How That Letter Came To Be...

I had some time in my hands last night. I bloghopped. For the very first time I got to read in detail what people are saying about that letter and about me in other blogs. I have already responded to most of the comments in this blog. However, I cannot possibly answer all comments given that I have only ten fingers and there are only 24 hours in a day. It is very tempting, but this blog is not my life and contrary to the overactive imagination of some people, I do not have the resources to do that. I cannot possibly monitor the thousands of blogs out there. Besides, the comments in this and other blogs (and even in the newspapers) do tend to answer each other, and I do not fancy myself as an ultimate arbiter or judge with the final and definitive opinion (I do not think anyone is qualified to do that unless that person died on a cross and resurrected in three days), so there is really not much to say after reading the various pros and cons. Some people do a better job at it anyway.

I do apologize if there are people who feel slighted that I have not been able to acknowledge their comments (specially those who have really nice things to say about that letter and about me). I do appreciate the comments. I may not agree with some of the views, but I am happy that people are speaking up and being heard. The debate is happening in cyberspace and people are exchanging ideas in a generally more civilized way (yes, there are those who choose to be rude, but well, some people have some growing up to do and we can't impose that on them).

However, I do wish that people keep in mind this phenomenon called selective perception. There is an objective reality (what is actually there) and there is a subjective reality (what we see in it). The two things are not always the same. Two people can watch the same movie (objective reality) and come out of it with two completely different feelings and interpretations of what they just saw (subjective reality). Conversely, you either see the contents of that letter as bible truth, or just plain hogwash. Unfortunately, things do not always belong to the two extreme ends of one continuum (the astute reader will note that I am trying hard not to drop shade-driven concepts in here to avoid slighting some people and some causes). I can be right, I can be wrong. Or I can be both or neither. Or there is no right or wrong to begin with.

The point is that people do see things that they want to see. More, people decide on emotions and justify with facts. These are basic psychological concepts. One can spend ten hours raving about something and somewhere in those ten hours of singing paeans of praises, he drops two negative comments which could very well be the only things people will remember.

I have no control over how people react to that letter. But as the writer of that letter, I think I am the best person (in fact I would even go as far as to say that I am the only person) who knows what I actually meant, or at the very least, what I intended to say in that letter. And I am saying this: there are far too many things that some people imagine to be there that are simply not there in that letter. I have written about some of these in this blog here and here and here and still here. The positive (and negative) reactions to that letter are the reactions of other people, not mine. You disagree? By all means disagree.

However, after a discussion with a friend, I realize that yes, there are certain things in that letter that are rather inchoate and can be construed as leading to a particular point of view. I will clarify now. Yes, I think I owe some of my former comrades an explanation.

No, it wasn't my intention to convince people to forgive and forget GMA's frailties. And heavens, just because I did say that "I have forgiven her," and that "maybe it is time to let things be" it shouldn't be construed as promoting corruption and cheating and all other forms of evil. I know that people indulge in hyperbole when they tried to make those acrobatic logical deductions, but for the sake of calling a spade a spade, I never said cheating should be condoned. There is a context around those statements and they are there in that letter.

I do think that cheating is deplorable. I think cheating should not be condoned. And if it is relevant, I do not allow cheating in my classroom either. Which is why I do not like her. Which is why I am not pro-GMA the person. But yes, given the current situation, I am for retaining her because like I said in that letter, a flawed leader (one who has admitted to it on national television) who has her back against the wall and knows she had better watch it from this point on, comes off to me as a better (though not necessarily ideal) alternative now compared to the power-hungry crocs whose intentions and integrity are just as suspicious and probably even more questionable. In other words, better the devil you know than the devil who pretends to be moral.

Oh sure, there are millions of other Filipinos out there who are just as qualified or even theoretically and hypothetically better than GMA. I agree 199%: there are better leaders. And I say this without doubt: there are definitely better Filipinos out there.

And just to belabor the point, I will go on record to say that I personally root for any of these ten people anytime: Teddyboy Locsin, Joker Arroyo, Patricia Licuanan, Gerry Ablaza, Juan Flavier, Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez, Solita Monsod, Sonny Coloma, Washington Sycip, Rosemarie Clemena (and lest I be accused of being a campaign lackey for any of these people, I picked these names from a list of potential speakers for a conference). But that would be plain daydreaming. The reality is that the chances that any of these people can become president in an election today is about the same as an ice cube surviving in a conflagration. Go ahead, call me a cynic, call me a person without faith. But an election today will tend to elect any of the following: Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Ping Lacson, Joseph Estrada, Noli de Castro, Loren Legarda, Eddie Villanueva, Mike Velarde, Susan Roces.

We will spend gazillions in a political exercise that will elect any of these people to prove a moral point? Presidential elections have never been a contest about who is the best person among all qualified Filipinos, it is a contest of who is the better choice among those with the resources and the willingness and the gumption to submit to the cruel torture. Given the way we treat our leaders, only those with the stomach of a boa constrictor will be willing to take on that curse. And yes, I actually think that metaphor hits a bullseye. You have to hand it to GMA, she must have innards made of steel to have been able to withstand all that demonizing.

Settling for GMA at the moment is a cop out, I know that. A major cop out. A monumental cop out. This kind of compromise is undeserved. But like I said, there too is nobility in accepting certain realities. There is nobility in fighting for an ideal, but there is nobility too in accepting, for the moment, the hand you are dealt with. There is nobility in staying in the country to care for our children and be hungry with them, and there is nobility too in accepting a job abroad to be able to provide material things for our children. We can romanticize our options, or we can wake up and smell the decay.

