By Raul Pangalangan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Bangkok is literally up in flames—and Filipinos must take note. It could’ve been us. It could still be us.
The most recent armed confrontation we’ve seen in Manila was the November 2008 assault on the Manila Peninsula when Brig. Gen. Danny Lim and now Sen. Antonio Trillanes walked out of the courtroom, where they were being tried, onto the streets of Makati. That was shocking enough for us—the TV video of an armored personnel carrier ramming through the lobby of a five-star hotel and of snipers and troops positioning themselves along Ayala Avenue. Yet that would’ve been a minor skirmish compared to the “mini-civil war” that Bangkok witnessed the past weeks.
Pro-Thaksin Shinawatra “red shirt” protesters sealed off the heart of the city in barricades made of wood, bamboo poles and tires that they would strategically set on fire. Armed mainly with makeshift bombs and slingshots, they built fortified camps on major roads, in front of hotels, and under their own MRT. In response to dispersal operations, they torched the stock exchange building and Central World shopping center, one of the largest in Asia, took over a TV station and forced it off the air.
Last week, the government cut off all water and electricity from the war zones. On Wednesday this week, after the protesters ignored the government’s ultimatum, the army sent tanks to overrun the barricades, and placed the city under an 8-p.m.-to-6-a.m. curfew. Some 72 civilians have lost their lives, most of them protesters and one of them an Italian journalist. The most prominent victim was renegade general Khattiya Sawasdipol, better known as Commander Red, who was shot in the head while being interviewed by the New York Times.
At the height of the showdown, luxury hotels became like high-class refugee camps for wealthy residents evacuating their homes in the conflict zones, and even they had to be evacuated from these hotels when the fighting moved closer.
Yet Filipinos have paid scant attention to this crisis in what is virtually a next-door neighbor, given Southeast Asia’s geography, and next-of-kin given our parallel political dilemmas. This is easily understandable. We have been so preoccupied with the fate of our own democracy, which barely survived its most recent test in our experiment with automated elections.
It could’ve been us. The Comelec gave us all a scare one-week before Election Day when it recalled 76,000 compact flash cards containing the program that would count the ballots because the programs couldn’t count right. Worse, it replaced and installed the cards without the requisite testing. Apparently this was only the most public of several near-misses in the computerization process. Had the national election results deviated dramatically from the poll surveys, all hell would have broken loose.
And even today, it could still be us. It is easy to say that the worst is over, e.g., all that talk of failure of elections, the chain of succession to the presidency, and the prospects of a junta to fill a constitutional vacuum. But in Thailand, the latest fighting wasn’t the first nor it seems would it be the last. And, for us, the May 2010 presidential elections ain’t over till the congressional canvass is over.
What had changed in Thailand are the social alignments of the “reds,” and the ideological position of the “yellows.” Before, the reds were typically poor or provincial folk who had benefited from Thaksin’s populist programs for health, education and welfare. This time around, they have styled themselves as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), and include anti-military students and activists who oppose the traditional elites and who reject the judicial subversion of the popular will. Thaksin’s electoral triumphs had been thwarted several times by the courts: by setting aside the vote for technical violations; by firing an elected prime minister for appearing on a TV cooking show; and by dissolving Thaksin’s party altogether. The poor and the activists make a lethal combination. They fuse the raw sense of grievance over the past with inspiring visions for the future.
In turn, the yellow shirts have carried the banner of anti-corruption and transparency, and accused Thaksin of inadequate respect for their monarch, but those claims have begun to lose their sheen. The aging King Bhumipol is beloved still, but in the twilight of his years, there are moves to repeal the lèse majesté laws that have insulated him from critics. The middle-class yellow shirts have also shown that they confuse activism with noblesse oblige. They invoke democracy and the rule of law but can’t seem to accept the results of democratic elections.
Bangkok can teach us many lessons, and the resemblances are uncanny. Both Bangkok and Manila have nominally democratic governments veneered thinly over weak institutions. For Thailand, electoral politics has not worked. This they tried to remedy through the courts, which in turn were perverted to political uses. For the Filipino nations’ yellow shirts, it has worked mercifully well that this time around, the candidate worthy of winning its trust was also capable of winning its votes.
But we cannot build a democracy based simply on good luck. We need to build strong institutions for when fortune doesn’t smile and we are thrown to the mercy of our fates.
But we cannot build a democracy based simply on good luck
Aye!
Philippine Democracy is one of its kind in the world. Everything goes, may corruption, may tongpats, may hello garci(manual and electronics),may mga taong pasaway sa lansangan, may mga taong nagtatapon ng basura kahit saan, may mga taong nagtatayo ng kanilang barong-barong kung saan-saan at kinukunsinte pa sila ng mga local officials.
Kaya maraming galit kay Bayani Fernando noon ng MMDA dahil inilalagay niya ang tama sa maling ginagawa ng tao.Ibang
Filipino kasi, bigyan mo ng kaunting kalayaan ay aabuso naman.
