"In the dark times, will there also be singing? Yes, there will be singing about the dark times." - Brecht

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Pinoy Weekly

Maguindanao: A showcase of Philippine democracy

I have never been to Maguindanao, so I until recently did not know how they hold their elections there. Sure "Hello Garci" made known to all of us the extent of cheating possible in Mindanao. Its just that, while I took Garci's and Gloria's words for it, I never realized it was that bad. I never realized how serious those guys were in doing their jobs. To the extent that whole careers perhaps were built upon electoral cheating.

A source in Maguindanao told me how low our so-called democracy had sunk. He says there have scarcely been elections in the province since 1998. Leaders, particularly one named Andal Ampatuan, literally told them what to do -- which is either to stay away from polling areas or vote his way. Ampatuan himself, and a host of administration functionaries, tried to justify this by saying it's all part of Muslim culture, the "shua", or a practice of consultative leadership in Muslim states. Well I'm no Muslim scholar (I'm neither Muslim nor a scholar, for that matter), but I do know Muslims have their own conscience. Muslims think, and are free to decide for themselves and choose their own leaders (guided, that is, by certain restrictions). The MILF, in answer to Ampatuan's claim, said as much. And being the rebel group fighting for a Muslim state in Mindanao, I'd say they would know what they were talking about.

The source, a barangay captain for a villiage in Maguindanao (he asked that his village and municipality not be named for fear of being traced), said that a week before the actual voting, mayors in most of Maguindanao's 22 municipalities were summoned by Ampatuan himself right in his office in Shariff Aguak. In the meeting, Ampatuan allegedly ordered the mayors to have voters in their respective areas vote for Team Unity and the local administration bets.  He then supposedly distributed sample ballots containing the names of the said candidates. It was an order they could not refuse.

A few days later, the mayor in our source's municipality similarly summoned barangay captains like him to the mayor's office. They were given the order: tell folks in their respective areas to vote Team Unity and administration. The sample ballots were distributed. In the dead of the night between May 13 and 14, some election inspectors reportedly went to work with the ballot. In many areas, there were no need for voters to report to their precints. In other areas, some voters would go through the motions of voting. That is, according to the sample ballot.

In one municipality, at least, there was some semblance of an actual voting. It was the Pagalungan town, and two prominent political clans were fighting it out in the local. So there had to be some voting, if only to decide which local bet wins. Ampatuan himself tried to dissuade both clans from fielding opposing candidates -- a contest in the local would be too much of a hassle.

In the wake of claims of cheating in Mindanao -- thanks to a conscience-stricken election inspector confessing to Lente that she helped fill out ballots in the dead of the night -- Comelec was compelled to set aside the Maguindanao canvass. It tasked Commissioner Rene Sarmiento to investigate. Yesterday, Sarmiento resigned from the investigation task force, saying he was kinda sick. Of what, we we're not sure.

Posted by: kr.guda at 19:48 | link | comments (3)

Hero-making

Watching basketball is a fairly common activity among Filipinos, which makes it strange that I should sometimes feel ashamed of liking the game. Maybe because I suck in it so bad (although I do have some Milo Best moves like dribbling between the legs and behind the back, I just cannot jump). As a kid, I liked basketball so much I would make trump cards ("A1! Cylinder: 12!") out of cut-out cardboards pasted with pictures of NBA players that I got from magazines and newspapers. I'd play the cards with my more anatomically-advantaged classmates in between classes. I'd talk basketball with them, and boast of a broad knowledge of statistics, from players' height to points per game, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. But outside, in the playground, I'd get trumped.

And so, in college, finally accepting the fact that I will never get to play for the NBA (never mind PBA, UAAP, or heck, even barangay pa-liga), I slowly forgot basketball. Only around five years ago did I rekindle a love for the game. I was "assigned" to cover sports for Pinoy Weekly. I was to monitor UAAP and PBA games, and even had to have myself accredited. As soon as I entered Araneta Coliseum one warm day that year, all repressed emotions came back: the joy of watching sweaty men fight for a single ball, their sheer acrobatic skill, the thrill of competition. In an instant, I was in familiar territory once again. I was the kid ten, fifteen years ago, in front of the television, unblinking, as Magic Johnson and the Lakers outhassle the Pistons during game 7 of the 1988 Finals. It was an overwhelming feeling.