We can all bitch and protest to our hearts content until we are all blue in the face and the whole country has burned to embers that there is nothing left to fight for anymore, or we can buckle down to work, make sure we do not ever get into this situation again, and resolve to fight harder and better another day. Consequently, I do sincerely think that GMA might just be able to keep her place in history as a competent President, but I doubt if she will be able to live down her place in history as a cheat. Clinton might have earned his place in American history as a great president, but you can not tell me that people have forgotten what he did with you-know-who. History is a better, fairer judge. There is someone and something more powerful out there than anyone of us combined. The answer is not always yes or no. Sometimes the answer is wait.

So if Bong Austero thinks GMA is a cheat, why isn't he part of the movement to kick her out now?

Up until middle of last year, I was for the removal of the president through constitutional and democratic ways. These have not worked. Again, we can rant about how the President and her allies have been able to block every move successfully. This was tragic, but like I said, democracy is a double-edged sword, it protects the president as well. We cannot turn democratic processes on and off when we feel like it and when it suits our purpose. If democratic processes can not protect the President, what hope is there for an ordinary citizen? The writing on the wall is clear: It didn't work. And we know why. We voted for those crocs in congress who stymied the efforts. We may disagree with them, but we can not repudiate and judge them for actions that comprise 10% of their value as legislators. In more mature democracies that should have been the end of it.

Being a person who fought for democratic processes to be restored in this country, it is logical that I must accept the fruits of that struggle - both the triumphs and the tragedies. Even if I disagree with it. That is the essence of democracy. We cannot turn democratic processes on and off when we feel like it and when it suits our purpose.

Unfortunately, that is when the fight began to resemble a moral lynching that has bordered on the desperate. This is when things started to get really ugly. The duplicity started. The moral fight became so seemingly overburdened and blinded by the morality of the cause that it seems people could no longer see beyond the veneer of righteousnesss: questionable alliances were forged, unconstitutional processes banded about, open and brazen flaunting of the law, machiavellian tendencies became the order of the day, etc., etc. It seemed that it did not matter anymore what it would take as long as it gets done. It did seem that kicking the president out of office was the only thing foremost in their minds that nothing else seemed to matter, even burning the country down in the process. Someone actually went so far as to say that that was a small price to pay for a moral cause. Whew! And when called to task, they sought protection from the same systems that they were trying to break. (The other rants are found in that letter).

(Thus, attempts to deny that there was a conspiracy behind the confluence of events that led to the February events are hard to believe. 1017 and succeeding events will have to be analyzed in this context, but that is another blog entry. But I am prepared to say this now: I do not agree with the government on some of the succeeding actions, justified they may be).

There are those who point out to me the events after that letter came out which they say is indicative of how evil GMA is and then move on to make conjectures about possible scenarios forthcoming. My answer is simple: I am not Madam Auring. I refuse to argue on conjecture. And if succeeding events shall prove me wrong, I assure you, I will consider it a noble act to admit it and apologize. I am an ordinary Filipino with only one burning passion: a better future. Like I said, I consider the possibility that I am wrong and stupid and I wish others do too (unfortunately, they apparently do not. They think they are the only ones who are correct).

There are those who mock me by questioning my authority to make personal pronouncements. They ask sino ka ba? Ano ba ang karapatan mo na magsalita tungkol sa mga bagay na to? The answer to that question is simple: the same rights that you have under the constitution.

So, this is where I think the militants and I have parted ways: I choose not to participate in a moral lynching. I do not think that lynching is justified under any circumstance, particularly on assumptions of moral superiority. I abhor cheating. But I also abhor demonizing and putting all the blame squarely on one person as a collective means of moral cleansing. This would be a throwback to the middle ages where left handed people were persecuted for being the personification of evil, suspected witches were hunted down and burned at the stake, where gay people were made to wear the Star of David as a mark of shame, and where black people were hunted down and hung upside down.

It is my personal conviction that the bigger demons are participating in the lynching and riding on the mantle of morality to exculpate themselves. They are out there too and somehow, because they are fighting an immorality, they have become suffused with the cause that they think they have been cleansed as well; they now speak with the utter conviction of the morally right. It is a dangerous trap that we have fallen into many times in the past and it looks like that trap has been laid out in the open in the recent past. Suddenly, the evils of the past are forgiven just because we happen to be - conveniently - on the same side now? Kit Tatad is a prophet again? Erap is a saviour? Imee Marcos is our ally? The leftists who have been fighting to wrestle power for themselves are heroes? Military adventurism is a viable option? Go figure. But I refuse to be selective and exclusivist in my moral perspective.

By all means let us address cheating in this country. But I choose to do it with eyes wide open to the realities, widen the net in addressing the real problems and work within the democractic systems in order to address it. And should I lose, I shall accept it with dignity and nobility and move on to fight a better battle another day because I choose to stand by the processes that I have fought for rather than destroy them to achieve my moral cause. And if they needed changing, then I shall work within the parameters to do it. I shall not be selective in what aspects of democracy I will fight for and uphold.

I choose not to go through the convenient route which is to demonize our leaders when we become disaffected with them, when we see chinks in the armour, and then go into an orgy in search of immediate collective gratification. We have become so good at kicking our leaders but not in solving our problems. I am sorry, but I choose not to be a party to efforts to cast the country into an oblivion of endless succession of leaders and abject poverty just so we can pay homage to the altar of sanctimoniousness!

