Reflections on the Bangsa Moro

BUSH AND THE CLIMATE OF FEAR

It’s so wonderful to be the President of the United States of America. In this supposedly land of great and higher learning, the people are so easy to be fooled even by a man not known for his learning or knowledge.

When some people attacked the Twin Towers, Mr. Bush told the American people to beware of the bomb-wielding Muslims as they will destroy America and the Western civilization. He therefore asked, and got, vast powers and huge amounts of money to wage his Crusade against the Muslims.

While his Secret Service Agents gathered the Bin Ladens and other rich Arabs into a chartered plane out of America, he proclaimed to his fellow citizens that the man responsible for the so-called 9/11 bombings was a Saudi citizen named Osama Bin Laden who was hiding somewhere in the rocky highlands of Afghanistan.

Mr. Bush then asked not only Americans but the world through the United Nations to support him in attacking the Talibans of Afghanistan for harboring Mr. Bin Laden. The Talibans, until that time, were the closest allies of the US in the fight against the Soviet Union. In fact, just a few months earlier, Mr. Bush welcomed a Taliban delegation in the US.

After bombing the poor, war-devastated Afghanistan and turning it into smithereens, Mr. Bush declared his victory even though the bearded 40-ish Osama Bin Laden was nowhere to be found and his supposed group, the Al-Qaeda was still going strong.

He then declared that the next target was Iraq. Never mind that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 or with Osama Bin Laden. Bush said that Iraq had “Weapons of Mass Destruction” and therefore should be destroyed before its fearsome leader, Saddam Hussein, bomb the great United States of America.

BREAD AND CIRCUSES

To make the Americans tame, Bush gave them daily dosage of a macabre circus – news of arrested terrorists out to bomb the world, American soldiers fighting terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq, Iraqi terrorists killing each other, Palestinian terrorists bombing the streets of Israel, etc. This also includes American soldiers helping Filipinos fight the Muslim terrorists in the Philippines and Filipinos helping the Americans in its “Coalition of the Willing.”

To make the Americans happy, prices of goods are kept low – thanks to cheap imports from China. While the US was wont to complain when European or Japanese currencies were too low vis-à-vis the dollar, this time, the US kept mum on low-value Chinese currency in order for US citizens to gorge themselves on cheap Chinese products.

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates low so there would be plenty of money for everyone.

And of course, the American Dream is nothing without the ‘dream house’. And so loans were given to all who want to have their dream homes. And those who needed more loans could avail more from their mortgages.

And developers got more credit from banks to build more homes which were bought on credit by consumers. Credit aggregators collected all these mortgages, lumped them together, issued bonds out of them and sold them to, who else? The Chinese.  These bonds, however, will, sooner or later, mature.

And so Bush kept the Americans happy with credit-facilitated dream homes and cheap goods from China while making the citizens fearful for their security by giving them, through the media, messages of fear – fear from the Muslim terrorist who might be hiding under American beds inside American dream homes.

The fear-stricken Americans had to consent to Mr. Bush’s spending TRILLIONS of dollars in his Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

FOOLING THE PEOPLE

Abraham Lincoln said, You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. I first heard of this statement by Lincoln when I was in Grade VI. I thought it was not correct. I could not imagine how anyone could fool all the people even some of the time or fool some of the people all the time. In my child’s mind, I knew that there would always be some person or persons who could not be fooled.

But after 9/11, I realized the veracity of Lincoln’s statement. For a while (some of the time), Bush fooled all the Americans and Englishmen and Germans and Filipino centrists and rightists. And he fooled some Americans, Europeans and Filipinos all the time. And now, with his presidential term nearing its end, most Americans, Europeans and most of the world, know Mr. Bush has made fools out of the people.

But oops, Mr. Bush is back with his antics again.

THE BUBBLE BURST

The trillions of dollars on military spending to support Mr. Bush’s Clash of Civilizations foreign policy, the skyrocketing of fuel prices brought about by the Iraq war and the climate of fear as well as greed and speculation money, the Fed’s policy of low interest rate to increase money supply, the rampant spending and lack of savings by Americans lulled into believing that their economy was “fundamentally strong”  (after all, they have cheap homes, cheap goods, easy credit, etc.) necessarily would have dire consequences for their economy.

And so the bubble burst and giant financial institutions came tumbling down.

FREE MARKET ANYONE?

During the Asian Crisis in the 1990s, the Americans and their British cousins told the Asians not to interfere with the market. They told the Koreans not to bail out the banks. These champions of laissez-faire capitalism told everyone that the market will always fix itself.

Don’t be afraid of falling exchange rates, these people said. Never manage currencies. The market will soon fix itself.