Democracy plus abuso equals nothing, kaya napagiiwanan na tayo ng ibang bansa na mga dating mas mahirap pa sa atin.
magaling si fernando, kaya lang ay identified siya kay gma, ang hanap ng tao ngayon ay isang mapagkakatiwalaan kaya naman nanalo si Noynoy. Sobrang sinira ni gma ang tiwala ng tao sa gobyerno, marami ring magagaling daw pero magaling palang magnakaw at manloko ng tao.
Kailangan ngayon ng mga mapagkakatiwalaan tulad ni Gov Panlilio, Gov Padaca, Jun Lozada, Gen Danny Lim, Jesse Robredo, Father Gerry Orbos, Msgr Villegas, Conrado de Quiros, Lito Banayo, Leah Navarro, Billy Esposo, Jarius Bondoc, at marami pang iba na pwedeng tumulong kay Noynoy para sa tunay na pagbabago.
mabuting iwasan ni Pres Noynoy ang mga trapong may bahid ng katiwalian, sa dami nang pagpipilian, better get the one least tainted and with proven integrity
First and foremost, I want my (our) Philippines to be a REPUBLIC.
DEMOCRACY is only as good if it is lead or elected the right leader(s) who will act for the good of the people.
“They invoke democracy and the rule of law but can’t seem to accept the results of democratic elections.”
Our pricipales will never accept an ERAP or FPJ in Malacanang. They will do everything to prevent such thing to happen. Good thing our “red shirts” are tame and is reigned in by the masters, but for how long?
a gov’t is as good as its leaders, and a country as good as its citizen
no.3-“mabuting iwasan ni Pres Noynoy ang mga trapong may bahid ng katiwalian, sa dami nang pagpipilian, better get the one least tainted and with proven integrity”
kaso imbes na iwasan ang trapo,trapo mismo tagapag pagalaw sa kanya,si drilon. at tinangap pa nya mga trapo ng batangas tulad nila recto na pahirap sa bayan,salceda,echiverri et al. makakuha lang ng boto? kaya pala 1 week before bago lumipat sa kanya si klasmeyt salceda e sinasabi na nya na kahit galing ke arroyo basta maliit lang kasalanan e tatangapin nya,mind conditioning? naalala ko si cardinal sin,kahit ke satanas pa daw galing pera basta itutulong nya sa mahirap tatangapin nya,na anti kristong paniwala. kaya si noynoy hindi ako umaasang malaki mababago sa bansa natin, dahil yun pa ring mga taong pahirap sa bayan ang nakapaligid sa kanya. pero mas gusto kong mali ako.
Budget deficit hits P131.6B in 4 months
http://tribune.net.ph/
Sa pagmamadali ni gloria, hindi niya napansin na malaki na pala ang naipon niya at malaki rin ang dapat na panagutan ng kanyang administrasyon.
Kawawa naman si Noynoy. Lalong makakalbo!
Hindi malayong mangyari din sa Pilipinas ang ganyan kadugong karahasan sa Bangkok.
Bakit?
Ito ang batayan ko:
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=577033&publicationSubCategoryId=63
RE: Democracy plus abuso equals nothing, kaya napagiiwanan na tayo ng ibang bansa na mga dating mas mahirap pa sa atin.
Well, korek Dr. Kwak…good analysis at ang ugat ng problema ng Pinas ay ang mga elitista?
Sila ang puno’t dulo ng kawalanghiyaan sa ating bansa…open book naman kung ano sila noon at ngayon, ayaw nilang umunlad ang Pinas at ang hangad lamang nila e magkamal ng limpak-limpak na PISO.
Ang sigalot at singhalan ukol sa usapin ng paglilingkod-bayan e talagang pinag-aawayan at nauuwi pa sa patayan manatili lamang sa poder ng kapangyarihan.
Mahirap pag-isahin ang puso’t kukote ng Masang Noypi coz’e ka nga kapit sa patalim…survival of the pity, kaya masakit mang tanggapin ang katotohanan e wala tayong magagawa kundi aminin na watak-watak ang Noypi sa lahat ng bagay.
Mapa sa pananamplataya, pulitikal na aspeto ng buhay, antas ng pamumuhay sa lipunan at lalo na sa biyaya na dapat e tamasahin ng bawat isang kinauukulan.
Bakit ka mo, kasi ganito yon…ang mga naghaharing-uri sa ating lipunan ang tisod sa pag-unlad ng ating bansa at pamayanan.
Kasi away ito ng mga elitista at tayong Masang Noypi ang apektado.
RE”: DEMOCRACY is only as good if it is lead or elected the right leader(s) who will act for the good of the people.
Nice word…Igan Observer, ang punto ko ngayon e ganito…di ba si Noynoy and cohorts e majority na naghudas at nanghudas sa ating Saligang Batas last ESDA 2?
Ngayon…paano masasabing good leader si Noynoy ng iba nating kababayang Noypi na siya ang sagot sa problemang kinakaharap ng bansa at lipunan.
Until now…di ko matanggap ang logic na ang kampo ng Yellow wannabees ang may moral ascendancy to govern our gov’t and to lead our fellows Kababayan.
