Secret Adventures of Superbong

MANILA, Philippines — The European Union is “concerned.” The United States is threatening to stop its military aid if the human rights violations are not dealt with satisfactorily. During the hearing, US Sen. Barbara Boxer said it remained to be seen if President Macapagal-Arroyo’ s pledge to solve the killings and stop the violence would be “followed by real and tangible actions. UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston chided the armed forces for “being in a state of almost total denial of its need to respond effectively and authentically to the significant number of killings which have been convincingly attributed to them.” And in Google, when you type in “political killings,” it will result in the Philippines emerging as the first 10 pops.

The world is watching, and the government is desperately trying to switch the channel.

Only the most hardened will claim that politically motivated crimes are good. GMA is against them. In her 2006 Sona, she declared that she condemned political killings “in the harshest possible terms.” It didn’t matter that she congratulated, in the same speech, retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, the kindly gentleman who has been nicknamed “Butcher” and “Berdugo” by the victims’ families.

This well-practiced policy of agreeing with the obvious and denying the rest is standard when it comes to anything negative said about the government. In the glorified world of Gloria, everyone is at fault except her. That the political killings are indeed occurring, and that the government is accountable for them, are something this administration has railed against, roared against, campaigned against, and sent diplomatic teams all over the world (on taxpayers’ money) to argue against. Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo has dispatched his diplomats to their various posts with the reminder that, “We need a consistent message on the issue of unexplained killings and human rights, particularly to balance the anti-Philippines propaganda,” as if consistency will diminish the truth of the UN findings.

Next to denial is another favorite government tool: misdirection. In his column “Reflections from the Mirror,” Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez claims: “It is sad to note that our own media are themselves providing antigovernment ammunition to foreigners and painting a bleak picture contrary to the true state of affairs here. It appears that our media enjoy putting the country down.”
It appears as if the good secretary expects the Philippine media to play lapdog to GMA—which I do not understand, as he seems to fulfill that duty brilliantly himself. As to the country’s “true state of affairs,” it is a vision that only the enlightened can see. I certainly cannot. According to the President, we apparently live in a country that is an “economic wonder” and is the “focus of the world” because of the way “we are making democracy work and keeping the threat of terror at bay.” I’m not surprised then that the world’s eyes are on us—we are a stunning example of how democracy can be twisted to work for one woman.

“On her part,” says Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, “the President has taken decisive action … to move the nation forward and stop these killings once and for all.”

What happened—once and for all? The government created Task Force Usig, a body that has attributed most of its solved cases to the NPA, yet no real serious investigations were undertaken by the police, like in the assassination of peasant leaders Nestor Arinque in Bohol, and Ceasar Quimco and Allan Villacensio in Cebu. It created the Melo Commission, a body that violated Amnesty International’ s every rule of conducting human rights investigations. It appointed special investigators and created special courts to try these cases in order to hasten the dispensation of justice; and yet, the Cadapan-Empeñ o case, one of the most high-profile and strongly argued cases, is still pending resolution after nearly a year of failed court dates and missing military witnesses. Prosecutors dragged their feet in the attempted murder case of human rights advocate Emmylou Cruz, resulting in the escape of some of the suspects. The case of Benjaline Hernandez, who was shot point-blank by paramilitary forces while investigating a massacre in Arakan Valley, North Cotabato, has been pending for five years. Perpetrators have posted bail, in spite of strong evidence, including testimonies of witnesses and survivors—and a CHR finding that disproves the military’s denial.

I interviewed Sen. Joker Arroyo, whose defense of human rights is his platform for reelection. I ask why he has been silent, and why he chooses to still run with Team Unity whose figurehead is GMA. He is offended. He was the first to speak against Palparan, he says, and the one who continually rails against human rights violations.

There are other issues, there are other issues, he repeats, labor and finance and education, and a whole host of other matters. Why must his performance on the political killings be a standard by which I should judge him? He tells me, at the end of his rant, that he expects me to be objective. I tell him I cannot be, as I am not a reporter, I’m a columnist with my own biases. And he is angry, and he walks out and tells me to do what I want.

And here I will tell you why I ask that question, why I believe that condemning political killings is the highest priority. I agree that there are other issues. I agree that labor and the economy and a thousand other matters must be considered. I believe, however, that this issue is at the forefront; and that condemning is far different from acting; and that men like Joker Arroyo, by virtue of both their records and their claims, cannot afford to be neutral in their actions, if not their words.

Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel says that during the massacre of the Jews, “the world did know [what was happening] and remained silent.”

“We must take sides,” he says. “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must—at that moment—become the center of the universe.”
Joker Arroyo urged the administration to ignore the US Senate inquiry that began last week in Washington, because “they have no business looking into it.” Today, there are two girls who have been missing for over a year allegedly because of a military kidnapping. Today, there are children without fathers, families who hide in refugee centers; and journalists who write knowing every word is a warrant against them.

The world is not silent. We have no right to be.
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