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For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
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GMA’S greatest enemy is insecurity
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UNEASY lies the head that wears the crown, so the saying goes. This old saw acquires a more frantic proportion in the case of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
She accuses her detractors of adhering to a “politics of hate” and “politics of paranoia”. But she cannot escape the fact that all the troubles bedevilling her administration was to a large extent a product of her own doing.
A cursory review of President Arroyo’s actions and statements reveals a pattern, which could be summarized in one word: insecurity. She has a chip on her petite shoulder as big as the globe on Atlas’ shoulder.
Her insecurity stems from two historical realities that she found herself in: first, that she was not elected into office when she assumed the presidency in 2001; and second, that her father, Diosdado Macapagal, was a sitting president who lost his bid for reelection in 1969.
Arroyo was catapulted to power when a popular revolt over corruption and economic mismanagement forced then-President Estrada to leave Malacañang. Arroyo, who was then Vice President, was sworn in as President not because she emerged winner in an election, but because the Supreme Court deemed the Presidency vacant.
Those close to Arroyo attest to her obsession to do better than her father. She wants to prove that aMacapagal can win a reelection (in her case, an election) while occupying the highest position in the land.
Take these two together and it’s easy to explain Arroyo’s moves. She packed the Commission on Election with people she can control. She pampered military officials as a way of buying their loyalty; she knew very well how crucial the military’s support is to the survival of a sitting President.
And of course, how else do you explain her “lapse in judgment” when she called election official Virgilio Garcillano at the height of vote canvassing last year?
The problem is, in her overzealousness to win the 2004 election, she ended up besmirching the integrity of last year’s democratic exercise. Despite coming out officially with about one million votes more than her rival, in the minds of millions of Filipinos, she did not win that election.
And as more and more people accuse her of stealing last year’s presidential election, Arroyo only tend to grow more ill at ease with the crown on her head.
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“Let your light shine before men”
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NEW YORK --- Having learned of what has been going on this side of America, Jerry, one of my best friends from the West Coast called for an update. I told him about the numerous calls I've been getting and e-mails I've been receiving in response to my column "The end of the beginning" [The Filipino Express edition Oct. 17-23, 2005.]
One of these e-mails, I said, came from a pastor who had recently moved to New York from Arizona. He and I have been corresponding with each other since he started reading my column three years ago. I met him during a spiritual retreat I attended in Phoenix.
He had written a long message of encouragement and counsel, reminding me, as always of Proverbs 20:4: "May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed."
He also recommended reflecting on Matthew 5:40, which says, "If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also."
His e-mail ended with a suggestion to read Proverbs 26: 4-5: "Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. Also, Proverbs 26:24 which says: "A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbors deceit."
Another one was from a lawyer who recommended reading New Jersey Law AB 1366 (1988) Frivolous Lawsuit Sanction which allows courts to assess costs of attorneys' fees upon a finding that a complaint, counterclaim, cross-claim of a non-prevailing party was frivolous. He also suggested reading Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Courts Procedures. I replied that it was up to our lawyers to interpret or invoke the provisions of these laws when needed.
A colleague from the Asian American Journalists Association also sent her e-mail quoting a phrase from Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. that has now become the most celebrated line in First Amendment history.
Justice Brennan boldly declared: "[W]e consider this case against the background of a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials."
I thought I was the only one who had a story to share but Jerry, too, had shared what was going on in his neck of the woods. His story was about a Filipino American who has a strong political backing that got him appointed to a high-level position in his home state.
The political appointee, my friend said, is in a key law enforcement position. However, Jerry claims that the self-promoting guy is beyond incompetent; he is also dishonest. He uses taxpayer-paid state resources to do political work and activities outside of his official work.
When I asked what Jerry meant with "political work and activities outside of the guy's work," he said that the appointee was using the time of his staff to do 'community-related' tasks that are not within the purview of his official job. Jerry said that he instructs them to use telephone, e-mail, fax, photocopiers, which are strictly not allowed as office policy.
Jerry added that the guy also has a state-owned car assigned to him which is being used for non-official functions. He believes that neither a regular mileage-report is submitted to the appropriate office nor declared as earned income in the guy's income tax return.
