TheIdiotizationOfOurPolitics,Continued

June18,201510:33pm
byFranciscoTatad/ManilaTimes

I wrote my last piecethe first part of this articlein the midst of

EDSAshorribletraffic,goingtoandcomingfromtheNinoyAquino
International Airport to talk to a friend who was departing for
Washington,D.C.andQuebeconsomespeakingengagements.Assoon
asitwasdone,IhadtolookforafreewifizonealongEDSAtobeatan
inflexibledeadline.Ifoundoneinafriendlyhotel,butinmyrushto
dispatchthearticle,IfailedtocopyreadwhatIhadwritten.
Thisisarecurringfailure.AsastudentofChesterton,Ihavetriedto
justifythisfailingbyquotingtheoldliterarygiant,Havingwrittenit,no
poweronearthcouldcompelmetoreadit.Orwordstothateffect.So
veryearlythenextmorning,afriendcalledtosayIhaddoneagreatjob,
exceptthatIhadleftacoupleofsentencesunedited,andomittedmostof
thethingsIshouldhaveputin.Hewasabsolutelyright,sothisisan
attempttomakeamends.
SEVERALissuescontributetothecontinuingidiotizationofourpolitics.
As noted earlier, the propaganda surveys are its most deceptive
instrument.Butwehavetoconsidertherolesoftheoligarchyandbig
business,themilitaryandthepolice,foreigngovernments,foreignNGOs
and foreign institutions, the Church, the bureaucracy, the political
dynasties,andtheelectoralprocessitself.
All of these, in varying degrees, contribute to the idiotization of our
politics.Exceptthatwecannothopetocoveralloftheseeveninaseries
of columns. A younger person with more years ahead of him should
probablyembarkonthisproject.
Whoever is in power, the oligarchy and big business like to exercise
control. They try to own not just Congress or the Cabinet or some
membersthereof,butthePresident himself.Thus,agroupoftycoons
reputedlyheadedbysomeoneknownasRR,whosepowerandinfluence
have risen beyond all proportions from Erap to PNoy, is reportedly
planningtobankrollthepresidentialbidofSen.GracePoeLlamanzares,
eventhoughsheisnotevenanaturalbornFilipinosheisalsomarried
toanAmericancitizenandthereforenotqualifiedtorunforpresident
orvicepresidentoreventocontinuesittingintheSenate.

Thegroupseemstobelievethattheirmoneyalonecouldovercomeher
citizenshipproblem,andwiththeinfectedPCOSmachinestillincharge
ofthevoting,shecouldeasilyrunawaywiththeelections,asshedid
with the 2013 senatorial elections. Once in office, she would be the
easiesttocontrolandmanipulate.Asalawyerwhoknowshislaw,Senate
PresidentandLiberalPartystalwartFranklinDrilonknowsthatGrace
Poeisnotqualifiedtorunforpresident,oreventoremainintheSenate,
sohewillnotpushforit.ButPNoybelievesheisabovetheConstitution
andthelawandmaywanttoimposeMs.Poeuponhispartyandthe
nation.Thiscouldprovokearevolution.
TheonlywayforthisideatoprosperisforPNoytoassuretheLPandthe
nation that this is merely a swindle. He would run as Poes vice
presidentialcandidate,andrigtheelectionsintheirfavor.Butthatafter
theyaremachineelectedbySmartmaticsPCOS,Poewouldbeswiftly
removed from office, and he would become president all over again,
without having to lift the existing term limit that bars a presidents
reelection.
Theideaisabsurd,butitisreportedlysupportedbysomeofPNoysbig
businesscronies.Thisishowwildanddangeroustheyhavebecome.
InaTimesarticleonWednesday,formerDefenseSecretaryandNational
SecurityAdviserNorbertoB.Gonzaleswarnedagainstagroupofnon
electedpoliticallackeysnowexercisingthevastpowersoftheAquino
presidency,withoutanyaccountability.ThisreferstotheoldHyatt10,
which Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ousted from the Cabinet before they
could move to oust her; they now wield the sharpest knives in the
criminalsyndicatedisguisedasastudentcouncil.
Theyaretheonesbehindthemassiveunauthorizedfundtransfersthat
scandalizedeventheSupremeCourt,andthepolicytoprivatizemanyof
theessentialdutiesandservicesofgovernment,resultinginuntoldprofits
forthecroniesanduntoldmiseryforthepeople.Yettheycouldnothave
donehalfofwhattheyhavedonewithouttheactivecollaborationofthe
businesscronies.
ItwasapparentlytosatisfytheirinsatiablegreedthatAquinotransferred
totheprivatesector,almostwholeandentire,thegovernmentsdutyto
provideroads,bridges,otherinfrastructure,publicutilitiesandotherbasic