Unlike the militants, I will acknowledge that cheating in elections is a serious business that has been there forever. That there must be something in our culture that breeds it and yes it is time to stop it. I will go as far as saying that if GMA cheated, she must have had help from so many people. That in fact, it is not a farfetched idea that many people actually tolerated, no, consented to it, because they would rather that she win rather than someone else whose qualifications are difficult to question now because he is dead. I was not a direct party to it, but I will take part of the blame and be part of the solution. Are they ready to go that far? I doubt it. They seem interested only in asserting a higher moral order, so that they can go on with their lives content in having won a temporary moral crusade. Prove me wrong please, by going after all the allies in the Senate and in Congress, in the military, among the local executives and police, among the Comelec officials, among the civic leaders and see if you will not buckle down when the bloodbath is ten feet deep and a relative is drawn into the fray.

We want to address cheating in this country? Let us not solicit money from politicians for our causes, specially during elections time. Stop pressuring your househelp and your drivers and your tenants to vote for your candidates rather than their own choices. Let us not invite our politicians to act as sponsors to weddings and baptisms and classroom blessings and expect them to be generous because we know who will eventually foot the bill. Stand up to your friend who is running for office if you know he is a moron. Let's pay our taxes correctly, no buts and ifs about it. Let us call the pork barrel for what it really is: political largesse. Let us not bribe traffic cops. Let us not pull influence in even the most mundane administrative proceeding. Let us not pay commissions and kickbacks. I could go on and on, but you get the drift.

Let us not demonize just one person and assume that kicking her out through unconstitutional processses will solve all our problems. It is time to take a reality check: we are part of the problem. We are all party to the large-scale cheating. Let us address it honestly without ulterior motives and without preaching from some moral pulpit. Let us all take off our masks of hypocrisy and wade into the muck of our own doing. Because it will take more than moralizing to solve the problems of this country.

By saying that, I realize that I have laid myself open again to the rather painful accusation that has been hounding me in the past two weeks: Mr. Austero, if you choose to side with a thief and a cheat, you are unworthy of being called a Filipino. Such generalization is simplistic. I think that being worthy of that title is an arduous process that everyone should continuously aspire for in a whole lifetime.

But yes, I can be wrong. It is possible that I am stupid and naive and that I am an ideological, intellectual, and a moral retard. All that is within the realm of the possible. I never claimed to be anything more than what I am: a person who is speaking for himself.

I am not a part of any movement, and I have refused to stand up and lead anything. Anything. I am not offering myself as a messiah. I have refused to be interviewed on television. I have responded to comments about my letter mainly in this blog (because that is what it is and that is how it should be seen: a personal rant that people somehow could relate to and forwarded to the world for reasons I am not qualified to analyze) and yes, in Rina Jimenez David's column because she is my friend. This blog is not a beacon for anything. If other people agree with me, I certainly did not ask that they do it. If you disagree with me, shoot the message, not the messenger.

And that is how that letter came to be written.




***
(And on a different note, I would like to come to the defense of Melvin Mangada who has been accused of plagiarizing that open letter. He did email me about it before he forwarded the letter, and I do not think someone with his credentials would stoop so low. Many people forwarded that letter and to give it credence among people they know, they made sure they wrote their names).

Comments

Anonymous said…
Bong you have explained your side very well. Mabuhay ka kaibigan.
cvj said…
Thanks for the explanation on how the letter came about. Can you explain in more detail the part where you said:

"Because quite frankly, we are prepared to lose our freedoms and our rights just to move this country forward. "

Particularly, i'm interested on whether this was just an statement made in the heat of moment or is it a principle integral to the rest of your letter? To me at least, the above is inconsistent with your belief in democracy.

BTW, i favor the same list of people you have above. I also believe that any given presidential election can produce the latter bunch of people. However, that has not stopped me from supporting those who oppose GMA.

Each of us may think that we have better judgement when it comes to these things, but this is beside the point. Democracy relies on the presumption of one-person one vote and that is a principle we cannot compromise on.
Anonymous said…
hi Bong. do you also notice that there is a kind of fundamentalism growing among us? for the lack of better term, i call it moral fundamentalism. also there's what WS Burroughs called the Right Virus.
Joey said…
funny, when fpj and gma were running against each other, there were lots of us who said, we'd take gma over fpj, even if she cheated to get it. but what's even more interesting is that fpj turned out to be such a lousy campaigner that gma actually caught up with him in the polls and overtook him before the elections. so come election day, i sincerely believe she beat him. all this "cheating" was GMA simply making the "lamang" bigger so that there would be no protests. call me gullible, but that's what i believe.

and so now I believe she is the legitimate president. and like austero said, out of these most possible candidates today: Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Ping Lacson, Joseph Estrada, Noli de Castro, Loren Legarda, Eddie Villanueva, Mike Velarde, Susan Roces. I'd still choose GMA.
Erwin Rafael said…
bong,

i am one of the people who disagreed with your POV in my own blog. i am just wondering why your e-mail started circulating as something written by Mr. Melvin Mangada, an executive for a marketign firm. nagulat lang ako.

heniweyz, ang masasabi ko lang...at least you cared enough to react. i may be passionate in my position on issues, but I'd rather have somebody who is on the opposite side of my argument than somebody who is apathetic.
Anonymous said…
The only thing that I can tell you now, Bong, is that you don't even need to defend yourself.

Your letter speaks for itself; those who speak against you are committing the unforgiveable fallacy of argumentum ad hominem.

Those who question your letter based on your credibility as a person are those deserving to be questioned of their own credibility.

You need not defend yourself, nor do you need to defend your letter any further.

