On Feb. 24, 1986, faced with a coup led by Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and AFP Vice Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos, backed by what is now called People Power, President Ferdinand Marcos rejected the proposal of his AFP chief, Fabian Ver, to attack Camp Crame where the rebels were holding their operations.
Marcos said: “I will not be a butcher of my own people.”
Late afternoon of Jan. 19, 2001, after his AFP chief Angelo Reyes withdrew support from him, which facilitated the power grab of Gloria Arroyo, President Joseph Estrada dissuaded his loyal security group from repelling with force protestors who were planning to lay siege to Malacañang. ” I don’t want people to get hurt,” he said.
Arroyo is made of different stuff. Mike Defensor, incoming Malacañang chief of staff, has warned of a bloodbath in case Arroyo, who is being hounded by allegations of cheating in the 2004 elections, is ousted by force. ” Hindi ito simpleng pag-atras ng suporta o pakitaan ng puwersa. Ito talaga magkakaroon na ng dugo at magkakaroon ng problema sa atin.” (This would not be a simple withdrawal of support or show of force. This will be bloody and it will cause us problems.)
Defensor said they will “fight fire with fire.”
Arroyo’s downfall before 2010 is inevitable. No-Election in 2007 and Charter Change are just delaying tactics. She is just trying to buy time, hoping that she would be able to turn around the situation and people will forget her crimes. In the process, she commits more crimes. She has to continuously pay, with government money, for the loyalty of those who are propping her up. She has to reward those who have violated the law for her, as in the case of Gen. Gabriel Habacon and Rear Admiral Tirso Danga, thereby causing more resentment among younger and reform-minded officers.
She has nowhere to go but out. The remaining questions are when and how.
It would be good for Defensor to learn from history what happened to tyrants who made the mistake of meeting “fire with fire”. To aid him, we will cite the examples of Germany’s Adolf Hitler, Italy’s Benito Mussolini, and Romania’s Nikolai Ceausescu.
Mussolini created a fascist state through the use of state terror and propaganda. In the afternoon of April 27, 1945, just before the Allied armies reached Milan, Mussolini and his mistress Claretta Petacci, were caught by Italian partisans as they headed for Chiavenna to board a plane for escape to Switzerland.
The next day, Mussolini, his mistress and his men were executed. Their bodies were hung, upside down, in Piazzale Loreto in Milan.
Hitler, who erased from earth some six million Jews, had a tight grip over his government for more than a decade as his formidable armies conquered almost the whole of Europe.
But towards the end, some of his generals turned against him. Albert Speer, the minister of armaments and munitions, refused to carry out Hitler’s order to institute a scorched-earth policy in Germany; Herman Goering, founder of the dreaded Gestapo, from his retreat in Bavaria, tried to usurp Hitler’s leadership, and Heinrich Himmler, in-charge of concentration camps, attempted to negotiate with the Allies. Hitler condemned them, but without effect.
Only his chief propagandist Joseph Goebbels, his private secretary Martin Bormann, and his wife, Eva Braun, remained with him to the end. With Russians rapidly approaching his bunker in Berlin, Hitler and Eva committed suicide on April 30, 1945.
Nikolai Ceausescu wielded a brutal regime in Romania. After years of cruelly persecuting Christians and killing all potential threats to his power, he instructed the National Opera to produce a song in his honor that included these words: “Ceausescu is good, righteous, and holy.” He wanted this song to be sung on his 72nd birthday on January 26, 1990 but on December 25, 1989 he and his wife, Helena, were executed.
Pres. Gloria Arroyo’s loyal defender Secy. Mike Defensor should read “Nintendo Revolution“. He can play violence and bloodbath the whole day-Fight fire with Fire. Mike Boy can also play Super Mario Double Dash. The most patriotic move he can do is arranging a peaceful exit of Gloria Arroyo to avoid bloodshed. He should be reminded that bloody civil war is not a Nintendo game.
Additional recommended reading for Defensor – Victor Hugo
who stated ” No army can stand up against an idea which has
reached its time.”
The impetus for change had reached its time during EDSA I
and EDSA II. FM and Erap are both wise enough to recognize it. Will GMA be as wise? Time will supply the answer.
Palagay ko, judging from her actions especially in the last months, brain-damaged na ang present occupant sa palasyo. Pusta ko (in a manner of speaking, pero walang perang nakataya), yung mga generals at mga cabinet members na panay ay pledge of loyalty sa kanya, pag nagkasubuan na at leeg na nila ang nakataya, at pabagsak na talaga ang kasalukuyang regime, aatras din ang mga yan. Ganyan talaga ang mga manduduro. Akala mo matapang. Madalas na life imitates art. Yung mga sine na tungkol sa mga magnanakaw, sa bandang huli ay sila-sila rin ang nagpapatayan dahil walang tiwala sa isa’t isa. Sa totoong buhay, hindi magpapakabayani ang mga iyan dahil wala sa dugo o buto nila. Buti pa si Capt Aniano Amatong, co-pilot ng isang PAF jet na bumagsak sa may Paombong, Bulacan. Pina-bail out yung kasama niyang si Capt James Acosta, tapos iginayd niya yung jet palayo sa mga bahay hanggang tuluyang bumagsak ang jet. Nabuhay si Acosta. Patay si Amatong, pero sa akin BAYANI siya. Pero itong mga AMUYONG sa administration at AFP, karamihan ganid at maiitim ang buto, malayong maging mga bayani.