Only a handful of my friends actually know me to be such a basketball fan (until now, if they read this). I guess, everybody deserves a guilty pleasure.

Recently, however, I have been watching the NBA playoffs with much keener interest than I should be having. Its the elections, and we may be witnessing the dirtiest election in history, bar none. And yet I can't help myself -- I have to watch NBA. The drama is so real. And though, I am aware that what is at stake in these games are not much more than its players' manly pride or the playoff bonuses, I am compelled nonetheless to watch.

What has specifically caught my attention was the just concluded contest between the Phoenix Suns and the San Antonio Spurs. The media, with so much narratives to play up, from Amare Stoudemire's comments of Spurs being a dirty team, Steve Nash's leadership and stamina, to the mental toughness of Tim Duncan, has rightly projected the series to be one for the books. One of the most compelling sagas in basketball history.

Like many basketball fans today, I am awed by the running game style of the Suns. I have cheered for them throughout their campaign. Their game is a feast for the eyes: a Nash no-look pass here, a Marion alley-oop there; a Bell steal here, an Amare slam there. To top it off, Steve Nash is such a great sports hero. A wonderful athlete and competitor, he is also tough and driven. Taking on the defense of Bruce Bowen is one thing, but being thrown by Robert Horry across the scorers' table and standing up and proceeding to make a game-winning play for Stoudemire in Game 4 was just inspiring. Plus, he has great politics too. He courageously denounced the US war on Iraq during a time when it was unpopular, even dangerous for his career, to do so, and while the likes of San Antonio's David Robinson encouraged fans to support Bush.

That, I guess, is what sports is all about -- hero-making. The ability to transcend limitations, whatever they may be.

Posted by: kr.guda at 10:26 | link | comments

Paglilingkod na walang katapat na halaga

P4,450. Ito ang kabuuang halagang natanggap ko sa paglilingkod bilang isang miyembro ng Board of Election Inspectors o BEI sa isang presinto sa isang paaralang elementarya sa Maynila. Para sa halos tatlong araw na trabaho, masasabing sulit na. Pero hindi simpleng “raket” ito. Kapalit ng naturang halaga ang pagod, puyat at kunsumisyon na walang kaparis. Iniisip ko tuloy kung may katapat nga bang pera ang a paglilingkod ng mga guro at volunteer tuwing halalan.

Ang totoo, P3,000 lang dapat ang honorarium ng Commission on Elections. Pero galante si Meyor Lito Atienza. Nagdagdag siya ng sanlibo. Hindi ko alam kung may kinalaman ito sa pagtakbo ng kanyang anak sa pagka-meyor na si Ali Atienza. Nagpatak din ng P300 ang kasalukuyang kongresista ng ikaanim na distrito na si Rep. Benny Abante. Hindi ko rin alam kung may kinalaman ito sa pagtakbo niya ngayong halalan.

Nanganganib ang kanyang posisyon dahil napapabalitang malakas sa distrito ang tumatakbong sikat na dating piskal na si Cassy Sison. Siyempre, tuwang tuwa ang mga titser. Salamat ng marami, anila, malaking dagdag sa maliit na sahod.

Sa araw mismo ng halalan, maagang nagdagsaan kaming mga BEI sa eskuwela. Alas sais, nagmamadali kaming naglinis ng kuwarto. Inihanda ang mga Ballot Secrecy Folder. Maaga rin siyempre ang mga watcher. Halos singhirap din ang trabaho nila, pero di hamak na mas mababa ang bayad. May ibang kandidato na P1,000 ang bigay sa watcher. Pero meron ding P200 lang.

