Living our history again

Those who think that the Philippines’ shift away from American dominance happened only when Duterte became president are wrong. It has a long history. He merely articulated what was already in the minds of most Filipinos since the war of independence vs. America in 1899. It was a brief war but it was cruel and said to have been the template of other American conquests around the world since.

Unless we understand the reason for the refusal by oligarchs to amend the 1987 Constitution we will miss the point. The oligarchs are favored by the presidential system of government. They will find all the excuses not to make it happen that is why revolutionary government is the only way to proceed.

Another, perhaps less obvious but just as harmful, is the use of legalese not understandable to ordinary people. We should have a short and easy to understand constitution with appendices for lawyers and legal minds. I believe this is one of the reasons why the 1987 Constitution does not have appendices which contains the discussions and debates of when the constitution was made and how the decisions were made.

The history of constitution making in our country is best explained by the class struggle between the elite and the masses. It reached a peak when General Antonio Luna was assassinated. A brilliant general he wanted to continue the war of independence which the Philippines had already won against Spain.

Here the blame must be put on the oligarchy which did not have the nerve needed to conclude Filipino victory. Although it is not clear who is to blame for the assassination of General Antonio Luna, it was blamed on Emilio Aguinaldo with the prodding of the weak-kneed oligarchs.

Heneral Luna was shown one year before Digong Duterte decided to run for president. I believe the coincidence served as a catalyst for Duterte’s program of separation from the United States on the country’s foreign policy.

The question is whether the transition from Heneral Luna to Digong Duterte was necessary for nation-building. French historians of school of Annales teaching who teach the long time of history hold it was an unbroken episode.

It is more about Filipinos against Filipinos – the oligarchs against the revolutionary. On revising our 1987 Constitution we cannot solve the defects of the present system using the same system that brought it about.

Set during the Philippine-American war, a shorttempered Filipino general faces an enemy more formidable than the American army: his own treacherous countrymen.

The movie Heneral Luna follows the life of one of Philippine history’s most brilliant soldiers, General Antonio Luna, as he tries to lead his countrymen against colonial masters. He had to rise above their own raging disputes.

We had won the revolution against Spain and this was formalized by ceremonies and the making of the Philippine Republic (Spanish: República Filipina, Filipino: Republikang Pilipino), more commonly known as the First Philippine Republic It was formally established with the proclamation of the Malolos Constitution on Jan. 23, 1899, in Malolos, Bulacan and lasted until the capture and surrender of Emilio Aguinaldo to the American forces on March 23, 1901, in Palanan, Isabela. It was effectively a republic with parliamentary government.

With the US-Spanish struggle for power although Admiral Dewey was in the region he could not take over the Philippines. Dewey needed more men and reinforcements. Filipinos like Heneral Luna knew that.

So the changing alliances of today are not without precedent. In the film “Heneral Luna” which was recently shown in Manila theaters, it tells how timorous oligarchs were more concerned about their wealth and power. Heneral Luna was killed by the oligarchy because he blocked their way.

Luna wanted to continue fighting. He was no different from Duterte, who cursed in anger. The movie shows him using the word punyeta just like Duterte’s p **** i ** ** !

It is happening all over again with different dramatis personae. This struggle is not a mystery. Indeed, to my mind, it never went away. It remained dormant until it was called for.

Carlo Mundi narrates in his article “Duterte’s foreign policy is changing the balance of power in Asia” and Filipinos and others once colonized by Western powers in the region praised and cheered him on.

Mundi’s article reminds us that “the Philippines were under the control of the US for over a hundred years.”

Duterte is merely continuing the 1899 war of independence.

“Duterte is the first Filipino leader to question the sacrosanct nature of the Philippines’ US-centric foreign policy since the American commonwealth in the 1930s. From Quezon, to Marcos, to Aquino – Philippine interests have always been synonymous with US interests. Whatever is good for America, is also good for the Philippines. If they went to war, we went to war with them.

Duterte is changing that attitude. It will no longer be servile to American interests. It will continue with the good relation but will also work with countries in competition against America when it is needed.

Among wealthy Filipino oligarchs and political dynasts it has come as a rude surprise that it should come from a mayor who became President. They prefer the status quo that made them in charge of the Philippines. Those who are for change must continue to support Duterte. His flaws are insignificant compared to the huge undertaking of changing the country the way it should have been done in 1899.

The First Philippine Republic or the Malolos Republic, was formally established with the proclamation of the Malolos Constitution on Jan. 23, 1899, in Malolos, Bulacan and lasted until the capture and surrender of Emilio Aguinaldo to the American forces on March 23, 1901, in Palanan, Isabela. It was effectively a republic with parliamentary government.

With the US-Spanish struggle for power, Admiral Dewey was in the region and could have taken over immediately. But Dewey needed more men and reinforcements.

The Allied Powers that won World War II knew the importance of newspapers in building a nation that they allowed the countries they destroyed to publish their newspapers soon after the war: Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung (1945, the first newspaper allowed by the occupying US military) and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (1949), as well as Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun. The question is why the American North Base Media and Omidyar Network allegedly have P50 million funds in Rappler in depositary receipts that compose nearly half of its capitalization.