The Vicious Cycle of Vote-buying and Vote-selling

In Philippines’ politics, there are no permanent friends or foes - only permanent cost. Yes! Permanent cost: the root cause of corruption and fiefdom’s perpetration.

To run a decent election campaign, be it national or local, one would need an enormous wad of money flowing continuously. Apart from the election machinery, the cogs of which require an ample supply of grease to keep it moving, voters from Class D and E - those unemployed, hangers on, and sycophants – for them, election, is their chance to leech blood from politicians. Millions of them repeatedly troop to politicians and juiced them with such basics as; meals, burial expenses, bridges, artesian wells, basketball court and dole outs, for which politicians can’t say no, lest they can be construed as unsympathetic to people’s needs, and ground to loose their votes. Sorry to say, but politicians during election becomes a witting hostage. But soon after election, it’s payback time, because it’s the people now who will be hostage of the politician’s whims.

Politicians are not stupid, of course. Remuneration for the position they coveted are miniscule. The only way they can recoup their investment is through corruption, by way of their assumed power, privileges, perks, and influence. Discreet or brazen their corruption is, it doesn’t matter: because, for politicians, everyone has a price. And as they accumulate wealth to buy more people out, they build their fiefdom. They will protect this little kingdom with blood, if it needs be. This “vicious cycle” of vote-buying and vote-selling, perpetuates the evil of corruptions, the victim of which is the nation. And it trickles down to its citizens, who bear the brunt. Whose fault is it anyway?

Evolution of mature democracies in the world found a way of reining this “vicious cycle” through electoral reform. Electoral reform might be long time coming to the Philippines as the country needed an upside down overhaul of its culture, but it has to start somewhere, somehow.

Politicians of mature western democracies, in general, don’t spend their own money when running for office. They fund raise for their political expenses from their constituents. If their constituents believe the politician is an asset to the political party which can bring positive changes to their lives, their constituents wouldn’t hesitate to support. Then the political party, to which the politician belongs, provides the machinery. Political Parties, in essence, are strengthened institutions; abide with principles and ideologies on how best they can serve the nation, and the populations’interest and welfare.

Instituting strengthened political parties is a basic necessity for a truly workable democracy. Politicians belonging to a certain party, for example, require that they espoused the principles and ideologies of the party. This in turn is the idea the politicians will sell to electorates during election time. The battle grounds between political parties are methods, systems, and procedures to which voters are given choices which party could give them the best.

Would there be a chance for the Philippines to institute strengthened political parties that discourage the “vicious cycle” of vote-buying and vote-selling? That’s a million dollar question. But not until this question is confronted and dealt with, this "vicious cycle" would continue to roll, and the Philippine politics would remain juvenile.

Number Of Poor Filipinos Likely To Rise By 4 Million In 2009

Using even the government's unrealistically low poverty line, the number of poor Filipinos will likely increase by 4 million this year from 2006, according to research group IBON Foundation.
This figure is based on a conservative estimate, said IBON research head Sonny Africa, since it merely assumes a continuation of trends in the 2003-2006 period. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaged 5.6% in 2004-2006, but the number of poor Filipinos according to the government's official poverty line still increased by 3.8 million to 27.6 million in 2006. GDP growth will likely average even less than 5% in the 2007-2009 period, which means that poverty will possibly increase by at least 4 million poor Filipinos.

Africa added that growth has dropped steeply from 7.2% GDP growth in 2007, to 4.6% in 2008 and will likely be less than 3% this year. The real number of jobless Filipinos increased to 4.1 million in 2008 and will likely rise to some 5 million this year. The number of unemployed and underemployed Filipinos could then rise to at least 11 to 12 million in 2009.

Given the scale of the problem, the government's measures for supposedly dealing with the crisis are sorely lacking, he said. The alleged "pump-priming" 2009 national government budget is actually equivalent to just some 16% of the GDP, and is among the smallest in the last two-and-a-half decades. The size of the budget has been more or less continuously falling from a peak of 24% in 1990. The supposed "alternative livelihood" and "jobs placement" programs seem oblivious to the severity of global and domestic economic problems and the absence of jobs for millions of displaced workers. In any case, they are even very narrowly targeted at just newly-displaced workers and ignore the over 4 million workers who were unemployed even before the recent worsening of the crisis.