But I guess it's all good to, in the effort of making the narrow-minded understand.
Bong C. Austero said…
alden, yes you may. there is no need to ask permission from me to forward entries from my blog, but i appreciate the courtesy.

ganderson: i agree, moral fundamentalism! I was searching for that word. some people also call it the virus of hate. thanks!

cvj: i think that rights and freedoms cannot be absolute. i believe freedoms must be earned and dispensed with responsibly.

paeng, i wrote about melvin towards the bottom of that post.

jon and alex, thanks a lot! (Alex, if you are weng's brother, send me a private email pls).

baycas: your rants are posted as well in this blog. i respect your right to disagree with me. but no, i do not think of myself as being of higher moral order. I am a sinner, and i have my own moral dilemmas.

To everyone, thanks for reading.
Anonymous said…
Never mind baycas you're too self righteous too enough pontification. You pro-erap loyalists.
Anonymous said…
Bravo Bong, keep writing and have the patience to explain to those who does "not want" to understand you, yet obviously, gets your point.

anyway we outnumber 'em.

keep goin' bro!
Anonymous said…
Thank you for speaking, Bong. You articulated my sentiments which. I've been doing lots of heart searching, asking myself if I am condoning something they speak about to be so evil.

I don't know why I can't raise my fist against GMA when I did so against other past presidents. Maybe because she is a (petite) woman, a mother, and a lola at that.

I think I was impressed with some of the things she started like choosing competent people for her cabinet (like the Hyatt 10), pushing for lifestyle checks and going after tax evaders, and demonstrating hard work and relentlessness. I was also moved by her "I am sorry" gesture. And maybe I thought I would do some of the "unprincipled" things she did if I were in her tiny shoes, considering the kind of scheming and greedy politicians we have in both sides of the fence.

Those who see things in black and white might be extolled by the Church and other do-gooders. Such outlook is fitting to their calling as preachers and columnists. And we all need them for us to know where the lines are drawn. But I imagine that it is totally different for practitioners, for those who are out there in the thick of the action, moving about with packs of wolves. They might be too busy to write and preach about their guiding principles but I suppose they move about not solely motivated by selfish ambitions.

I think the task for us now is to remain vigilant so that GMA would not repeat her past transgressions and that she keeps on working hard towards right directions.
cvj said…
bong, thanks for the response although that sounds a lot milder than your statement in the open letter where you indicated your willingness to 'lose' your (and by extension my) freedoms and rights. my only point of disagreement is the part about having 'to earn' freedom - i believe it's an inalienable right.
Anonymous said…
I too agree with joey.

I believe GMA is the legitimate winner of the 2004 elections.

GMA caught up with FPJ in early April and surpassed him in the surveys by May. I think all the credible surveys pointed to that result.

I think pinataas lang 'yung lamang ni GMA over FPJ kaya naging more than 1 million ang lamang niya.

But realistically, I think GMA's margin over FPJ was a closer 200,000.

Still, she won and she is our legitimate President.
JT said…
Out of topic: bong, you dont need to approve this, just wanted to tell you na may bago na akong blog address: www.blogtwoversiontwo.blogspot.com. link me again ha. thanks :)
Anonymous said…
let's not argue with baycash sisikat lang sya!what he's writing is what I'm hearing long time ago...let's go forward and rekindle the hope for our country. HARI NAWA MAGKAROON NG KATAHIMIKAN AT KATIWASAYAN SA ATING BAYAN.
Anonymous said…
whoever you are, I never heard from you but you certainly made me emotional. Sana namna magbago na tayong mga pilipino. It's not about whose who in malacanang. Nasa atin ang pagbabago.
Mabuhay ka and pls. dont be discourage for the few na nasagasaan sa blog mo.
Mabuhay tayong lahat
Anonymous said…
There are several paths to get to one destination. The path we choose to pursue, for ourselves alone I might add, is the only difference between Pro or Anti whoemever and whatever. Let's not get personal.

Let's all be fair and remember this if we are to continue this unending debate on the current politicial issues. This is all this is, an unending debate. Unless...you want to go out on the streets and start the mass protests that still cannot take off....
Anonymous said…
bong,

galing ng letter.

baycas,

ito ang totoong sinabi ni GMA dun sa speech nya.. "If I were to run, it would require a major political effort on my part but since I am one of the principal figures in the divisive national events in the last two or three years our political efforts would result in a never-ending divisiveness,"

wala shang sinabi na sha ang cause ng pagkahati hati ng bansa. yan ay isa lang sa marmaing example kung bakit dapat huwag kaagad tayo maniwala sa lahat ng mga nakasulat sa newspapers at mga opinyon ng iba. Ito ang perfect example kung bakit unfair ang mga pinagbabato na accusations kay GMA.

at ano ngayun kung nag change sha ng mind? at ano ngayun KUNG may balak talga sya tumakbo at nagisnungaling sha na hindi daw sha tatakbo?

Halos lahat naamn ng politicians ginagawa yan eh. SI FPJ, ilang beses nagsinungaling hangang sa huli. SI lacson ilang beses sinabi na kinasusuka nya ang pulitika at wala shang balak pumasok dito.

Minsan kasi, tunkol to sa strategy at sa case ni GMA, para manahimik muna ang opposition nung time na yun sa pamumulitika against sa kanya.

jmho.

reply pa sana ako sa ibang nakasulat kaso hahaba lang ng sobra to
Wiko Kabiling said…
I've been taking random samples of the comments to your open letter and it seems the range in the level of agreement or disagreement is tremendously broad. Paradoxically however I think that is exactly what brings value to your letter.

What you wrote simply hit the mark on a segment of public sentiment that is very much real. It possesses that stickinees factor that Malcolm Gladwell says is essential in getting social phenomena to reach a tipping point, which I think your letter certainly has by now. For me, never mind if your are supported by the majority or the minority. This raging public discussion of your letter, in my opinion, is a good sign for our country. It shows that people are concerned, and that people are asking questions. For that you should be congratulated.