Ma’m Ellen, what more can I say about this Mike Defensor character…well, aside from his stupid performance during his “tour of duty” as DENR’s top official, when DENR threatened the “long time owners” of BORACAY resorts that their “land ownership” would be nulled, nainggit yata kasi sa pinagawang resort ng mga AFP Generals itong si Mikey, kaya gustong kamkamin yung mga “privately owned” resorts, pumalag ngayon yung mga “resort owners”, so this “little” Mike hit the wall…besides it was to obvious that as the DENR Sec. he’s holding office in the “Palace” of Reyna Gloria, so it would be best to just put him in his “interim” position, right beside “his Mama”…”fight fire with fire”…typical “grandstanding words” from a man who had “just assumed” a new position..ika nga natin sa tagalog “nagpapalapad ng papel”…street lingo “umeepal”…fight fire with fire…I hope this Mikey would have already been around during my idol Gringgo Honasan’s “active military cou’p campaigns”, when bullets from M-60 machine guns were “hissing” all around Makati…I wonder if “Little Mike” with “Big Mike (Arroyo) would really “fight fire with fire”.
Matapang talaga si Mike Defensor. Ano’ng sabi niya? “We will fight fire with fire.” Pero kung hinihintay niya ang apoy mula sa sambahayang Pilipino ay naghihintay siya sa wala. Lalu nang hindi magmumula ito kina Faeldon at sa mga kasamahan nitong sundalo. Kaya matapang siya dahil tama ang assessment niya.
Hinihintay nina Faeldon ang pagkilos ng bayan bago sila kumilos. At ang mga Pilipino ay nag-aabang naman sa pagsugod ng mga sundalo.
But if no leader is willing to risk everything for the people and to take a route of no return Gloria will stay on up to 2010.
Ironically, there is only one leader right now who is risking everything and perhaps she will be rewarded with staying on in Malacanang – Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Unless Erap takes a bold step and risk everything RIGHT NOW. But if what he wants to do is to wait for the people to act spontaneously then he, like Faeldon and the rest of the opposition, is waiting in vain.
Ano kayo masaya? The only leader right who will catch the imagination and loyalty of the people is the ONE who will risk his life and future for them. That leader must demonstrate COURAGE. A courageous leader is contagious. But there is no one right now.
ha ha ha… umuwi ka na lang mike defensor at bitbitin mo na lang yang gaming console mo.. “fire with fire”.. fart mo! he h e he. ano kala mo sa mga mamamayan? game characters? pinakikita mo pa kung paano nyo winawaldas ang pera ng taumbayan. maglalaro ka lang pala dyan sa malakanyang. sa pribadong kumpanya ka at empleyado ka dun, subukan mong magdala ng gaming console, terminated ka. maliban kung ikaw ang may-ari ng kumpanya! pero hindi eh. o marahil iniisip nyo sarili nyo na ang malakanyang. baka nga! fart with fart.. tot mo!
Those who fight fire with fire usually ends up with ashes.
– Abigail Van Buren
Mike was just acting macho, but he’s not in the position to say that. It should have been GMA. But, he just might get his wish, then we will see what stuff he’s really made of.
ELLEN–I’m afraid it boils down to whose Mafia is stronger, better organized and more determined to hold on to or to seize power. There really hardly any room for the “good guys” who really just want to play by the rules. Those rules were tossed out the window a long time ago. But the recent outburst of the Boy Wonder was apparently the effect of a provocateur, whose effect was mightily amplified by appearing in newspaper headlines. I think right now they are applying the art of the areglo even as coup rumors proliferate. I notice Ed Angara had a part in the script even, though that started with some diaries he once wrote… MikeD and Siraulo were singing the same alarmist song last week though. Btw, I guess it was the same provocateur who put them up to the song: GMA.
“Fight fire with fire?” Mike Defensor mag-isip-isip ka, mabuti pa start packing your things. Hindi sa inyo ang Malakanyang, lalong hindi kay GMA. Ang Palasyo ay pinapa-rent lang namin sa mga taong gusto naming tumira dyan. It was leased to Erap for 6 years with court approval. Kaso, inagaw nyo agad nang hindi pa tapos ang kontrata. Si GMA ay sapilitang tumira dyan pero hindi naman nagbabayad ng rental sa mga tao bagkus ay puro pananakot pa ang ginagawa. Aba! kahit ordinaryong nagmamayari ng apartment ay may karapatang paalisin ang umuupa kung nagtatarantado. Ipapatupad namin ang tama sa lalong madaling panahon….kaya kilos na, bago mangyari ang sinasabi mong dadanak ang dugo. Isama mo na si little birdie at ang kanyang big papa!…Andyan naman ang yellow submarine ni Hugador Chavit eh…..sakay na!