There is certainly a need for the government to undertake mitigating measures, said Africa. Because of the huge number of poor Filipinos, the mitigation measures have to reach the greatest number in the quickest manner possible. Among these are restoring real per capita social services spending to at least 1997 levels through an additional P246 billion for social services and removing the value-added tax (VAT) on food and oil products.

Over and above these measures, there needs to be a radical change in economic policies to strengthen the domestic economy and create jobs and livelihoods for millions of Filipinos, said Africa.

On Nograles Cha-Cha Reso: Foreign Land Ownership Has Weak Link To Investment

While the committee on constitutional amendments prepares to vote on Speaker Prospero Nograles’s Resolution 737, research group IBON Foundation says that changing the charter to allow foreign business to own land does not necessarily increase foreign investment.
The Nograles bill seeks to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution to allow foreign corporations and associations to own land. Charter change proponents argue that allowing foreign business to own land in the Philippines will increase foreign investment flows which will lead to development.

“The experience of our Asian neighbors proves that the relationship between foreign land ownership and overall levels of investment is weak,” said IBON research head Sonny Africa. “This reinforces the suspicion that HR 737 is a ruse to justify charter change for self-serving political ends.”

With the current constitutional restriction on foreign land ownership, the Philippines had foreign direct investment (FDI) inward stock of US$19.0 billion in 2007 which was equivalent to 13.1% of gross domestic product (GDP). It is made to appear that this is a major factor in the country’s underdevelopment.

Yet Vietnam does not allow foreign land ownership but had inward FDI stocks of US$40.2 billion or up to double or triple the value of foreign investment in the Philippines. Indonesia, meanwhile merely gives land cultivation or building rights but had inward FDI stocks of US$59 billion.

Thailand, with its US$85.8 billion in investment, also prohibits foreign ownership of land as a general principle. Foreign companies can own land only upon approval of its Board of Investment, by ministerial permission or by virtue of treaty provisions.

Singapore, with its massive US$249.7 billion in FDI inward stock, is often cited as underscoring the benefits of foreign land ownership. This “ownership” though is more in the form of long-term leaseholds and not freeholds or title-deeds. Malaysia which has US$76.8 billion in investment also allows foreigners to acquire industrial land only on a leasehold basis.

There are many factors affecting FDI such as domestic market size and prospects, production costs and efficiency, infrastructure, economic stability and extent of corruption, said Africa. Foreign land ownership in itself is neither necessary nor sufficient– while raising the danger of land speculation and greater foreign control of the domestic economy.

It must also be accepted that foreign investment does not necessarily lead to development and the government has to create the conditions for the country to benefit, said Africa. More importantly, Cha-cha proposals such as the Nograles bill undermine national interest, surrender the country’s economic sovereignty, and legalize foreign corporate plunder of natural resources.

CONVERSATIONS WITH KAMAEL I

I'm drunk...
I'm lost...
I want to die...
I love her very much...
Fuck! Why?! Why me?!
Amidst my drunken stupor and seemingly suicidal depression... I saw a figure... A sexy figure of an angel... Angel? But I soon noticed she only have one wing...
"Who the fuck are you?!" "Where am I?!" I noticed that I am sitting in darkness with the being looking at me curiously...
She answered me with a sweet melodious voice... "You are at the void, Mr. Borja... As to who I am, call me Kamael..."
"Void?!" "Kamael?!" "You are nothing but a product of my sick mind! Are you the angel of death?! How beautiful?! I'm dead?! How splendid!"
"I am not an angel of death... There is no need for you to know who I am..." As she comes nearer and nearer. She is beatiful... Magical... Like a cross breed of a fairy and a vampire...
I heard your anguish my dear Mr. Borja... Your anguish is like the symphony of the night... Like the howling of a thousand wolves worshipping the full moon... I think you need someone to talk to... Your depression brought you here at the Void and me...
Shut up will you? You don't know me?! Don't act as if you can help me! YOU DON'T KNOW A SINGLE THING ABOUT ME!
That is where you are wrong my dear... I know a lot abot you... The real you... From the beginning... The you that even you does'nt know... The real you...
Please leave me... I am mourning... I want to be left alone with my depression... Can you drink Matador? Want some? As she sit beside me... I can feel her presence... Her aura something different but calm... There is no malicious intent whatsocer...
Do you want to know who you are? Who you were?
Will you go away and leave me alone if I will let you? She has a sword... Astig!
Ok Mr. Borja... All want is for you to listen... And concentrate on what I am telling you... My confessions might help you survive your present life time...
You have my word for it...