As for my personal take, I find very apt this quote attributed to Voltaire that reads something like, "I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Again, congratulations.
Anonymous said…
Just to let you know how I (and my community) really appreciated your letter. As a matter of fact, we have shared it with our friends. What you said in your letter really verbalized the anger and frustrations that we feel in our hearts on what is going on in the country at this time. Keep it up!
jef said…
"We have become so good at kicking our leaders but not in solving our problems."

Why do you have that gift of being so darn right everytime? Man, this has much more power than your open letter because you delved into the real cause. Yes! Filipinos corrupt each other... we all do...no need for any sugarcoating entry about that and unless we have come to accept that reality on face value, then maybe, the change will henceforth begin in each of us rather than changing the system as a whole. To start with, the sytem is primarily compose of the people.

And Bong, ignore them, those people who have pondered that someone died and handed them the right to be self-righteous and champions of the masses. There will be a crowning ceremony later this month. Everybody is welcome to attend (or protest) hehehe!

Great post and God bless.
Anonymous said…
bong, you have defended your letter on your others posts, and as I see it your defense is under scrutiny as well. I'm afraid it will turn out to be a vicious cycle of posts and counterposts, of explanations and rebutalls. I don't know about you, but I would like to read new and insightful posts from you. You have done your best to knock some sense into the minds of the doubtful and spiteful, but at the end of the day it is still their choice to love what you did or hate it. Ako, I prefer reading new posts from you which will liberate my mind and broaden my way of thinking.

Can't wait for your new posts! Yun lang. :-)
Keep Voicing Out.. We really apreciate what you did. More power, Bong!
Anonymous said…
Sometimes the answer is wait.

Wait for what? Wait until when? The 2010 elections? (IF GMA voluntarily gives up power by then and doesn't do a Marcos.) Suppose we wait until then, and a new president is elected. And suppose that after some time we learn that this new president actually committed massive electoral fraud, illegally used billions in government funds for his/her election campaign, then attempted to cover-up all these misdeeds, even using repressive and illegal measures to continually evade accountability.

What should we do then? Just forget all about it, too, and again, just move on with our lives?

***

You challenge those protesting against GMA to prove their sincerity by going after her allies as well. Actually, there's no lack of effort on their part in this regard, but your president is coddling and protecting her partners in crime. Do you not see that GMA is brazenly violating laws at will and with utter impunity? Right now, GMA and her allies ARE the law.

You also complain about the trapos who are trying to exploit this crisis for their own ends. Yes they do exist, yes I do not like them too. But who said that by protesting against GMA you necessarily have to side with the traditional (Erap etc) opposition? What about those who are protesting for legitimate reasons, those who are just outraged by such serious wrongdoings and feel that these shouldn't be tolerated? It seems that you fail to acknowledge them, focusing instead on the opportunists and the discredited politicians. Why don't you cite the likes of Oscar Orbos, Ramon Magsaysay Jr, Randy David, and many many other credible and sincere persons who have called for GMA's resignation and are continuing to speak out against her other grave crimes and abuses? (I won't even mention those who are considered to be "progressive", as you seem to have no love lost for them.) Or is it that in your mind, anyone protesting against GMA is automatically a power-hungry opportunist?

You profess to not have faith in our elections, even if they were to be clean and relatively fraud-free, because you predict that only the likes of "Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Ping Lacson, Joseph Estrada, Noli de Castro, Loren Legarda, Eddie Villanueva, Mike Velarde, Susan Roces" will win. (Not that I agree that all the other names there are necessarily worse than GMA.) But then you refuse to see such things as creeping martial law because you "refuse to argue on conjecture." You play seer one moment then deny being a Madam Auring the next. You venture a guess about electoral outcome based on your reading of recent political history, but refuse to do the same when confronted with GMA's tyrannical manifestations.

Also, who said that kicking GMA would solve all the country's problems? Of course it wouldn't. But it's certainly a step in the right direction.

Finally, you say that "we are prepared to lose our freedoms and our rights just to move this country forward." (Who are the "we" there, by the way? Since you claim to speak for no one but yourself.) To quote Benjamin Franklin, "Any society that will give up a little liberty to gain a little security would deserve neither and lose both."
Anonymous said…
Hi!
I can't seem to find your email address so I'm using this informal posting to contact you for a favor. I'm the ed-in-chief of the newly founded Harvard Philippine Review (tentative name), an undergrad publication about Filipino socio-political issues at Harvard College.
I was wondering if I can publish your open letter in our first issue?

THanks and please don't hesitate to contact me,

Nicole (nlim@fas.harvard.edu)
Anonymous said…
Hi Bong! You do deserve the title "Mr. Eloquent." :) This piece is indeed well-written! Better even than your open letter, in my opinion. Anyway, I don't know if this will put an end to all the verbal tussles which arose from your letter. Eventually, siguro, all the talk will die down. And then you can visit other blogs and not see your name there. Hehe. Btw, is the Rosemarie Clemeña you mentioned Dr. Clemeña of DLSU-CSB? She was my teacher in grad school and I agree with you, she would make a good leader.
Anonymous said…
hi! i've been an avid follower of everything pertaining to your open letter. it amuses me how so much "intelligent" debate has spawned from it. i wouldn't say that i agree to all you said in your letter but you did have major points. anyway, i'm really starting to pity you for all the "pambubugbog" they're doing to you because of the letter. it must have really shaken your boat. that's why i wouldn't blame a lot of us who have decided to remain a "silent majority" as you call it coz look at what they do to people like you who have gathered the guts to speak up.
Anonymous said…
Bong, that your open letter got so much attention means that many had felt the same way. I received it 3x. Congratulations. Finally, we find our voice.

