⌛ Maguindanao killers must pay for their crimes...

It's been 6 days since the heartless slaughter of about 57 people in Maguindanao and the perpetrators still seem to be enjoying life like nothing happened. The main suspect or the mastermind of the massacre, the mayor and his clan of Ampatuans, seem to be playing tricks with the law by "playing sick". I really have doubts about this.

 

I feel soo bad about this tragedy. But the sad tragedy is that these three “Gs”( Gun, Goons and Gold) are government’s ‘properties’.

This is Jun Mercado's report;
In many areas in Mindanao, particularly in the ARMM [Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao] where accountability and transparency are almost nil, the internal revenue allocation or IRA is the unlimited source of gold.

In other places, drugs and numbers game have, of late, been also lucrative sources of gold.

Many actually opine that the war against drugs and illegal gambling is a big joke in this country, particularly in the ARMM, when politicians and law enforcers are perceived to be the real ‘operators’.

Under the present dispensation, particularly in the ARMM, people speak in whisper of yet another ‘G’.

That fourth ‘G’ refers to Gloria or President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The ‘unlimited’ access to this fourth ‘G’ is the all that distinguishes the small time ‘warlord’ to a paramount warlord of a province or a the entire region.

In Maguindanao, as in other provinces of the ARMM, the ‘rule’ over areas or territories is closely linked to families and clans.

To cite a few examples, there is the Ampatuan clan that is recognized as the ‘ruler’ in the former municipality Maganoy that is now subdivided into four municipalities (Aguak, Unsay, Mamasapano, and Hofer).

There is the Mangudadatu clan that is a recognized ruler of the former municipality of Buluan in Maguindanao and the Municipalities of Lutuyan and Palembang in Sultan Kudarat or the territories around the Lake of Buluan.

The more familiar clans that are similarly situated are the Sinsuats in the former Dinaig, the Matalams in the former Pagalungan, the Midtimbangs in the former Talayan, the Masturas in the former Nuling, and the Tomawis-Aratuc families in the Iranon towns of Barira and Buldon.

They are all rulers by rights and blood in their traditional ‘domain’ or fiefdom.

These ‘rulers’ enjoy both the authority of traditions (agama and customary law) and the state laws, because they are the ‘elected’ local officials in their own domain.

The rise of a paramount ‘warlord’ does not come often.

Usually, the rise and fall of a paramount warlord depended on the whims and caprices of the real paramount LORD that resides along the Pasig River.

The Ampatuan clan was able to venture outside their traditional ‘domain’ (Maganoy) with the ‘blessing’ of the paramount LORD in Malacañang.

Datu Andal Ampatuan, Sr. was already the ‘ruler’ of Maganoy during the time of Ferdinand Marcos.

President Cory Aquino in 1986 removed him from office and deprived him of access to the security forces of the state after EDSA 1.

But in the first election under the 1987 Constitution, Datu Andal Sr. became the undisputed Mayor of Maganoy.

His rival, Datu Surab Abutazil, also of the Ampatuan clan, was assassinated in broad daylight in a cafeteria right in the market place of Maganoy.

Mayor Andal was charged for the murder of Datu Surab but later the case was dismissed for lack of witnesses.

The turning point for the Ampatuan clan happened during the 2001 local elections.

With the full support of the PNP and the AFP, Datu Andal had beaten the incumbent Maguindanao Governor and the 1st ARMM Governor, Zacaria Candao.

The decision to shift support to Datu Andal was the perception that Gov. Candao was MILF or sympathetic to the MILF.

Datu Andal became the ‘avid’ supporter of President Gloria in her decision to run for the Presidency in 2004.

He “delivered” the whole province to Gloria against the more popular Fernando Poe, Jr.

This electoral ‘feat’ made Datu Andal the new ‘anointed’ one not only for the province but also for the entire ARMM.

It was no accident in 2005, when the Ampatuan made a run for the head ‘honcho’ of the ARMM.

It was an invitation to the government and President Gloria to shift to a more ‘manageable and predictable overseer’ over the ARMM after almost nine years of disarray under the rule of the MNLF (more than five years under Nur Misuari and 3 years under Parouk Hussin).

With the ARMM falling into the hands of the Ampatuan clan and under the total patronage of Malacañang, the hold of the clan over the ARMM and Maguindanao has become undisputed.

It is a steady and phenomenal rise to almost absolute power.

The last known paramount Lord of the Cotabato Empire province was Datu Udtog Matalam in the 50’s and early 60’s.

During the 2007 elections, the Ampatuan clan had proven, beyond doubt, their complete control of all government machineries including the Commission on Elections and the security forces in the area by the delivery a 12-0 results in the senatorial slate for the administration.

This was also mirrored in the ‘no contest’ election in the province.

From the provincial slate to the municipal slate in 30 towns in Maguindanao out of 32, all the positions were not contested.

In the past, the national government was the ‘check and balance’ vis-a-vis local warlords.

The government in Manila made sure that the warlord’s control remains within his family or clan domain.

Even during the height of martial law, President Marcos made sure that no one family or clan dominated the whole region.