"Do you have proof that the guy uses the car for personal reasons?" I asked Jerry. He said that they have assembled photographs of every function the guy attended within or outside of the state where the state-owned car was used.
I told Jerry that they must have spent a heck of a time following the guy's activities. And he said: "We just want to prove that the guy is a phony. Although he claims to have an MBA, nowhere is his educational background mentioned in any material that is released to the public. Maybe he does not want people to know that he is not qualified to do the job."
Jerry also mentioned that the guy has a case-load of more than a hundred cases which has not been acted upon since he came on board. "That's because, he either comes in late to work or leaves early to go to who knows where," Jerry said. "And his boss, another political appointee, tolerates what this guy does," he added.
According to Jerry, since May to September of this year, the guy has 24 days off, 29 days late and 18 days of leaving early. He also said that the guy hardly submits a scheduled leave but takes days off at random.
Recently, Jerry said, the guy took part in a state-initiated function, which he thought would have given an opportunity for the guy to promote the candidate he was supporting. The plan, which was conceptualized in August, was held in mid-October. Originally, Jerry said, the hotel was booked for a minimum of 600 persons.
Jerry believes that the contract, which was signed by the Filipino American guy, is a violation of state policy. Two weeks prior to the event, very few people had made reservation to attend and it was during this time that full staff resource was utilized. In the end, 500 people were in attendance; they managed to negotiate with the hotel to pay only for the 500 guests.
Nonetheless, Jerry believes that the project lost money and considered it a waste of effort because the event was not even for something that their office regulates.
"So why are you telling me all this," I asked Jerry. His reply was: "Thought you might be interested to know that not all law enforcers follow what they preach. And it's a shame for a Filipino American to be doing that."
And so I asked: "What are you going to do with all these documents you've uncovered about this guy?"
"Well, it's not over yet. We are still in the process of gathering and assembling more information. And when we're ready, we'll just have the state's ombudsman take custody of these documents for appropriate action. We will also provide copies to the Attorney General's office and request him to investigate this matter. Maybe, we'll even inform the Governor."
"As whistle-blowers, we are protected by law," says Jerry.
Jerry and I had a long conversation, which I thought we needed after a long lull. Like me, Jerry has a strong opinion about people who live in glasshouses or in houses of cards. With one stone or a whiff of air, everything crumbles.
And yes, as the pastor, who reads my column regularly, reminds me: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds; love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
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Are ‘Manilamen’ For Real?: Debunking an Urban Legend
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Chicago, ILLINOIS --- Ever since I wrote a column about a bit of Filipino American history four years ago, I have since hesitated in revisiting the matter after I got a feedback that the source of my accounts was of dubious origin.
But recently, I found a reason to revisit the issue after I found an opening.
Atty. Rodel Rodis, a member of the Filipino American Historical Society from California, posted a message in several newsgroups dated 9/27/2005 8:00:43 PM Eastern Standard Time:
“(Regardless of the final historical record on this issue, let us all hope and pray that Marina Espina and her family are all right.)
”Folks,
“According to the PDI (Philippine Daily Inquirer) article below, Espina and her husband are well at their daughter’s home in Lafayette.
”However her house in New Orleans together with some important documentation may have been severely damaged. Their home was located on the shores of Lake Ponchartrain.
”Regards,
”Paul Kekai Manansala”
Indeed, if true, Mrs. Espina’s family needs help from her kababayans.
Controversial Statement
Going back to the PDI article, headlined, “History of ‘Manilamen’ of New Orleans lost to “Katrina,” that was posted on the Internet on Sept. 18, 2005, Mr. Frank Cimatu wrote among others: “According to Marina Espina’s research, the first Filipinos to arrive in the United States settled in the marshes around New Orleans where they became known as “Manilamen” or “Filipino Cajuns.”.
“One of the better-known descendants of the Manilamen was boxer Bernard Docusen for the world welterweight title but failed to wrest the crown when he lost by decision to champion Sugar Ray Robinson in a 1948 bout in Chicago.”