25 January 2006
HEHEHEHEHE…. Mike D is a friend of mine, but I dont know what happened to him, does power got in his mind. power begets if I’m right. When he was still with the House, I saw in him an idealistic, young and progressive leader, but now, sad to say, I have no idea what got in his mind. Look at what happened yesterday to the Counsel (not Council) of State, majority of the topic was Cha-cha, isn’t they are supposed to talk about the real state of the nation??? a lot of people are getting hungry by the day, what more in february, when the e-vat is implemented. IF people in malacanang think that the LEPRICORN (in red) really won 2004 election, then why not call a snap-election in 2007. The Vice President has laready said, if that’s what the people want, then he will follow, but how about that LEPRICORN??? she says she won, then I think its about time she shows her statesmanship (if she has it) call for the snap election in 2007, then after that, we can move forward.
Pls comment/enlighten me on this madam ellen, if I’m wrong???
P.S. Mike, my friend, if you’re looking for the truth to come out, please read what is written here.
More Power to you madam.
jinx
Whew ganun talaga ang sasabihin ng mga taong takot mawalan ng magandang pwesto? sino nga ba naman ang taong nakahiga na sa kama ay lilipat pa sa sahig. Ganito marahil ang nasa sa isip ni Mike Defensor. Ngunit wala sa hinagap na magiigng loyaL ito hangang sa huling sandali nakikita ko ang pagiging hunyango ng mamang ito iba ang pinaglalaban nito salapi di sa bayan kaya ganun siya magasalita nauuna ang dila pero ang dibdib nito halos intensity 7 na ang kalog. Tinatakot pa na dadanak ng dugo.Kung ang mga pinoy nga dati lumaban sa mga kastila na itak lang ang gamit kontra kanyon at baril pero di nasawata ang pagatake natin sa kanila ganun din ng panahon ng hapon. Ganyan na ganyan ang nakikita ko sa mga lumang pelikula baka tong si defensor ay reincarnated ng mga makapili(maybayong sa ulo na walang ginawa kundi magpahamak ng kapwa pilipino basta’t maganda at sagana ang buhay nya). Dati dala ako sa mga nagbabatikos kay MArcos ngunit nakikita ko ang agwat at pagkakaiba ng mga hunyangong,Kahit sa huling sandali sa channel 7 makikita mo ang pagmamalasakit nito sakanyang mga tao o bansang pilipinas(kitang kita na noon ang pamamga ng mukha nya sa TV) Sabi nga ni ate helen order na lang ni marcos ang hinihintay at pupulbusin na ang pinagtataguan ng dalawang heneral.Pero ngayon MAkikita mo ang admisnitration handang gumamit ng dahas dumanak man ng dugo wala silang kung ganyan ang kanilang adhikain ay malamang na malapit na nga ang oras nila.
“Fight fire with fire” sounds impressive. Except that in a mass uprising, two problems immediately emerge.
1) Who will give the order to fire?
2) Who will execute the order and open fire on the crowd?
Easier said than done.
Put yourself in the shoes of the ordinary trooper. You see
a demonstration of 100 people. It is easy to open fire, the
chances are they are complete strangers in that small crowd.
Consider if the demonstration is 100,000 people. Now the
trooper will hesitate. Such large crowd will most likely
include some of his relatives, friends, neighbors, etc.
Thus it is not easy on the part of an ordinary soldier to open fire on a huge mass demonstration.
When that happens, there is a possibility that the soldiers
may instead turn their rifles against their officers issuing the order. That is what happened in the Winter Palace in Russia in 1917. Three divisions of troops were
withdrawn from the frontline to quell the demonstrations.
When the officers gave the order to fire on the crowd, the
troops turned their guns on their officers.
Defensor has a lot of readings to do.
If Gen. Senga or the other military officers refuse to give the order to fire on the crowd, will Defensor take over and give the order to fire? Just food for thought.
25 January 2006
Aha!!! you got it right Amb H.C. Cruz, who will give the orders???will the soldiery follows that order???What will happen if the soldiers in the front line disobeys the order??? If the top brass of the AFP and PNP could only hear the majority, step aside and let nature takes its natural course. Its about time that the these people hear the voices of the majority.
Jinx
Dear Ellen,
These may be too much recommended reading for Mr Defensor. Perhaps we should look for one with photos, large typeface and with adequate illustrations, in keeping with the intended reader’s intellectual capacity.
“Fight fire with fire”.
Just big words from a small man! I would like to hear it from the top, though, then we’ll have something to discuss about.
May I add to the Recommended Readings for Mike Defensor:
1. Power Struggle 101 by Mohammad Najibullah and Shahpur Ahmadzai
2. How to Cling to Power: Liberia Experience by Samuel Doe
3. Hide and Seek – True Accounts of Great Leader by Anastacio Somoza and Ngo Dinh Diem
For more info on Mike Defensor business …
http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=60039
First posted 03:37am (Mla time) Dec 15, 2005
By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.
Inquirer
Editor’s Note: Published on page A3 of the December 15, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
ENVIRONMENT Secretary Michael Defensor has taken to heart President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s standing order to create business opportunities for the Filipino.
But his being a Cabinet secretary has raised questions of propriety.