goodsandservicesandallowedthatsectortotaxthepublicfortheuseof
thesefacilities.Therearenolongeranyfreeservicesfromgovernment.
The poor and the unemployed have to pay for every public good at
skyrocketingprices.
Theverymeaningofreinventinggovernment,onceanoblenotion
whenitwasfirstespousedbyOsborneandGaebler,hasbeencompletely
pervertedandidiotized.
***
IN THE RUNUP to the 2016 elections, Aquino has ignored the
widespread public clamor for the Commission on Elections to ban
SmartmaticandjunkitsPCOSvotingmachine,whichtheComelechad
illegally divested of all its safety and security features and accuracy
mechanisms in order to rig the 2010 and 2013 elections. The 2010
presidential election proclaimed PNoy as president, and the 2013
senatorialelectionsproclaimedGracePoeand11othersassenators.
The Comelec humored opponents of the PCOS machine, like former
ComelecCommissionerGusLagmanandPhilippineComputerSociety
president Toti Casino and Nelson Celis, by allowing them to make a
presentationonanalternativehybrid(manualandelectronic) voting
system,whichwouldallowutmosttransparencyattheleastpossiblecost
tothegovernment.Thedemonstrationearnedravereviewsfromthose
whowitnessedit,andsparkedsomehopethatwemightfinallyhavea
realelectionin2016.
But authoritative sources tell us that Malacanang has just told the
ComelectoclearallobstaclestotheuseofSmartmaticsPCOSmachine
alloveragain,atthecostofP14billion.PNoydoesnotwanttorisk
losingthe2016electionsandspendingtherestofhislifeinprison.This
ishowcrazyandhopelesstheelectionshavebecome.
Despiteallthis,noneofthoseavowedlyinterestedinthepresidencyare
demandingacleanupoftheelectoralsystem,asaconditiosinequanon
fortheholdingofthe2016elections.OnlytheNationalTransformation
Council,whichnowstandsastheonlycredibleoppositiontotheAquino
regime, but which has not announced any candidates for 2016, is
demanding an overhaul of the electoral system as an integral part of
regimeandsystemchange.

Insteadofworkingtocleanupandinvigoratethesystem,thepresidential
wannabeswouldratherinvestalltheirtime,effortandmoneyinascheme
to capture and control the crooked electoral system and ensure their
victory, no matter how foulsmelling. The common good is the first
victimtheyhavefedtothebeastofselfishambition.
Theverymeaningofreinventinggovernment,onceanoblenotion
whenitwasfirstespousedbyOsborneandGaebler,hasbeencompletely
pervertedandidiotized.
***
IN THE SEARCH for presidential possibilities, the fully discredited
Senate continues to bementioned as a possible source of presidential
candidates. This is absolute nonsense. Except for Ramon Magsaysay,
Diosdado Macapagal and Fidel Ramos, all our presidents were once
membersoftheSenate.MagsaysayandMacapagalthemselveswerenot
exactly strangers to the Senate; they were members of the House of
Representatives.SotheSenateusedtobeknownasthetraininggroundof
presidents.ButPNoycompletelydestroyeditwhenhebribed19senators,
mostofwhomarestillinoffice,toconvictandremoveChiefJustice
RenatoCoronaonanonimpeachableoffense,andwhenhepresidedover
the2013electoral operationtoforcea603010winof hissenatorial
candidates,eveninantiadministrationconstituencies.
So why are we still talking about the Senate and those ambitious
senators?
Sen.FrancisEscudero,AlanPeterCayetanoandAntonioTrillanes4th,
and16othersenatorswereallcompletelymuddiedinthatantiCorona
bribery scandal; they have never been investigated nor cleared. The
neophyte Sen. Grace Poe on the other hand became the mysterious,
unheraldedandunexplainedtopnotcherinthatsenatorialelection,evenin
placeswherethevotershadneverheardofheratall.Themysteryhas
neverbeenexplained.
OnMay18,2013,theComelecwebsitegavePoe20,147,423votes.A
fewdayslater,thisroseto20,333,327votes.ByJuly11,however,this
wasreducedto16,340,333votes.Inthefinalcount,thiswentbackto
20,333,327votes.Tothisday,nobodycouldsaywhatreallyhappened.

ThePCOSvotinghasbeendescribedasoneelectionwherethewinner
cannotprovethatshewon,andthelosercannotprovethathelost.
Someonehastriedtoshootdownmynaysayingthepropagandasurveys
byaskingthisratherembarrassingquestion:Ifthepropagandasurveys
wereallmanufactured,fudged,orcrooked,howcometheelectionresults
usuallymanagetoconfirmthepublishedforecasts?Onetheorysuggests
thatthepropagandasurveysareusedtoconditionthemindsofvoters,so
theyendupvotingaccordingtothesurveys.Buthowmanyvotersever
gettoreadaboutthesurveys?Veryfew.Sonotallthevotersvotefora
certaincandidatebecausetheyhavebeenbrainwashedbythesurveys.
The more realistic explanation is that it is the cheating machine that
makesuseofthesurveystoensurethepredeterminedresults.Oncethe
survey results are disseminated, and any portion of the population
acceptsthemasfact,thepoliticaloperatorsonthegroundimmediately
gettoworkandusethesurveytoguidethemindesigningtheactual
electionresults.ThelargesyndicateattheComelecthendeliversthepre
determinedresults.
After the process is completed and all the winners have been
proclaimed,somepunditwouldnowcomeforwardtocommendthe
fraudstersfortheirforecast.Wow,howaccurate!Soaccurateindeed
thattheywereabletopredictwithamazingaccuracytheresultsincertain
places in Mindanao, where people do not normally vote for national
candidatesbutleaveittotheirlocalleaderstodecidehowmanyvotes
should finally go to which candidate, depending on the financial
arrangement.
Wenolongerhavearealelection.Thisiswhatwemustrestore.In2010
and2013,weweremerelytoldhowwevoted,andwewereexpectedto
acceptwhatwearetold.Yetin2010,agroupoffishmongerstoldmethat
althoughtheywereunschooledmoviefans,theyknewthedistinction
between movie stars and senators. They would therefore not be
bamboozledintomakingasenatoroutofanymoviestarjustbecausehe
orsheisamoviestar.
Butthen,asnow,themythpersistedthatthemassesalwayswentcrazy
formoviestars.Soevenifthemasseshadstoppedvotingformoviestars,
the political operators running the elections continue to use the myth
aboutmoviestarsinordertoelectcelebritiesandmoviestars,evenif

peoplehadstoppedvotingforthem.Itistimetothrowouttherascalsand
instituterealelectoralreforms,insteadofsimplysayingthatourpeople
areignorant,sooursystemisrotten.