No “Manilaman”
This bit of information was news to Mr. Ed Navarra, region 3 director of the National Federation of Filipino American Association based in Michigan, when he responded: “Bernard Ducusen (sic), the American born boxer who almost defeated Sugar Ray Robinson, is not a descendant of the Manilamen. He was born and raised in New Orleans by a Filipino father and a French mother.
“After he retired from boxing he brought his family to Michigan in the early fifties to settle and work here.
“I interviewed him at length and his father came to the states in the early part of the century from Pangasinan. I have the 100 page journal he wrote himself. And I have clippings from his scrapbook. It is preposterous to claim that he is a descendant of the Manilamen who settled in Louisiana in the 1700’s., when his father, a Philippine Scout, arrived much later than the so-called Manilamen.”
I Became a FANHS’ “FAN”
I wanted to butt in the discussion but I have nothing new to contribute until Wisconsin’s Princess Emraida Kiram NaFFAA Region 3 vice chair invited me to attend a three-day convention of Filipino American National Historical Society in Chicago, Illinois early this month.
Since Ms. Espina is a trustee of FANHS, I thought it was an opportunity for me to bring up the matter raised by Mr. Navarra at the FANHS convention. So, I scribbled a letter addressed to the Princess and raised the point of Mr. Navarra.
Chicago’s former FANHS chair Larry Seneris, one of the resource speakers at the convention, although still grieving following the death of his wife, Siony, a week earlier, picked me up at 8 a.m. from my house and took me to the convention site.
There, I met Dr. Virgilio Pilapil, FANHS Journal Editor based in Springfield, Illinois, who forwarded the letter I wrote to the Princess to ‘FANHS National.”
Better Known as “FANHS National”
The “FANHS National” turned out to be Mrs. Dorothy Cordova, an unpaid volunteer FANHS executive director based in Seattle, Washington.
I found this out yesterday, when, out of the blue, I got an unsigned email from “FANHS National,” saying, “I am not aware of the article you are upset about. I am impressed by your ability to ferret out information about Mr. Docusen. I am concerned that you plan to write an article debunking me and FANHS and what pleasure you would get out of this.
‘I am an old woman who does not use e-mail frequently. I prefer phone calls - so a calm discussion takes place - not nit-picking via e-mail.”
So, I responded to her email and followed it up with a phone call, knowing that she is not a big fan of email.
In our phone conversation, Mrs. Cordova, wife of FANHS Founder Fred Cordova, said that if investigation will bear Mr. Navarra out, she will communicate with Mrs. Espina’s daughter to rectify the error of Docusen’s inclusion as descendant of “Manilamen’ in the book, “Filipinos in Louisiana,” (1988, A. F. Laborde & Sons) written by Mrs. Espina.
It’s Never Too Late to Rectify a Mistake
I told Mrs. Cordova, although, the dubious information has been in the book since 1988, rectifying an error is never too late.
After all, it took the Pope 359 years to realize that the Papacy made a mistake and apologized for the Roman Catholic Church’s persecution of “the 17th century astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei, who debunked Claudius Ptolemy’s (c. 100-c. 170 AD) ancient “geocentric” universe theory, which had all the planets circling the Earth, and instead supported the new “heliocentric” system of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), where planets and earth circled the Sun.”
(lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
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IS THIS place running on auto-pilot? One asks on returning, even from a quick trip abroad. No one, who is anyone, seems to be steering.
Not the President. Not the opposition either. A stream of controversies from the “Garci” tapes to a detained National Security Adviser saps most attention. Reforms have gathered dust. There’s little innovation or ratched efforts today’s economic crisis demands. Routine functions prevail. “Look Ma. No Hands.”
Ordinary folk, in and out of government, plod on with daily chores within a volatile economy, grateful to be left alone.
In our system, the President is pilot. But President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo isn’t in the cockpit. Instead, she’s in the cabin, pampering party-mates who threaten, at every turn, to bolt if whims are not accomodated.
Forget her rhetoric on principles. President Arroyo’s “leadership” built on shifting sands of bought loyalties. What served her was moral. That resonates in lawyer John Dean’s comment to the New York Post amidst Watergate scandal’s rubble: “The White House is another world. Expediency is everything.”