After all, na winalanghiya nila ang demokrasyang pinangarap ng EDSA UNO against the dictatorial regime. Imagine, 10-years na sinalaula ng mga elitista ang bansa natin at ginawang kakatwa sa buong mundo na agawin nila ang lehitimong gobyerno sa Masang Pilipino.
Di ba…ang Pangulong Erap e napasakop sa demokrasyang sinasabi ng mga elitista, ano ginawa ng mga hudas at nanghudas…inagaw nila ito sa tulong at pakikikutsaba ng Simbahang Katoliko at maraming pang iba.
Di matatapos ang isyung ito…till na makamit ng tunay na Maka-Masa ang demokrasyang winalanghiya ng mga ipokrito at akala mo feeling saints e sila ang tisod sa pag-unlad ng bansa.
Sige ibalik nila yong ginawa nilang pagdusta sa ating Saligang Batas at 11 milyong Masang Noypi…ngayon, ang dami nilang satsat e sila ng problema.
RE: Hindi malayong mangyari din sa Pilipinas ang ganyan kadugong karahasan sa Bangkok.
Bakit?
Ganito yon…Igan MPR, if the military authorities e muling magpapagamit sa mga kawatang tradpols/trapo…sure mangyayari ang Bangkok part II.
Di ba ang AFP/PNP ang dapat magprotekta sa bansa at mamamayang Noypi…kita mo sa Turkey, ang mga politiko doon di makahirit kasi neutral at di partisan ang mga kasundaluhan doon.
Pero dito sa Pinas…bistado ang hilatsa at hasang ng mga General problems sa ating mga kasundaluhan! Ilan sa kanila e Yes Maám, Yes Sir kaya heto nagkaroon ng rebeldeng sundalo sa loob ng militar.
Alam naman natin na matiisin ang Noypi…kahit na dinudusta at inaapakan ang kanilang pagkatao at karapatan e nakangisi pa ang iba diyan.
Paanong mangyayari na ang Masang Noypi ang magpapasimula ng Bangkok part II…posibleng mangyari ito kung poponduhan ng mga elitista ang isang rebelyon sa tulong ng mga disgruntled military officers and enlistedman plus obessepo against the gov’t or else tuloy ang buhay di ba.
thailands problems are small compared to pinas which tells a lot about the character of the people that populate the two countries. i studied in my younger days in thailand and knew them as resourceful and kindhearted being a buddhist country.greed on the other hand started during the vietnam war which used thailand as their recreation weekend for american soldiers.capitalism flourished as always together with greed and then came the rise of the middle class which is suppose to be the backbone of a true democracy. problem is they lack experience in democracy.pinas has the experience but lack the middle class which ordinarily would mean that our people should be more impatient but it is the opposite.this is the difference.we donot show our anger and just suffer patiently like the pliant bamboo described by romulo many many years ago.
Although the Thailand Generals are not as Politically Partisan as the Philippines they will never let the violent protests break up their country. In the End they will intervene to give it a period of Calm and let the politicians settle the issues among themselves…the King is getting Old now and if the current Political Leaders can not work out the Solution Now, nobody will Know where Thailand is going to..
Here is a very nice article about Thailand and the Calm at the Moment from the N.Y. Times as published by the Toronto Star.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/812419–bangkok-grows-calm-but-social-divisions-remain
I guess if Gloria only did not succumb to Obama’s command, we might just have picked up our sharpened bamboos and charged at her black heart.
Takot din ang unana dahil sa near zero approval rating nya and she’s no longer sure of the military’s support. Totodasin sya talaga!
We had Andres, Macario, Antonio, Gabriela…we still have them in our midst.
MPRivera – May 21, 2010 2:24 pm
Hindi malayong mangyari din sa Pilipinas ang ganyan kadugong karahasan sa Bangkok.
Bakit?
Ito ang batayan ko:
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=577033&publicationSubCategoryId=63
nagpatakot ka naman kay Nognograles.. ganyan talaga ang malapit ng matsupi sa pwesto.. nagpapapansin!
Pa-importante lang si Nognog. Imagine, mayor ang tinakbuhan…bokya! They can’t do anything na to grab power from Noynoy. Bukod sa mag-aala Bangkok tayo ay nag-courtesy na si US Amba Thomas kay Noynoy.
perl,
Ako, nagpatakot kay Nograles? Paano?
Ang sa akin lang kung iyong iintindihin, kapag ginawa nila (Nograles) na pigilan ang proklamasyon ng bagong halal na pangulo at bise, malamang na magkagulo lalo’t magpapakita sila ng motibo na gusto nilang nagkaroon ng power vacuum.
Saka ang akin ay pagbibigay babala (din) sa mga kababayan, hindi ‘yung sinasabi mong pagpapadala sa takot sa mga kupal na kagaya ni Nograles na ang kaya lamang gawin ay mangurakot at hindi ang paglilingkod nang tapat sa bayan.
pag hindi pa natatauhan si gma , nognog, FG, assperon, Gen pangit, injustice corona, allbadsman merceditas at kanilang kampon, ay baka mas masahol pa sa Bangkok ang mangyari sa Pinas …….. sukdulan na ang galit ng mga tao, pati si Pres Obama galit kay gma……..