Sa barangay na pinagsilbihan ko, maagang bumoto ang mga residente. Mga kalahati ng kabuuang botante, bumoto sa pagitan ng alas siyete at alas onse ng umaga. Maraming kinakabahan, nakakalimutan kung ano ang address at kaarawan nila kapag tinatanong namin. Pagdating ng bilangan, napag-alaman naming marami ang nagkakamali ng ispeling sa pagsulat ng mga pangalan ng kandidato. Si Cayetano ay naging Kaytano, si Chavit ay naging Chabit Sison. Sa Maynila na ito. Laluna sigurong hirap ang mga botante sa mga probinsiya.

Kawawa ang ilang guro, laluna iyong mga may edad na. Di na sanay magpuyat. Sobrang komplikado ang proseso ng pagbibilang at pag-uulat ng bilang. Nangalay ang kamay ko sa kapipirma, kakalagay ng inisyal at kata-thumbmark sa bawat item ng tally sheet, envelop, election returns o ER, minutes, statistics, at maraming maraming iba pa na nakalimutan ko na ang tawag. Pagkatapos ng bilangan, guro pa mismo ang magdadala ng ER sa Comelec. Sa Maynila, dinala namin ang mga ito mula sa eskuwela patungong Ninoy Aquino Stadium, kung saan gagawin ang canvassing ng lungsod. Kami ang bahalang mamasahe. Buti na lamang at may PPCRV.

Di maeskortan ng pulis, kaya nagkasya na lamang sa tropang nakamotorsiklo ni Danny Lacuna.

Samantala, kuwento ng nanay ko, maraming guro sa probinsiya namin sa Albay ang umiwas na maglingkod ngayong halalan. Inireklamo kasi sila ni Michael Imperial, kandidato noong 2004 sa pagka-meyor ng Legazpi City, na nandaya para sa kalaban niyang si Noel Rosal. Nang ipakita ng Comelec sa mga guro ang mga ER na ebidensiya raw na nandaya si Rosal, nakita ng mga guro na pineke ang pirma nila sa ER. Lumalabas na ginawa ang pekeng ER para lumabas na dinaya si Imperial.

Galit na galit ang mga guro. Sila na nga raw ang naghihirap tuwing eleksiyon, kakasangkapin pa sa dayaan. Tapos aakusahan pang nandaraya. Sa ibang lugar, mga guro’t volunteer pa ang nadadahas. Di nga ba’t marami na ang namatay na guro sa kasaysayan ng paglilingkod niya sa halalan?

Hindi matatapatan ng anumang halaga ang paglilingkod ng mga guro’t volunteer.

Posted by: kr.guda at 07:41 | link | comments

Luing's Odyssey

Luisa Posa-Dominado during Martial Law
(from "Pumipiglas: Political Detention and Military Atrocities in the Philippines")

Luisa Posa-Dominado -- Luing, as she is often called -- was abducted by suspected military elements last April 12 while travelling with activist companions Nilo Arago and Jose Ely "Leeboy" Garachico on their way home from Antique. They were on the road when their path was cut off by a van, whose passengers with high-powered weapons started shooting in Luing's direction. Leeboy was hit, puncturing his lungs. The armed men then alighted the van and dragged Nilo and Luing out of their vehicle and into the van.

Luing and Nilo remain missing up to this day.

The experience is not new to Luing, who is a human rights activist today. During the Marcos dictatorship and even after its fall, she was jailed five times, her first time when she was seventeen and a youth activist. I would like to share a rather lengthy, but nevertheless moving, account of her experiences during Martial Law, from the 80s TFDP book, "Pumipiglas: Political Detention and Military Atrocities in the Philippines".


Luisa
....

THE STOCKADE is the first building from the highway within the Iloilo PC/INP Headquarters in Iloilo City, It is a rectangle 20x40 feet holding about three dozen prisoners. There are 15 political prisoners.

Since March 4, 1978, Maria Luisa Posa-Dominado, known to friends as Luing, has been interned at the Iloilo PC stockade.

For a short while in early 1980, Luing was sent too the hospital.