While others protest in the streets and hold up the traffic, we have blogs to express ourselves. This blog is our rally, our protest, our medium to voice out. To those who object, do we argue with you at your rallies? Let us be. All we could do then is curse you from our office window.

To the moral fundamentalists, talking to Garci may have been wrong, but many mistakes with many leaders have gone unpunished. What makes that a bigger fault than having 10 wives and cheating on them?

I sent your open letter with this message (a little dated though)...

Please see the message below which probably reflects the sentiment of most taxpayers--those gainfully employed, the middle class who make a good contribution! (Bakit palagi nalang masa ang ipinaglalaban?)

What I want to ask the politicians and rally leaders is what Leyte Gov. Rosette Lerias asked: If you really love this country, where were you when the Leyte tragedy happened? Does your love of country limit itself to politics within your comfort zone (i.e., not in 30 feet of mud)? Your apathy is in contrast to how quickly you responded to Col. Querubin who was just throwing a tantrum! Now all of you are the laughing stock of the country. And these people in the military, why do you think that just because you have arms, you can decide our fate for us?

From our office window that overlooks Ayala Ave, I saw how the Feb. 24 (Friday) march was over in 5 minutes. What a non-event it was except for the presence of Kris A. and James Yap! And yet the camera angles in the news belied the truth. It went on and on and on in a loop. Tita Cory marching followed by a banner, "Ibalik si Erap!" was a joke!

I agree with Res. 1017 if that would get Ces Drilon and Pia Hontiveros out of the TV! Please! How can you be considered journalists when your reactions, questions and comments are so biased. Is that the Philippine version of balanced reporting? What a shame!

Risa Hontiveros, Randy David, Tita Cory, Hyatt 10: what you did was help the planned military coup supported by the CPP-NPA! Is that what you wanted? That is SCARY. If there would be a protest, signature campaign, noise barrage against the rallyists, media, Senators, Congressmen and all the rest who are the real enemies of the country, count me in!
Anonymous said…
Hi,
I'm amazed why so many people, especially in the media, are more outraged in Res.1017 than in the attempted coup itself. It didn't occur to them that had the coup succeeded, they wouldn't be as free to criticize the ruling junta as they do the present government.

more power,
John_Galt
Anonymous said…
MABUHAY BONG AUSTERO and the TRUE SILENT MAJORITY! I Will never go to EDSA again! We should never make compromise with COMMUNISTS and MILITARY ADVENTURISTS! They are enemies of the state and must be destroyed! CORY AQUINO has become more of a liability than asset to the nation. she should be exiled!

Salamat po sa open letter na yon
Anonymous said…
I share your sentiments, Bong. I would also like to share this e-mail sent to me awhile back. The language is kinda harsh but rings true nevertheless.