To friends and colleagues in and out of Malacañang and Congress, Defensor is aggressively pitching his family’s new multilevel marketing (MLM) company, JC Spicecorp Inc., which sells through its members a variety of goods — from shoes to watches, hotdogs to tocino (sweet meats), and even cars to real estate.
A lawyer in the Ombudsman’s office, who requested anonymity, said government officials, especially ranking ones, were discouraged from promoting their commercial interests while in office because it was improper and left a bad taste in the mouth.
But in an interview, Defensor said he did not see any conflict between his day job and his being a proponent of JC Spice (Years ago, Defensor was a member of the “Spice Boys” in Congress composed mostly of young legislators).
Good business opportunity
“I’m helping our kababayan (countrymen) by selling them a good business opportunity,” he said.
For P7,000 (roughly one month’s minimum wage), Defensor said members get a “business package” of goods (containing items like bags, cologne, T-shirts, etc.) and the privilege of selling the products in JC Spice’s catalog which is as thick as a telephone directory.
Members can get the items at discounts of between 10 and 70 percent and they don’t have to comply with restrictive capital and documentary requirements and the minimum purchases imposed by manufacturers.
“Our prices are even better than Shoemart’s,” Defensor said, adding that he envisions JC Spice selling everything a person needs from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to bed.
“While our competitors have either shoes or cosmetic products, we have products that you never thought could be sold through MLM, such as cars and real estate.”
His sister, former Quezon City Representative Maria Theresa “Maite” Defensor, is a director of the company and she said JC Spice is a good alternative to microfinancing.
“A fish ball vendor can lose his money and stop selling fish balls. As a JC Spice member, he can still buy our goods and sell them at a profit by asking potential clients, mostly friends and relatives, to make a 50 percent down payment,” Maite said.
MLM a pyramiding scheme
Aside from the profit for selling the products, members get 2 percent from the monthly sales of other members they recruited (up to a maximum of 5). This, however, is the part of the MLM program that regulators such as the Department of Trade and Industry frown on.
Former Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. explained that while the MLM or networking program was legal, it becomes a pyramiding scheme when “income is generated primarily from recruiting others into the company instead of selling products.”
Curiously, JC Spice used to be JC Martin Corp. until it was taken over by Defensor and his relatives last May. JC Martin was one of nearly two dozen MLM firms investigated by the DTI for pyramiding. But Defensor said JC Spice had fully complied with the guidelines of the DTI and it had resolved all the issues faced by JC Martin.
Firm cleared
“We came out as one of those that was cleared and we’re the only firm that did not change its business plan,” Defensor said.
The government crackdown on MLM firms beginning in 2003 was the reason Defensor distanced himself from First Quadrant Corp., then the country’s biggest MLM firm that was owned by the family of his wife, Julie Rose Tactacan Defensor, who refused to comment on the acrimonious split.
Image model
Although the environment secretary is not listed among the six directors of JC Spice, he has posed as its image model on billboards and company handouts and he volunteered to talk about the project himself.
Defensor said he was serious about running JC Spice just like similar operations in the United States. He said the company has plans to list its shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange with an initial public offering possibly next year.
“We’re planning to use the money to expand not only in the Philippines but also overseas, especially where there are big Filipino communities,” Defensor said.
JC Spice currently has 50 franchises nationwide which take orders and handle the warehousing requirements of the company.
Since Defensor’s group took over, the company’s roster has grown to over 100,000 with at least 15,000 active members. With nearly three million of 33 million Filipino workers jobless, Defensor said he was giving Filipinos an opportunity to make money.
Copyright 2006 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
I was told Mike Defensor made a presentation in Malacañang about his multi-level, marketing as against pyramiding and as expected, he won over to his side Gloria Arroyo.
I was told that the military does not expect another People Power to ignite a coup. They believe that if they decide to move, the people will support them. They are not off the mark.
break poh muna sa baka poh may hindi nakakapanood sa laban ni manny lalo na ung mga walang TFC paki pasa na lang poh sa mga kababayan natin. KAya lang mapapanood poh natin ang mga buwaya dito at ang kantang medyo sintonado sa hulian ang PAMBANSANG AWIT NATIN MABUHAY POH TAYO di dahil sa ating pangulo DAHIL POH KAY manny pacquiao , http://www.aratilis.net/manny_pacquiao.html/
By their recent pronouncements and press releases, members of this Gloria-led administration of thieves and political clowns including her military’s armpit generals are propagating and challenging the Filipinos and the rebel factions in the Armed Forces of the Philippines to stage an armed revolt.
This is what we call destabilization.
This illegitimate government that has been accusing people in the Opposition, people like you and me of distabilizing this already distabilized government is guilty of treason.
The nation should come to their senses – the very same people in this government of thieves headed by Gloria and her rough operator of a husband, Mike Jose Pidal Arroyo and their rotten boy Mike Defensor are the very people who are threatening to utterly destroy an already very wobbly republic.
The media should expose the recent pronouncements by Mike Defensor, Bunye, idiotic DoJ chief Gonzales, General Senga (a.k.a. Gen Tanga) as disstabilization moves by Gloria. Her motives are evident.
The media and the few intelligent people left in the country (what with over 8 million or so Pinoys of better caliber having left the country) should train their guns on this corrupt government before it transforms the country into a Rwanda !
