the roots of poverty in this country before even praising yourself for "working hard." We all work hard here, we all need to survive. Nobody cares about testing your patience either. The world does not revolve around your sorry apathetic life.

Now before anyone can even claim that all rallyists just "whine and sabotage the country," can that person please shut up first and try to find out what the nature of such organizations are? It's infuriating and very insulting when people just talk about things they don't even know about.


Don’t get me wrong. I am not asking that we take immorality lying down, or that we let the President get away with anything illegal. But you have tried to prove your accusations all these time and you have not succeeded, so it is time to let things be. Besides, you are doing something immoral as well if not utterly unforgivable. The Magdalo soldiers are consorting with the communists - the same people who have been trying to kill democracy for years. Cory has been consorting with Erap and the Marcoses.


Oh I wonder why the accusations were "not proven?" Let's go back to the House of Representatives and start counting money, shall we?

Second point: The analysis is just too skewed. But I just wanted to ask, ever heard of the concept of forming tactical alliances?


So please wake up and take a reality check. In the absence of true and genuine moral leadership, many of us have decided to cast our lot with the President, even if we do not like her. A flawed leader is better than scheming power hungry fools who can not even stand up for their convictions in the face of an impending arrest.

Your coup attempts and the denials that you have consequently made only underscore what we think is true: you are spineless and unreliable people whose only defense is to cry suppression when your ruse do not work. You are like bullies who taunt and provoke, but cry oppression when taken to task for your cruelty.

I would have respected you if you took the consequences of your actions like real heroes: calmly and responsibly instead of kicking and screaming and making lame excuses. You say you are willing to die for us, that you do all these things for the country and the Filipino, but you are not even willing to go to jail for us.


Now that's it. Now I know that whoever wrote this has not been looking at the facts. Due process was not observed, especially in the case of Rep. Crispin Beltran. Neither was it followed in the case of the rest of the Batasan 6. I wonder if whoever wrote this has stopped to consider the cases. We do not kick and scream and make lame excuses; we are doing everything to protect our rights for as far as the law is able to. This careless use of words has definitely got to stop.

By the way, you might want to make a background check on DOJ Secretary Gonzales. He is notorious for being quite the dirty player. That will explain a lot, especially with regard to the cases filed against the party-list representatives and other personalities.


Come on, you really think we believe that you did not want to bring down the government when that is the one and only thing you have been trying to do in the last many months?
We love this country and we want peace and progress. Many among us do not give a f*&k who sits at Malacanang because we will work hard and do our share to make things work. If you only do your jobs, the ones that we elected you to do, things would be a lot simpler and easier for every one.


With this, allow me to quote from the recently-shown V for Vendetta: "People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people."

This is not a case of trying to "bring down the government." This is a case of people holding their governments accountable, in order to protect the people. Again, we both work hard, but you work especially harder as fencesitters, because really, no matter what you say, that is the function you are serving. And what in the end do you serve to do but to perpetuate the already rotten and continually rotting system, as appendages of the force currently in power?


The events during the weekend only proved one thing. You are more dangerous and a serious threat to this country than GMA is. We have seen what you are capable of doing - you are ready to burn this country and reduce everything to ashes just to prove your point. If there is something that we need protection from, it is protection from you.

I love my country. Such accusations as sputtered above are grave insults, but coming from people who do not even try to study history and make analyses based on concrete events and material conditions such as you, they are reduced to very disturbing jokes. I am disturbed, but am still glad that the rest of the Filipino population isn't like you. There is hope, after all.