This equation has changed completely during the Presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo following the 2004 national elections.

There evolved a sort of symbiosis in the political agenda between the central government and the Ampatuan clan gaining control over the province of Maguindanao and the ARMM.

We will pray together in this country, this is a beautiful country to live with and let our kids enjoy with it.

 

If you want to go down there and straighten out the mess I will pay half the fare...........when you return of course:p

 

The only thing unusual about this case is the scale of it....election season - and journalists and many opposition candidates might as well paint bulls-eyes on their foreheads and wait for the .357. When I read the daily news I want to stick my finger down my throat....it's beyond sickening.....Marcos's...Estrada's....Arroyo's....Wouldn't it be easier to just empty the Cebu Jail and let them run the country? They've already proven they have more talent than most Filipino politicians. It's very sad....there are a multitude of disastrous problems that aren't being dealt with - because conniving politicians are playing average Filipinos for the ignorant trusting fools that they are.

 

Now you got me started....I'm curious...do they teach how democratic governments operate in schools in the Philippines....my wife says yes..when she went to school on Negros - but that was when dinosaurs ruled the earth...You younger folk than us - are they teaching you? Do you write to politicians with your requests, guidance on issues, voting intentions? They are your servants....not the other way around. I would have written twenty letters in the last week myself to Australian senators and members of parliament. I enjoy it and do it often. They all respond....some a couple of times - especially when they did as I hoped. That is the way it's supposed to work. Be active - don't worry about who their latest mistress is....etc....Worry about the legislation that will affect you and let them know how you feel about it...Don't be fearful...give them sh*t and make them do what is right.

 

This is what you should get for a response when you write..or similar...not farted off:

Thank you Senator Back.....your views are well ahead of the Labor party (and many Liberals) and I applaud your thoughtful convictions. Am looking forward to the next election....and I think you should be looking at the front bench...

Kind regards,

Charles (alias garbonzo)




On 02/12/2009, at 12:08 PM, Back, Chris (Senator) wrote:





I want to thank you again for the interest you have shown in the ETS debate and the events occurring in Canberra in recent days.

In the Chamber on 1st December I addressed the issue of risk management. The risk was in getting the ETS legislation wrong.

The likelihood of that was, in my view, HIGH and the impact on Australia if Labor got it wrong was also HIGH.

…I make this point as a person who has come out of the emergency services industry: the Australian and New Zealand standard on risk management is pertinent to this debate. What is that? It simply looks at the question of what the risk is in this particular issue. The risk is that we make a mistake; that we get it wrong. That is why I have sat here for four days, because I am concerned about the risk of us getting wrong. This is legislation that, if passed, can never be revoked. We cannot get it back. With every other piece of legislation that has come before this parliament, however long it has been debated, it is always possible for a future parliament to reverse it. This one, because it relates to international carbon trading permits, can never be reversed once passed. Remember that: we cannot reverse it…


The fact that a future Parliament could never reverse this legislation once passed had a significant influence on me. This would have been a “first” for legislation before the Australian Parliament.


We had to consider our action very carefully. The Senators needed more information before an informed decision could be made.

It is interesting that respected company director Mr Dick Warburton picked up on the same theme in an ABC Lateline Business interview the same evening. It makes for interesting reading. The link is: Business leader welcomes Coalition's emissions trading about-face - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)


In speeches in the Senate since June, I have urged, begged and demanded that the Labor Government provide more information to the Senate and the community. Minister Wong has consistently refused.

We had the nonsensical situation that she would not release Treasury modelling nor allow the release of economic analysis by CSIRO economist Dr Clive Spash. Nor did we get access to Frontier Economics advice on the impact of the proposed amendments.

…There is information required in two areas. The first is in the science. We could have argued up until some time ago that the science was not decided and that there was as many for as there were against. Only in the last week and a half have we had the acknowledgment of a complete fraud out of the Climate Research Unit at Hadley. I have spoken to the people in regard to this. I understand that the director, Dr Philip Jones, has not refuted that range of emails that have now been circulated round the world and that show clearly that the data that has come out of that institution has been filtered, doctored, changed or poorly reviewed. Why does it matter? Because it is the outcome from Hadley upon which the IPCC has based so much of its science. That is now questionable...


The widespread ignorance of the ETS and the climate issue generally within the community is unacceptable. If the events in our Party over the last fortnight have done one thing, it has been to focus the attention of the wider community for the first time on climate and the flawed ETS.

I could not vote for legislation when information was denied us, in a timeframe for which there simply was no justification before the Copenhagen conference.

Be under no illusion: federal Liberal parliamentarians are UNANIMOUS in our resolve to put forward a strong policy to address climate issues.

But it will not be a flawed energy taxing scheme which would have made NOT ONE iota of difference to the environment but would have affected families, workers, businesses and the Australian economy.

I have and will continue to urge for policies towards a sustainable environment, assisting the development of new technologies and moving in synch with our trading competitors and regional neighbours to ensure competitive neutrality for business.

I wish you all the best for the festive season and thank you again for your interest.