At first you were a part of the earth...
Doesn't all of us? Your joking... I might be drunk but I am not stupid! Shot?!
Listen Mr. Borja... Others started not as earth... Others started as water, fire, air or metal... You on the other hand started as earth...
Can I now continue? With a smirk and a sigh she did continue... That happened 4.6 billion years ago... You are already a part of this planet... Of this reality billions of years ago...
Then after 3.2 billion of years ago you became a diamond... Don't you see Mr. Borja... Even from the start your life was full of struggle and lowliness... After billions of years you as an earth became a diamond... Don't you see it Mr. Borja! If the earth which was you stopped dreaming will it become a diamond... Persistence Mr. Borja! Even from the start you are persistent!
When the single celled animals evolved to different kinds of animals like dinosaurs... You asked the creator if you can be one of them... The Creator obliged and made you a Triceratops 26 million years ago... If you remember when you are yet a young boy you are very fond of the dinosaur Triceratops... A lot of kids want the T-rex but not you! You want the Triceratops! You are defensive in nature like the Tops... And like the Tops you are very dangerous if you run berserk...

CHANGE THE WORLD BY CHANGING ME

THE SUFI BAYAZID SAYS ABOUT HIMSELF

I WAS A REVOLUTIONARY WHEN I WAS YOUNG
AND ALL MY PRAYERS TO GOD WAS:

“LORD, GIVE ME THE ENERGY
TO CHANGE THE WORLD”

AS I APPROACHED MIDDLE AGE, I REALIZED THAT HALF OF MY LIFE WAS GONE WITHOUT CHANGING A SINGLE SOUL.
I CHANGE MY PRAYER TO:

“LORD, GIVE ME THE GRACE TO CHANGE ALL THOSE WHO COME IN CONTACT WITH ME. JUST MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AND I SHALL BE SATISFIED”.


NOW THAT I AM AN OLD MAN AND MY DAYS ARE NUMBERED, I HAVE BEGUN TO SEE HOW FOOLISH I HAVE BEEN
MY ONE PRAYER NOW IS:
“LORD, GIVE ME THE GRACE TO CHANGE MYSELF”
IF I HAD PRAYED THIS RIGHT FROM THE START, I SHOULD NOT HAVE WASTED MYSELF.

EVERYBODY THINKS OF CHANGING HUMANITY, HARDLY ANYONE THINKS OF CHANGING HIMSELF.

Heartfelt condolences to family, comrades and the Palestinian people on the death of Comrade Dr. George Habash, Al-Hakim

By LUIS G. JALANDONI
NDFP Chief International Representative
Member, NDFP National Executive Committee

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) conveys its heartfelt condolences to the family of Comrade Dr. George Habash, Al-Hakim, to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Palestinian people on the passing away of the Founder of the PFLP and the Arab Nationalist Movement.

The NDFP joins the Palestinian and Arab peoples in mourning the death of an outstanding leader of their struggle for national and social liberation. His contributions over seven decades of struggle constitute an ineradicable legacy for all those persevering in the liberation struggle.

As stated by his comrades in the PFLP, not only did he demonstrate the highest level of care and dedication to his people, but he also consistently and clearly conveyed and developed a scientific vision and analysis both of the future of the revolution and the dangers and plans against it forged by the enemies of his people.