Galing sa isang ordinaryong manggawang Filipino: Walang kwenta ang Pilipinas!
By: jawbreaker. (isang ordinaryong office worker na ayaw ng magbayad nang tax...ever!)
Walang katapusang corruption, walang kamatayang pangbabatikos, pagbabatuhan ng tae at pagpapa-taasan ng ihi ng mga pulitiko sa bawat isa, walang tigil na imbestigasyon ng kung ano-anong isyu pero wala namang matinong resolusyon, walang puknat na pag-aagawan ng kapangyarihan sa pagitan ng mga partido, patuloy na pagdami ng tamad at tangang Pilipino, SILANG patuloy na pakikipaglaban ng ideolohiyang wala namang silbi.
SINONG "SILA"?
EH DI MGA CORRUPT NA GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND WORKERS.
MGA TAMBAY NA PILIPINO NA ANG LALAKI NG KATAWAN PERO HINDI NAMAN NAGTRATRABAHO AT HINDI NAGBABAYAD NG TAX.
MGA MAYAYAMAN AT ARTISTANG TAX EVADERS.
PATI MGA AKTIBISTA.
NPA AT IBA PANG IDEOLOGICAL GROUPS NA HINDI NAGBABAYAD NG TAX PERO PANG-GULO!!!
Lagi na lang sinasabi ng mga pulitiko: Ipaglaban ang masa! Tulungan ang masa! Mahalin ang masa!
MASA LANG BA ANG TAO SA PILIPINAS?
SINO BA TALAGA ANG BUMUBUHAY SA BANSANG TO?
SAAN BA GALING ANG PANGPAGAWA NG MGA TULAY AT KALYE?
SAAN BA GALING ANG PORK BARREL?
SAAN BA GALING ANG PERANG KINUKURAKOT NILA?
KAMI NA MGA MANGGAGAWA AT MIDDLE CLASS NA BAGO PA MAKUHA ANG SWELDO BAWAS NA - KAMI ANG BUMUBUHAY SA BANSA NA 'TO!!!!!!!!!
BAKIT YANG BANG MGA MASANG YAN NA LAGI NA LANG SENTRO NG PLATAPORMA NG MGA PULITIKO EH NAGBABAYAD BA NG TAX SILA???!!!!
KAHIT ISA SA MGA NAG-RA-RALLYING MGA SQUATTER NA YAN, KAHIT SINGKO HINDI NAG-RE-REMIT YAN SA BIR! PERO PINAPAKINGGAN BA KAMI NG GOBYERNO?
LAGI NA LANG OPINYON NG MASA ANG INI-INTINDI NG GOBYERNO. KUNG SINO ANG NAG-RA-RALLY, SA EDSA, SILA ANG NASUSUNOD. KUNG SINO ANG MAS MALAKAS SUMIGAW PERO WALA NAMANG ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION, SILA LAGI ANG FOCUS PAG MAY PROBLEMA.
SILA LAGI ANG BIDA. KAMING MGA ORDINARYONG OFFICE WORKERS, OFW'S, LABORERS AT IBA PANG NAG-TRA-TRABAHO AT NAGBABAYAD NG TAX - KAMI ANG NAGPAPAKAHIRAP PARA BUHAYIN ANG PILIPINAS. KAMI ANG MGA TUNAY NA BAYANI NG BANSA!!!
Tuwing nakikita ko ang payslip ko, nag-iinit ang ulo ko at gusto kong maiyak sa inis. Napakalaki ng tax na binabawas sa akin pero ginagamit lang sa walang kwentang bagay ang perang pinaghirapan ko.
Lahat ng pagtitipid ginagawa ko para suportahan ang sarili ko, pamilya ko at ang bansang to. Ni hindi ako makabili ng chicken and spaghetti meal sa Jollibee kahit gutom na gutom na ko. Nag-tya-tyaga ako sa waffle na tig-P10, o kaya pag may konting pera, junior bola-bola siopao sa Mini-Stop sa halangang P20.
Eh kung yung pera ko na pinapangbabayad sa tax sa kin na lang napunta, eh di sana nakakapanood pa ko ng sine at least 2 beses sa isang buwan. Nakabili na sana ako ng bagong rubber shoes. Nakapagpagawa na sana ako ng sarili kong bahay.
Yung tax na binabayad ko, karamihan nun derecho sa bulsa ng mga corrupt na mga government officials at workers. Habang hirap na hirap akong i-budget ang pera ko, sila naman nagpapakasarap sa mga mansyon. SUV's at luxury cars pa ang dina-drive nila, samantalang ako sa pedicab lang sumasakay!
PERA KO YANG PINAPAGPAPASASAAN NYO!!!!!
Yung tax na binabayad ko, pinapangsuporta sa mga mahihirap. Saan ba galing ang pera pangpagawa ng housing at pagtulong sa mga mahihirap, di ba sa mga manggagawa na nagbabayad ng buwis! Pero karamihan ng mahihirap, kung umasta kala mo inaapi sila ng sobra.
SA TOTOO LANG NO, KAYA ANG MGA MAHIHIRAP LALONG NAGHIHIRAP KASI MGA TAMAD!
Ang daming mga tambay sa kalye na walang trabaho pero ang laki ng katawan. Eh kung sila ba nagkargador sa pier eh di sana may pera sila.
TAPOS WALA NA NGANG PERA, ANAK PA NG ANAK! LALO NYO LANG PINAPADAMI ANG TAMAD AT TANGA SA MUNDO!!!!!
Naaawa ako sa mga batang pakalat-kalat sa kalye at namamalimos. Imbes na nag-aaral, dumadagdag lang sila sa bilang ng mga future criminals sa Pinas. Hindi ako magtataka na yung batang nakita kong namamalimos sa Cubao, pagkatapos ng ilang taon cellphone snatcher na.
YUNG MGA MAGULANG NAMAN DYAN, COMMON SENSE LANG! HIRAP NA HIRAP NA NGA KAYO SA BUHAY, MANGDADAMAY PA KAYO NG IBA?! PAPARAMIHAN NYO PA LAHI NYO!
Palibhasa walang mga trabaho at walang pinagkaka-abalahan, kaya nagkakalabitan at nagsusundutan na lang maghapon, magdamag. Sa totoo lang, nakakabilib. Kasi kahit sa ilalim ng tulay o sa kariton lang, nakakabuo pa rin ng bata! Ibig sabihin, maabilidad ang mga Pinoy. Kung gugustuhin, gagawan ng paraan. Kahit sa makipot, mabaho at maduming lugar - SOLVE!
Isa pang mga grupo ng tao na nakakainis, yung mga aktibista, NPA at kung ano-ano pang ideological political groups. Sabi nila, mahal na mahal nila ang Pilipinas kaya pinagpalalaban nila ang kanilang mga adhikain.
EH HINDI RIN KAYO NAGBABAYAD NG TAX! ANG KAKAPAL RIN NG MGA MUKHA NYO! MGA HIPOKRITO! MAHAL DAW ANG PILIPINAS AYAW NAMAN MAGBAYAD NG BUWIS!
WALA DIN NAMAN KAYONG MGA TRABAHO! KUNG MAY TRABAHO TALAGA KAYO, HINDI KAYO MAG-RA-RALLY DAHIL SAYANG ANG SWELDO NYO PAG ABSENT KAYO!
PAANO NYO MAIPAPAKITA ANG PAGMAMAHAL NYO SA PILIPINAS KUNG WALA NA KAYONG GAWANG MATINO KUNDI MAG-RALLY AT MAMUNDOK??!!!
ISA PA YANG MGA MAYAYAMAN AT MGA ARTISTA, NA NANGDADAYA AT HINDI NAGBABAYAD NG BUWIS. ANG KAKAPAL NG MUKHA NYO! ANG DAMI NYO NA NGANG ERA NANGDADAYA PA KAYO SA TAX!!!! HINDI NYO NAMAN MADADALA SA IMPIERNO YANG MGA KAYAMAN NYO. MASUSUNOG LANG DUN YAN.
KAYA LALONG BUMABAGSAK ANG NEGOSYO DITO SA PILIPINAS, KASI MGA NEGOSYANTE MANDARAYA. PATI SHOWBIZ INDUSTRY, BAGSAK NA DIN. KARMA ANG TAWAG DYAN. MGA BALASUBAS KASI.
Sana magkaron ng POLITICAL AND NATIONAL CLEANSING.
Alisin ang lahat ng pulitiko at political families sa puwesto.
Tibagin ang lahat ng mapanirang organizations at grupo. Itapon sa malayong isla o kaya i-pwersa ng hard labor ang mga sobrang tamad na mga Pilipino. Ihiwalay ang mga bata sa kanilang mga tamad at tangang magulang upang makapag-aral sila at maturuan na maging mabuting tao at mamamayan.
Magkaron ng bagong lider na walang political ties at utang na loob sa kahit sino.
At higit sa lahat, dapat tax payers lang ang pwedeng bumoto!
Kung kinakailangang magka-giyera para magtino ang mga Pilipino, ayos lang. Masyado na kasing matigas ang ulo ng mga tao dito. Gusto ng kalayaan, pero hindi naman handang panagutan ang responsibilidad ng pagiging malaya. Meron daw pinaglalaban na prinsipyo at adhikain pero takot namang mamatay para dito.
Hangga't hindi nagkakaron ng radical change, patuloy na walang kwenta ang Pilipinas at patuloy na magiging tanga ang majority ng mga Pilipino.
Sa dami ng nag-mi-migrate na Pilipino sa ibang bansa, dadating ang panahon na minority na lang ng population sa Pilipinas ang may utak.
Yung mga magagaling na Pilipino, malamang maubos na. Sobra na kasi silang na-fru-frustrate at na-de-depress sa mga nakikita nila.
Ilang taon pa at aalis na rin ako sa Pilipinas. Wala kong balak na magkaron ng pamilya sa isang bansa na hindi pinapahalagahan ang kontribusyon ng mga taong tunay na bumubuhay dito. Kawawa naman ang magiging anak ko kung dito sya mabubuhay.
Sa totoo lang, broken hearted ako. Minahal ko din ang bansang ito. Pilit kong pinagtatanggol kahit bulok. Nakarating na ko ng ibang bansa, pero pinili kong bumalik. Pero ngayon, ayoko na. Suko na ko.
Sayang lang ako sa bansang to. Simple lang naman ang hiling ko. Gusto ko lang mabuhay ng tahimik at maayos. Gusto ko na kahit paano eh maipagmalaki ang Pilipinas. Pero wala eh. Doomed to be jologs ang bansang to.
Alam ko marami pa ang umaasa at naniniwala sa pagbabago. Good luck and God bless! Sana tama kayo at mali ako.
domingoarong said…
--"We want to address cheating in this country?" and "Let us not demonize just one person"--Bong