Ellen and Jinx,
To continue with the story of what happened in Russia in
1917, after the soldiers turned their rifles against the officers who gave them the order to fire, they joined the
demonstrators. In fact long before the soldiers who were
withdrawn from the front arrived in St. Petersberg, many of them already started deserting when they learned they will be ordered to quell the demonstrations there. Some officers were wise enough to see the drift of events and simply defected to the demonstrators with their entire command. Those who ordered the troops to fire into the crowd were the ones executed.
A nation’s army is different from an occupation army. A nation’s army is subject to the same cross current of opinions, sentiments and dissatisfaction as the rest of
society. That is why the military is a bad instrument to use in quelling demonstrations. In Yeltsin’s People Power
take over in Moscow, the same thing happened before a world
wide TV audience. The military units were there but they
did not fire into the crowd. To quote Victor Hugo, democracy was an idea whose time has come at that point in Russian history.
Our military is split into factions so any change in our
society will have to originate from the people in a spontaneous development like Bastille and the Winter Palace.
The military will just follow the drift of events and jump on the winning side. Its present leadership is also tainted with corruption so that the question is if they act
ahead of the people, will the people accept them as leaders?
They can do it if one of them is willing to order his troops to fire into the crowd with all its attendant risks.
One such person did it, order his troops to fire into the
crowd. His name is Napoleon Bonaparte. He got away with it
because he quickly captured the loyalty of the troops and the country by leading them into a series of glorious victories. Will there be a Napoleon Bonaparte among our
military men? Your guess is as good as mine.
Ambassador, if I may add, Napoleon Buonaparte was not only an extremely good military strategist, he was as morally, physically courageous as he was an excellent administrator.
Moreover, the legacy of Napoleon has survived the tumults of these last 200 years or so with the Napoleonic Code, implemented in most European countries today because the Code is a compilation of just and humane laws.
There’s no one in the Philippine military today and yesterday who could come anywhere near the greatness of Napoleon Buonaparte – not by a long shot, not by trillion of years.
And while we are at it, I will sound extremely harsh in my judgement of the members of the military but I do believe that while most of our military men have had a kind of formal schooling for years and years, theirs (for most of them) was not proper, civilized education. Many of the members of the military who have their stars would never have gone past the major rank and lt colonel rank at best in the French or UK military.
To A de Brux,
You made a good observation. Napoleon is a soldier-
statesman. One of many during that period along side
George Washington, Simeon Bolivar and Bernardo O’Higgins,
the Liberators of South America. They all seem to have
become extinct. The last soldier-statesman who truly
reformed his country is Kemal Ataturk of Turkey. All other
pretenders to the same title are fakes. It will be difficult to convince our people that one of our present
military leaders will follow the footsteps of these
statesman-soldiers.
A de Brux
We seem to have a penchant for transforming systems that worked in other societies into failures in our country. The World Bank noted that the countries which became “Tiger Economies” in the decade of the seventies and eighties were all under authoritarian rule. Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hongkong and Chile achieved this status under authoritarian rule. ( This is the best argument against those who claim it is parliamentary rule which will hasten our national development). Marcos, his technocrats and the military had the Philippines under authoritarian rule during the same
period and converted our country into a basket case.
Likewise what Chile did in cleansing their military is
a lesson to us. After the Pinochet dictatorship, they
formed the Rettig Commission which uncovered all the
human rights violations during the dictatorship. That action was the first step in purging the military of
undesireable elements. They went up the hierarchy in their
cleansing process. Finally they have reached Pinochet and are trying him in court for enrichment in office and human rights violations.
Cory Aquino failed to do the same thing. While serving in
Chile and upon release of the Rettig Commission Report, I immediately noted the significance of it. I made a series of reports some of which I sent directly to CCA by passing the DFA, to set up such a Commission. No action was taken by CCA. Had such a Commission been set up, most of the
flag officers now in the military would have been purged
from the ranks while they were still junior or field grade officers for enrichment in office and human rights
violations. We would probably not have the corrupt military that we have today. I am sure some of the flag
officers now would not have reached their present ranks.
When CCA endorsed FVR in 1992 that was it, that means we will never have a complete break with the past, with the Martial Law years. FVR as head of the PC during the regime has also a lot of skeletons to hide. In short the Chilenos
had the foresight to see that they must have a complete
break with the Pinochet regime, we never took the same step. It must be noted that Pinochet and the Chilean military, at least converted the Chilean economy into a tiger or jaguar economy. So they at least achieved something. Our military which was the partner of Marcos in establishing Martial Law failed to do the same for our country.
Sadly we cannot help but note that things that work in other countries are corrupted when used in our country.
There must be something wrong with us.
Little Mike has only one thing in common with the Great Napoleon Bonaparte – height (or lack of it). Mike has inherited the psychological complex that was named after Bonaparte, the strategist and statesman. A complex that makes the afflicted perceive his persona to be much bigger than his actual physical being. In other words, BIG talk from a miniscule person.
Monsieur l’Ambassadeur,
Re: “There must be something wrong with us.”