After the outbreak of the great Intifada in 1987, he called for upholding Palestinian unity as a necessary condition for the continuation of the struggle. He called for the convening of the Palestinian National Congress in 1988. Appalled by the massive uprooting of over 700,000 Palestinians in 1948, Comrade Habash and other Arab patriots founded the Arab Nationalist Movement. He firmly upheld and defended the vital and central right of the Palestinian refugees to return to their beloved homeland. He therefore strongly opposed the Oslo Agreement in 1993 for attacking this right to return.

At the Sixth Convention of the PFLP in 2000, Comrade Habash declared: “We cannot seize the future without having read our history well, not in order to be enslaved by that history, but in order to benefit from it as a necessary precondition for dealing with the future. The present is a qualitative extension of the past, while at the same time it constitutes the material and intellectual foundation for the building of the future.” On that occasion, when he relinquished the leadership of the PFLP, he announced his idea and plan of establishing a center for studies, which he said would be a “dynamic, social, intellectual and dialectic operation.” He added, “Recognizing the reasons for our defeat is a beginning step on the path toward the sphere of success and achievement, leaving behind the realm of failure, and getting closer to victory.” He highlighted the great role of women and youth in the Palestinian revolution.

At the end of his speech, Comrade Habash declared: “My aim in this closing speech has been to say to you – and not only to you, but to all the detainees, or those who experienced detention, to the families of the martyrs, to those who were wounded, to all who sacrificed and gave for the cause – that your sacrifice has not been in vain. The just goals and legitimate rights which they have struggled and given their lives for will be attained, sooner or later... And my aim, again and again, is to emphasize the need for you to persist in your struggle to serve our people, for the good of all Palestinians and Arabs – the good that lies in a just and legitimate cause, as it does in the realization of the good for all those who are oppressed and wronged. You must always be of calm mind, and of contented conscience, with a strong resolve and a steel will, for you have been and still are in the camp of justice and progress, the camp whose just goals will be attained and which will inevitably attain its legitimate rights. For these are the lessons of history and reality, and no right is lost as long as there is someone fighting for it.”

For the Filipino people persevering in their struggle for national and social liberation, the life and dedication of Comrade Habash is also an inspiration and further strengthens the solidarity between the Palestinian people and the Filipino people.

Long live the noble memory and inspiration of the outstanding and exemplary Founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Arab Nationalist Movement, Comrade Dr. George Habash, Al-Hakim!

Long live the Palestinian people’s struggle for national and social liberation!

Long live international solidarity for the revolutionary cause of the Palestinian people!

“Operation Peace” sows terror in north Brazil countryside

The Brazilian state, military and local government have launched massive operations against the peasants in the state of Pará in northern Brazil, resulting in grave violations of human rights.

The military operation called “Operation Peace in the Countryside” was ordered by the governor of Pará state, Ana Julia Carepa, to hunt down peasants who are courageously fighting for their rights to own the land and against the abuses of the landlords. The military used 400 military and olice troops, 40 armored vehicles, four helicopters and one plane. The massive show of force was to intimidate and harass the peasant population to give up their struggle and to force them to give information about the activities and plans of the League of Poor Peasants (LCP) or Liga, a social movement fighting for peasant land rights.

More than 200 peasants were arrested and imprisoned. They were subjected to severe torture such as constant beatings, drowning and suffocation. The victims were also forced to swallow large quantities of fresh pepper with salt and onion which damaged their internal organs. Although a number of peasants were freed last 03 January, many peasants and their leaders are still missing. Their families and comrades have no information of their whereabouts and they continue to look for them.

A peasant leader from Redencao by the name of Rivaldo was killed. He was shot twice in the head. It is reported that the owner of the Forkilha Farm, Jairo Andrade ordered the killing of Rivaldo.

A series of articles were nationally distributed before the attacks, slandering and demonizing peasant activists and leaders and calling for harsh measures against the Liga.

Brazil is afire with the struggle of the peasantry for land rights. Peasants are evicted from their land to give way to big agricultural corporations. The state and local officials are in cahoots with the landlords in enforcing the eviction and criminalization of peasants.

But the peasants, their families and supporters are not intimidated by the military operations launched against them by the state, the landlords and the officials of the local governments. They know that for them to finally own the land that they and their ancestors have tilled for so long, they would have to continue organizing and preparing themselves for bigger struggles ahead.