A military jeep was parked in front of St. Mary's Hospital in Iloilo City. Near the back of the hospital was a tiny room with a Philippine Constabulary sergeant guarding the door.

The drab hospital room was still an improvement over the prison. The light came in through a small barred window. The eer-present crucifix was the only decoration n the smudged white walls.

Luing sat on the bed, looking wan, tired. Her great beauty could not be hidden by her long-term illness, imprisonment, loos of great deal of weight, crudely cut hair and lengthy mental anguish.

She had just turned 24. The sorrow in her eyes and the lines in her face made her look older. She was thin. She lost 30 pounds since her latest incarceration in Iloilo.

With a soft, soothing voice in the dim of the hospital room, out of earshot of the sentry, Luing told her story.

"Two friends and I were on the way to get medical care. I was ill. One of my companions was pregnant. We were intercepted by a platoon of Scout Rangers (one platoon has three squads with 11 men each). Someone shouted a warning when we were about to be arrested. I ran but tripped. I wasn't able to get up. We were overtaken.

"We were taken to the Kalibo Sugar Central before being sent to the stockade. I gave my name as Marilou Dominado. I was listed down in previous prison records as Luisa Posa. One of the women arrested with us gae them the name of our companion. They asked me if I knew the name. I said no. They slapped me."

Luing spent a year in the stockade from March 1978 before formal charges for illegal possession of firearms were filed against her. Later, after an official recommendation was given that she be released in lieu of 5,000 pesos bail, she was charged with murder.

It was obvious that both charges, being filed so late, were trumped up to keep Luing in prison.

"They said I was with the NPA group and my alias was Commander Walingwaling. Two witnesses were needed to testify against me in order to charge me with murder. One was neer clear on my identity. The other is now dead."

Luing's husband was an alleged member of the underground. People concerned with her case believed she was being framed and held as hostage.

As Luing talked, the door opened and her mother entered, carrying pastries. She was a short, stout woman with big, round eyes. An eternally worried look clouded her face. She and her husband had never shared Luing's political beliefs and involvements. Out of the eight children, Luing was the only female. She was tagged the black sheep of the family for unfailing commitment to her political cause. Her parents were not supportie after her first arrest, thinking the experience would teach her a lesson. Eventually, after Luing remained firm in her beliefs and her cruel treatment in prison, her parents sought to understand her and to help her.

A parent's love and affection was clear in Luing's mother's eyes. She fussed over her daughter, making sure everything was all right.

...

SHE WAS only 17 when she was first arrested. Luing would spend five of the next seven years in prisons. The March 1978 arrest was her fourth. She escaped the first two times she was detained and was released the third. She was engaged for many years to another activist, Tom Dominado, and they were married while under detention together in 1977.

In the years just before and after the declaration of martial law, Luing was a student activist, working with the Movement for a Democratic Philippines. She organized students in Roxas City, Capiz. After the declaration, she was hunted down for her anti-fascist involvements.

In her previous arrests and detentions, Luing was subjected to many forms of torture. She went through the water cure. She was forced to strip naked before many military men on several occasions. She was mashed and manhandled, short of actual rape. One of the soldiers involved in her maltreatmen was PC Sergeant Nick Roca.

Luing's health problems began even before her present prison term. A first, military doctors declared her illnesses psychosomatic. After consultations with private physicians provided by her parents, she was found to be suffereng from trichomonas cervico-vaginitis infection, made much more critical by the unsanitary conditions in the stockade. She also developed a cyst in her breast and an operation was necessary.

...

LUING SAT on the bed looking down, oblivious to people around her hospital bed. The physical deterioration she was going through was clear. She nibbled on a piece of bread her mother had brought. She put the bread down. She straightened her back as she raised her head.

Her eyes were clear and shiny. For a short instant Luing looked up and out the barred window. A gleam was in her eyes -- a light that, no matter what happened hten and in the future, could never be extinguished.

Luing before her disappearance
(from http://www.saveluisaandnilo.cjb.net/)

Posted by: kr.guda at 08:53 | link | comments

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