Allow me to quote Frederick the Great (something which French Minister of War Clemenceau during WWI liked to quote as well), “De l’audace, de l’audace et toujours de l’audace…”
Although we Filipinos may be deemed brave, even courageous, what I believe is inherently lacking in our general psyche is the virtue of AUDACITY or audaciousness.
We are a brave people because we are capable of leaving our own for unknown territories, of working in unchartered waters, climbing hilltops and of doing dirty jobs that others refuse to to do but we stop there. We don’t go the extra mile.
The same is true for the well meaning in our land or the leaders who could make a difference – they don’t dare go any further.
Our military too is beset by the lack of – not physical courage – moral courage to do what is right. An audacious lot they definitely are not!
In other words, we do not possess true audacity, we are not a nation of the audacious.
Many will not like what I’m about to say but in my opinion, the only Philippine leader of the last few decades who possessed the audacious spirit was President Marcos. He indeed went the extra mile but lost the virtue of audacity somewhere on the way.
Too bad, he couldn’t make his frivolous wife toe the line, etc., etc., etc….
Mangyari kaya ito sa atin? http://www.christusrex.org/www1/sdc/tank-1.jpg
Ellen, I was thinking kasi that when they did Oakwood, the soldiers were disappointed because the people did not come our in droves to support them. Baka kako nadala sila kaya hinihintay muna nilang gumalaw ang mga tao.
PERO iba na ngayon sapagkat kung talagang matatapang sila at pasisimulan nila ay tiyak na tatapusin ng mga tao. DATAPWA’T, at ito ang malaking datapwa’t, ang mga kapwa nila sundalo at mga pulis ay hindi dapat pagagamit sa Malacanang sa PAGPIGIL SA PAGDAGSA NG TAO.
Sapagkat de-kahon na ang ginagawa ng militar at pulis sa tuwing kikilos ang mga tao. Nakaabang na sila sa NOrth at South Expressway at sa mga barangay upang pigilin ang mga bus at dyip kung kaya’t naghahari ang pangamba sa mga tao. Ang de-kahong dahilan nila- “out of line” daw ang mga sasakyan. Pero dahil de-baril sila, siyempre takot ang mga tao.
Subali’t kung sa halip na pigilan ay bayaan na lang ninyong maglakbay ang mga tao ay makikita ninyo ang tunay na SUPORTA ng mga tao. At hindi kayo masisiphayo sa mga tao.
KAYA LANG ang tanong kina Faeldon at sa mga Junior Officers ay MATAPANG BA KAYO? Kung hindi ay manahimik na lang ang buong sambayanang Pilipino at pagtiyagaan na lang natin si Gloria hanggang 2010. Either put up or shut up!
bfronquillo,
tanong ko lang, kung mag-umpisa na ba ang “pagkilos”, sigurado bang sasama ka? this time around, it would surely be “bloody”..even bloodier than the ’89 coups of Gringgo
kaya kabayan, bago natin “buyuhin” ng husto ang mga mahal nating “Magdalo”…”isip-isip” ika nga, the “Evil Empire” is willing to “fight fire with fire”…we must be sure that we have the “advantage in numbers” even if not in “firepower”…count me in, and a few of my “kumpadres” here, just tell us when and where.
Si Mike Defensor ay daig pa ang LANGAW na nakatungtong sa KALABAW! KALABAW na punong-puno ng PUTIK!
Yes, BF, the July 2003 failed coup is very much in the mind of the reform-minded soldiers now. They want to improve on that.
26 January 2006
Tama na ang lahat ng dakdak, pulos tayo dakdak, dapat na tayong kumilos, Lt.S.G. Trillanes says, do we want to stick with GMA or do we want change. I say change, change, change, change change!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope you all did not lose the message of our discussions.
The “Meet fire with fire” assertion of Defensor is the
military option. In a conventional war between nations the side with the greater firepower usually wins. However, in a revolutionary war, fire power is irrelevant. The side with superior and timely ideas wins the day.
Just note the disparity in fire power in all the contemporary revolutions between the incumbents and the rebels. Louis XVI’s French Army was the largest in Europe at the time of the attack in the Bastille. Tsar Nicolas IIs
army in 1917 was composed of four million troops, when
he was toppled. The Shah of Iran’s army was the most modern in the Middle East 1n 1979 when he was kicked out by the Ayatollah. Fidel Castro led a band of 80 guerilleros from the Sierra Maestra mountains in 1959 against the 20,000 man army of Batista. So fire power is irrelevant in a revolution. Otherwise, there would have been no successful revolutions.
The lesson of history is those who set out to topple the
existing order must first have the correct ideas and doctrine to rally the people. As Victor Hugo stated, it must be an idea that has reached its time so no army can
stand up against it.
iba talaga kayo… nobody is correct but us, we are the holiest people alive, walang kapintasan… Mabuhay ang NPA.. mabuhay tayong lahat…
viva npa,
Lahat naman ng mga tao may kapintasan. Pero wala na yatang tatalo sa mga kapintasan ni gloria mong mahal. Usurper, mandaraya, sinungaling, kurakot, plastic, etc. etc. Aba e nung nagsabog yata ng mga kapintasan ang Diyos e kumuha ng batya itong si Gloria mong mahal at sinahod lahat.
