A “Soldier in Mufti” speaks

“WHY ARE

WE in such a mess? We were told that with our advantage of being Christian and democratic, we would be next to Japan, the leading nation in East Asia. Today we find ourselves in a steadily declining position regardless of what measure we go by poverty index, per capita spending on education, corruption ranking, peace and order – the list continues (Washington Sycip)

-oOo

Undoubtedly, for many years now we have a terribly sick society. I’ve written a lot of articles calling our people and leaders to seriously address our “triangular-shaped” oppressive and unjust society that badly needs immediate transformative actions in the form of radical political surgery. Band aid or piece meal or short-term remedies will surely not suffice anymore.

Ramon J. Farolan’s article “Soldiers in mufti” in his August 5, 2019 column reveille is an expression of his grief over the sorrowful state of our country today. By the way, “soldiers in mufti” connotes to “military officers in civilian clothes or in a broader sense, carrying out basically civilian duties.” His recent article if we read between the lines, somehow spells out possible radical (from the root) social change” before President Duterte’s term ends.

Farolan quoted Sycip: “The Asian Development Bank released a report that the Philippines and India who claim to be democracies, led behind East Asian countries in reducing poverty. China and Vietnam, both authoritarian states, are the two countries that have rapidly reduced poverty. Are there lessons to be learned here?” We say “Yes”. Only through an exercise of “Direct Democracy” by our people via People Mandated Revolution Government or Expanded People’s Initiative. This must be supported by the “protectors of our people” our military and police-merely for an honest-to-goodness constitutional reform that will effectively oust Filipino Imperialists that control our political and economic lives, and truly liberate our people and save our nation.

Read carefully his succinctly concluding paragraph of said article. “These are some of the issues that should concern us instead of lamenting the possible loss of civilian supremacy over the military. All our “people powered” revolutions have so far been bloodless affairs. Unless we come up with the right answers (like an honest-to-goodness Constitutional Reform that will put in place really inclusive political and economic system like a Federal System and a Modified Social Market Economic System) soon, we may not be so lucky the next time around.”

Wow! Do you see what we mean? Clearly, we cannot trust and rely on Congress (which is full of “crocodiles”). Real Social Transformation is imperative to oust Filipino Imperialists and heal our terminally ill society. Only President Duterte with his transformative leadership, political will, and “tapang at malasakit”, supported by our people and their “protectors” can overcome our present predicament.

There are currently six retired military officers in President Duterte’s cabinet and more in lower government positions. Per President Duterte, he prefers them because they are “disciplined nd know how to follow instructions”. Some of my relatives in the Gaino side are?were military offers. They are/were intelligent, hard working, honest, with managerial skills, and more importantly, deeply love our country. They are/were very reliable leaders.

Farolan confessed: “We are honored by the Commander in Chief’s unpresidented display of trust and confidence in our fellow soldiers. We are aware that no other President has provided so much for the men in uniform and we are grateful.” President Duterte likewise increased the salaries and wages, and other benefits of our dedicated soldiers. Undoubtedly, he is very close to our people in uniform.

According to Sun Tsu, a Chinese philosopher and warrior, we must “know well our enemies” to win our wars. Our worst enemies today are Filipino Imperialists, composed of oligarchs, unscrupulous elite, unconscionable big business people, corrupt traditional political and their cohorts, usually based in “Imperial Manila.” The

only viable option to oust them and truly liberate our oppressed and suffering people from the clutches of these tyrants, is for our people to resort to “Direct Democratic Action” mentioned earlier during the term of President Duterte. Let’s not miss this golden opportunity to transform our “failing democracy” to “full democracy”. This is our “unfinished revolution” started by Rizal, Bonifacio and Mabini for total liberation of the Filipino people. Of course there will be “birth pains” in the rebirth of our nation. As they say, “no pains, no glory.”

Read this well please and fully understand the narratives. In the Holy Bible, it is written that Israel went to war against nations that were thoroughly corrupted by sinful practices. After giving them sufficient time to change their evil ways, they continuously “made themselves unclean”. In our modern times, USA and its allies engaged in two world wars to achieve peace in the world. In the same vein, there is an urgent need for our people to exercise “direct democracy” in the form of People Mandated Revolutionary Government or Expanded People Initiative for honest-to-goodness Constitutional Reform and oust Filipino Imperialists to liberate our people from their clutches, save our nation from fragmentation, and ultimately heal our terribly sick society. As they say, “history has the tendency to repeat itself.”

In the July 25, 209 column in the Philippine STAR, opinion-writer Bobit S. Avila rightly pointed out the urgent need for Pres. Duterte to leave “a lasting legacy” to our people if by reforming our unresponsive 1987 Constitution and establishing a Federal System of government. We strongly believe he will do that but not only for political restructuring but more so to heal our terribly sick society. He is a transformative leader and therefore will go for the bigger Vision of Real Social Transformation.