Malacanang is also another world. Imelda never returned to earth after overstaying there. And in this rarified world, President Arroyo set low standards – and failed to achieve them.
Her regime waffles on critical issues. It never hauled back, for example, former cop Michael Ray Aquino for the Dacer-Corbito murder and Kuratong Baleleng salvaging.
Lack of grit? Or accommodation of Aquino’s guru: Senator Panfilo Lacson? This regime instead let US police and courts do what it didn’t accomplish: Shove fugitive Aquino into the slammer.
Lacson sneered that the California Superior Court couldn’t burn him for handcuff purchase contract violations. After the judge threatened arrest, Lacson folded like an accordion. Friends paid the fine, he blandly claimed.
“You cannot learn too soon that the most useful thing about a principle is that it can always be sacrificed to expediency,” W. Somerset Maugham wrote.
Here, crooks don’t go to jail; they seek public office instead. Consider expelled Representative Mark Jimenez in a federal clink for fracturing US electoral laws. He’ll run for Manila mayor, after release this year, his friends claim That’s Jimenez’s opinion of our electoral system.
Can you blame him? Our Elections Commisioner Virgilio Garcillano didn’tleave a forwarding address, before skipping town. Neither did Erap cronies Jaime Dichavez and Atong Ang.
In Nordic countries, the UK or Japan, a convicted tax evader strolling around would be unthinkable. In the US, racketeer Al Capone got irons for trifling with the tax code.
But this regime hasn’t enforced the final Supreme Court decision on Governor Ferdinand Marcos Jr”s shoddy tax arithmetic. It looked away. In this neck of the woods, crime pays.
But the price tag multiplies exponentially. There’s a limit to favors (OK. OK. Bribes.) that even a chief executive can dole out, from a Libingan Ng Mga Bayani burial to ignoring vigilante murders, in fiefdoms of allies: Mayor Tomas Osmena in Cebu City or Rodrigo Duterte in Davao.
Thus, our pilot finds herself hostage. And sterling executives like Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo and Subic’s Francisco Licuanan bail out --- albeit with more finesse than the “Hyatt Ten”.
The opposition is supposed to be co-pilot. A second pair of eyes and extra hands on the wheel assure friendly skies. Thomas More summed up the rationale for reasoned cooperation : “I am the King’s good servant, but God’s first.”
But opposition leaders insist : “Me first.”. Thus, detained Joseph Estrada and the communists’ Horacio Morales demand they head a transitional government, the Constitution be dammed.
Others barge into the cockpit. Senate President Franklin Drilon uses a shabbily-researched North Rail expose as club.. Senator “Jingle Bells “ Estrada’s weapon of choice is the smear under parliamentary immunity.
Articulate opposition women include Ilocos Representative Imee Marcos and Cebu’s Clavel Asas Martinez. Marcos twists in the wind for abandoning the impeachment vote. And the Regional Ombudsmen is probing how P26.5 million of Girl Scouts’ funds were squirreled into Martinez’s personal bank account.
Add to that has-beens like Ernesto Maceda et al. You’d be daft to fly with such cut throats.
The communists, meanwhile, would hijack the plane. Trounced in “parliament of the streets”, they’d piggy-back on disaffected military officers. The party’s web-page “Solidarity” blares: “The Communist Party of the Philippines extended its offer of possible alliance and cooperation with patriotic, democratic and critical- minded officials and soldiers of the Armed Forces...” But nobody’s flying.
In this vacuum, needed radical reforms wither. Routine functions substitute for hard decisions and gruelling work. “Look Ma. No Hands.”
But inaction only consumes even seed for tomorrow. Samoa overtook the Philippines among 177 countries, gauged by the 2005 UN Human Development Report. That erosion tempts some messiahs in uniform to come charging in. Marcos led us down this garden path before. It was a disaster. Forget it, gents.
By daily work and lives, ordinary citizens, like us, must keel-haul “leaders” who work by Caiphas counsel: “It is expedient that one man die for the people.”
(E-mail : juan_mercado@paci-fic.net.ph )
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