Tapos credit-grabber pa. Lahat ng mga kabutihang nangyayari dito sa pilipinas ina-attribute nya sa pamumuno nya. Tumaas daw ang piso dahil sa economic reforms nya. Pwe! E remittances ng ofws ang dahilan kay nag-improve ng bahagya ang piso noh!
Tapos lahat naman ng mga pangit na nangyayari dito sinisisi nya sa opposition, sa pulitika, sa constitution (kaya dapat raw baguhin), sa media, sa mga destablizers kuno. Double pwe! E sya nga itong numero unong sumisira sa bansa sa kagustuhan nyang manatili sa pwesto e.
Si Gloria ang hindi marunong umamin ng mga kapintasan nya. Feeling nya ang galing-galing nya. Feeling nya pinili sya ng Diyos para mamuno dito. Ginamit nya pa si Pope John Paul II sa mga kasinungalingan nya. I am sorry, I am sorry pa sya dyan, e plastik naman.
Mag-snap elections na!
Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! Mabuhay ang mga Pilipino! (hindi kasali si viva npa)
Ambassador Cruz,
I agree with you. Firepower is not the only requirement in a successful revolution.
In Karl von Clauswitz’ War, he said “a people’s power of resistance” and by that he meant an ideology, is one of the 3 factors that could ultimately defeat an invading army.
Captain Faeldon seems to have initiated a kind of ideology of resistance in certain military and civilian quarters. His kind of ideology should be propagated across the land and shared with people from all walks of life; members of the military should be encouraged to walk the talk with him; those opposing Gloria’s corrupt government and military should support him not only with words but also with logistics because in the end, Faeldon’s power of resistance ideology will become a potent ‘firepower’ capability to counter Gloria’s and Mike Defensor’s “fire for fire” tactic. Such ideology could and should topple this corrupt, insane government.
Faeldon seems to possess the audacity that a leader needs to go that extra mile. We should encourage and support him.
Ambassador,
Re: “If Gen. Senga or the other military officers refuse to give the order to fire on the crowd, will Defensor take over and give the order to fire? Just food for thought. ”
Defensor has absolutely NO RIGHT to command or give orders to the military to fire; not even the defence chief has the right to do such thing; the only civilian who could morally, legally, verbally order a military officer to fire on a crowd is the nation’s commander-in-chief and the order should be a DIRECT order, i.e., from the commander-in-chief to a military officer!
Defensor is full of himself – I was surprised that the AFP Chief did not react or say anything when Defensor uttered his insane remarks because Defensor is not the press secretary, neither is he the DILG chief nor is he the DND chief which are the only civilian components in a government who are allowed to utter such violent military words on behalf of the president; Defensor has become abusive, he is overstepping his role as chief of Presidential Management Staff and he definitely has NO BUSINESS speaking for the military.
If a “fire for fire” scenario really happens and Defensor goes frontal to give even a semblance of order to a military officer, he should be shot on the spot and if a military officer obeys a Defensor order, that should be enough to ignite a revolution in the military from within.
This government is insane!
Spartan,
As to Gringo’s “bloody” 89 coup… that’s a laugh. How many troops were killed and how many civilians died? Think about it.
The Philippines has been quite lucky not to have ever experienced a bloody coup yet. Gringo was never up to the task. If he had been killed, then the coup could have been bloody. Gringo is a big military joke.
The civilian ‘coup’* against Malacanang or what is known as Edsa III was bloody and that was just a tiny civilian uprising! Our military in general is not audacious enough to stage a bloody thing between themselves.
You ain’t seen a bloody ‘coup’ yet.
*’coup’ in French also means “a sudden move” or “an act”
A de Brux,
In the likely event that the soldiers refuse to fire into the ranks of a mass demonstration, which is the most likely
scenario :
a) Defensor ( on orders of GMA ) takes over and in the name of Commander-in-Chief GMA, and orders the troops to fire; or
b) Defensor flees to the Malacanang helipad. To insure his
escape he kicks out Mike Arroyo from the escape helicopter
on the grounds that the helicopter will become overweight.
Hahaha!
A good story line – “The Flight of the Scare Crow”.
Of course, because this government is insane, its organization has gone heywire so, I wouldn’t be surprised if Gloria’s military orders were coursed through a PMS chief…
I couldn’t agree more to your advice to Defensor to heed the lessons of history before volunteering his own advice. What a fool!
You are so right! GMA’s downfall is a foregone conclusion. We are in the “waiting” mode. That would be the day!
Keep on writing.
In our day to day lives out here in Saudi, we are privileged to read the news through the internet and one of my most favorite columns happened to be yours. I appreciate your frankness and I consider fairness as well.
I read through your column several messages sent by fellow
OFW’s which you unselfishly published.
I hope and I fervently pray for their safety and good health and I would pray more for their success. I believe for their mission and that mission is for the fellow
Filipino most of all to the poor family just like me.