I propose the following "electoral reforms posthaste" to restore the "confidence and trust in our political processes" debased by the "self-serving interests" of "political leaders from left, right, and center" or "the interests of political dynasties" (quotes from CBCP Letter):

01. No person who served as an elective national or local official in the Republic of the Philippines, including all incumbent officials, shall be eligible to run as candidate for, or be appointed to serve the unexpired term of, any elective national or local position upon the ratification of this revision.

02. No person who has served the full, or a part of, the term as an elective national or local official at anytime after the ratification of this revision shall be eligible to run as candidate for re-election or seek any other elective national or local position.

03. The prohibition or ineligibility in sections 1 and 2 shall apply to the immediate family of the elective official concerned, including incumbent officials.

These provisions--One Term-No Reelection, No Dynasty policy—should minimize the cheating, the greed, the lust for power by cleaning the slate of ALL incumbents at the end of EVERY term of office with NEW faces running for election during each term.

Imagine a Philippines without the Arroyos, Estradas, Ramoses, Aquinos and the rest of the trapos and hustlers.
Anonymous said…
even here in riyadh, saudi arabia, your open letter is a hot issue.

thanks anyway bong for speaking out, you truly rerepresented our sentiments.

tama na! tumahimik na tayo!

keep it up repapips.


bodjet of riyadh
Anonymous said…
What the opposition hasn't yet realized is that by fighting for our civil liberties, they are actually destroying it.
I hope that in some way or the other, your open letter and your blogs, will somehow open up their minds and start anew in moving our nation forward.

What price, peace.
Anonymous said…
Nasan Ka


Mahigpit ang kapit sa palad ng mga kaanak na pilit itinatawid sa malakas na agos ng kahirapan. Basa man at nilalamig ay di pa rin na-antig sa pag-aakalang mararating ang ligtas at matiwasay na pang pang ng kasaganahan.

Ito ang pang araw-araw na tinatahak ng pangkaraniwang tao. Naghihintay sa pagdating ng magigiting na kalahi gaya ni Rizal, Bonifacio, del Pilar at Mabini. Mga tunay na bayani ng ating lipi.

Sila na mga nag buwis ng dugo para sa kapakanan ng lahi. Nahan na ang inyong mga kauri? Ngayon, higit kailan man kayo ay aming hinihintay. Sagipin nyo kami sa mga mapanlinlang na kamay.

Mga makapangyahirang pilit ginagamit ang kahirapan at pananampalataya upang iligaw ang sambayanan. Ilang daan taon kaming nagtiis sa mananakop na dayuhan. Ilang dekada rin kaming nilinlang ng mga kawatang pamahalaan.


Pagod man at hapo ay di pa rin susuko. Balang araw bawat tagpo ay makakamtan din,
minimithing adhikain ay mayayakap din.



Katha ni niknok
Anonymous said…
Bongski..Very much well said tol..I forwarded to lots of friends whom i'm pretty sure felt the same way..Keep it up tol and thenx again..

Bobsk1
Unknown said…
Hi Bong,

Youo need not belabor your point on these issues about GMA and a lot of others who are aspiring as servatns of the people. Unfortunately, people would misunderstood you simply because, its you. If it could have been written by someone else, perhaps, it will not create that much intrigue.

God bless you,

Clem -- CEGP 1985

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