These young military officers have the guts and
courage to continue fight for their mission. I SALUTE
ALL THE MUTINEERS OF THE MAGDALO GROUP. I said all of
them, those who are still in prison and those who
escaped. If only I could find a way to be of help to
them I would honestly do it (financially or
otherwise). Mrs. Pidal and her government is offering
a bounty to those who can give information to the
apprehension of these escapees. We should always
remember that the money they offer is the people’s
money. Government and military officials have all the
means to offer money just like what they did in so
many scams, yet they are free as a birds in the sky. Why?
To the coward Generals who are after the huge
incentives and the high military position that they
aspire for are BULL SHIT as my American officemate
call some of the GI’s. Special mention to the
Generals whose names are mentioned in the Hello Garci
tapes and as a result they were promoted, whereas
these young officers who expose present problems and
scams within the military were sent to prison. The
kapit tuko sa Pangulo action of these Generals bear
good fruits to them, I just can’t imagine. General
problem talaga. I would be glad to hear if someday
these Generals would experience a serious KARMA.
Lastly, I also pray for you to be of best of health
and please continue writing. GOD BLESS.
Mr. Mike Defensor, matapang ka ba o nagtatapang tapangan ka lang. Baka sa unang putok ng baril bigla kang mawawala at magtatago sa ilalim ng kama ng amo mo. You’re very pathetic!!!
Badong, hindi ko kilala personally si Mike Defensor, pero suspetsa ko ay manduduro lang yan.
Attention Amb. H.C. Cruz:
Paki isplika nga dito kung ano ang naging partisipasyon ng ‘Chicago Boys’ sa bansang Chile.
At bakit Chile ang gusto nyong ibida dito?
Huwag na nating pag usapan yan si Michael Defensor.Wala tayong matututunan sa kanya.Pulos Atari,Game Boy,PS2,Nintendo,Xbox at ideyang maka-game console.
Ano ba yan?Ito ba ang generation na kinakatawan ni Mike Defensor.
Pero,pasalamat pa rin ako dahil nalaman ko kung anong klaseng kokote meron si Mike Defensor na sumasalamin sa mga “AKTIBISTA NOON, BURGIS NA NGAYON”
Tama nga! manduduro lang yan si Mike Defensor.
Duruin nyo rin kaya yan na subukan nyang mag-abroad o mag-OFW ng two years at iwan nya dito sa Pinas ang asawa’t anak nya?Ewan ko lang kung hindi maburyong yan sa abroad.
TO ALL:
Si Mustafa Kemal Atatürk na taga Turkey ay isang maka-Kanluran.
Ginawa sya upang yumuko sa mga kahilingan at papanig sa interes ng Pwersang Kanluran(Western Powers) matapos bumagsak ang Emperyong Ottoman.
Masusi natin saliksikin ang mga aklat o librong ating babasahin.
Worthy of emulation(paki-translate sa Tagalog) si Ho Chi Minh ng Vietnam at Mao Zedong ng Tsina
SANA AY NABUKSAN KO ANG INYONG MGA ISIPAN DITO
a de brux,
for your info, Bloody 89 coup (Nov 30-Dec 9) wasnt only of Col.Honasan.
Narinig mo ba noon si Gen.Comendador ng Cebu?Maj Galvez, Capt Danny Lim at Abraham Purruganan ng Makati?Aguinaldo volunteered his men to march down to Manila. Colonel Noble?Gojo?at marami pang ibang rank and file at civilian volunteers…
And how about the “long march of the filipino soldiers” from ABS-CBN compound to Makati during the ’89 coup’?Sino ba sila?
Sino ba ang nag take over sa VAB noong ’89?Sino ba ang piloto na nag-atake sa palasyo ng malakanyang?(the only tora-tora that nose dived in Malacanang).
Ayan ang hirap sa mga Filipino, sa mga figure head lang ang credit.
The November 30-December 9,1989 was part of a “democratic exercises” as stated in the “FM’s DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION OF 1971”
And it was all made possible by ‘Reform the AFP Movement-Soldiers of the Filipino People-Young Officers Union'(RAM-SFP-YOU) –collective effort!!!
Pugak,
Never said that there was no coup…
What I would like you to confirm is that those coups were indeed “bloody.”
In a coup d’état, the major warring factions are usually the government backed by its military defenders and the rebel faction of the same armed forces.
When you say that Gringo Honasan’s coups d’état were bloody, tell me, how many members of the (1) military perished and how many on the (2) purely civilian front (died or suffered collateral damage); how many members of the (3) civilian government got killed during the armed encounters between the warring factions?
If there were at least 100 from each of those 3 groups that died, then you are right, the coups were bloody… Otherwise, I will stick to my guns, you ain’t seen a bloody coup d’état yet!
The coups d’état that the Philippines experienced have always been tamed even in comparisson to the recent ‘suburban youth coups’ that just happened in France.
I wonder if Mike Defensor has the time to browse all of these messages. If he does, please ask him to express his side. It looks like Mrs. Arrovo and him are both gaining weight. Kahiyang nila ang pagsisinungaling at pandarayang abilidad nila.
G@go yan si Mike Defensor!
Maski mag eleksyon ngayon sa distrito nya sa Quezon City hindi sya mananalo!
Hindi lang sya nag sayang ng pinag-aralan, pati na ang ipaglaban nya noon sinayang nya rin!