The US Republican Party trumpets its policy of “less government”, de-regulation and privatization.

But now, all of a sudden, President Bush, who is a Republican, wants to do what is against the grain of Republican ideals. He wants to bring in the government into the business and financial sector. Why? It is because the rich kids of Wall Street, the “Masters of the Universe”, have gone bankrupt.

And Henry Paulson, the Treasury Secretary, was a Wall Street guy himself. His stint at the Goldman Sachs earned him some US$ 140 Million. As a good tribesman, he is convincing Congressmen and Senators to help save his tribe of “Masters of the Universe.”

Interestingly, according to the Daily Telegraph (July 2008), "Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson has intimate relations with the Chinese elite, dating from his days at Goldman Sachs when he visited the country more than 70 times."

SAME OLD ANTICS

George W. Bush is back at his old antics. Just as he frightened Americans of Muslim terrorists and weapons of mass destruction, he is now trying to frighten the Americans out of their wits by claiming that if they don’t support his Trillion-Dollar Bailout, they could expect a financial “PANIC” soon. The plan calls for an immediate 700 billion dollar bailout of financial institutions, in addition to the 300 plus billion already allotted for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, Bear Stearns and AIG. Several hundreds of billions of dollars more are expected to be given out later.

STRONG ECONOMIC FUNDAMENTALS

Senator McCain, throughout the campaign period until the bubble burst recently, kept on repeating that the American economy has strong fundamentals. As Barack Obama said, McCain was fundamentally wrong.

Even the conservative Republican John McCain, who has been telling everyone that “government should not be in the way of the people”, that there should be as less government as possible, is now forced to endorse Mr. Bush’s Trillion Dollar Bail-out. The Bush-Paulson bail-out plan runs counter to fundamental beliefs and policies of the Republican Party.

The bail-out plan is practically the nationalization of Wall Street. The Democrats are thrilled because they think they can hijack the plan to favor less the money magnates and more the common man.

The oilman’s son, Mr. George W. Bush, used the scare tactics to coerce the people to support his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and thus get juicy oil contracts for his oil friends from Halliburton and other oil companies.

Now, he is again using the same scare tactics to coerce the American people to help his rich friends, who have terribly mismanaged American people’s money, keep their companies and rich lifestyle.

By insisting on the Trillion Dollar or more bail-out, Mr. Bush is showing that his loyalty has never been to the Republican Party or its ideals but to his high and mighty friends in the oil and financial industries.

Woe to the American people. Finally, the beginning of the end is at hand for the world’s remaining superpower. Without economic power, no nation can remain a military power. And thanks to Mr. George W. Bush, the world is now seeing the collapse of American economy.

I hardly read newspaper accounts of Mindanao or Moro-related events. I know that they are usually half-truths or completely biased. Tonight, I noticed a page (13) of an old issue of the Inquirer (Sept. 9, 2008). I was taken aback by its headline: Gov’t to MILF: Give us Kato, Bravo, Suleiman and we’ll give you P25M.

Oh my! Is this how low or how cheap or how poor the Philippine government thinks of the MILF leadership? Interior and Local Governments Secretary Ronaldo Puno was the one who issued the statement.

 The MILF’s answer was: "Our commanders are not for sale." According to the news report, the MILF chief negotiator said that "the best way to resolve the ongoing conflict in Central Mindanao was through the joint committee on the cessation of hostilities."

 I don’t see how the MILF could still expect any fair or even equal treatment from the government through negotiations. The actions and pronouncements of President Arroyo, her Cabinet and her generals, not to mention her political opponents, all belittle the MILF.

If I were the MILF leader, I would put a much higher bounty on the heads of Arroyo and her cohorts.

Oil price is now down at US $ 89.00 per barrel. Just some weeks ago, it was over UD$ 140 per barrel and some so-called experts were predicting that it would go beyond US $ 200 / bbl.

And of course, the Muslim-hating Americans and Filipinos keep on pointing at the “greedy” OPEC countries, who happen to be mostly Muslims.

When intelligent people tell these finger-pointing individuals that the culprits are mostly the speculators, they would not believe it. They would always point to what the “experts” say; i.e., it is due to the law of supply and demand. And since most of the supply is with the OPEC members, they limit their production and so the price goes up.

For months on end, I’ve been telling people that the oil price increase is artificial. There has always been so much oil – physical oil. Even with the sharp increase in demand because of the booming Chinese and Indian economies, there was still plenty of oil for everyone.

FEAR AND GREED

However, because of the fear and greed of the developed economies, they pumped the price of oil sky high. First, the companies in developed economies were afraid that most of the oil will go to China or even India, so they bought so much – not only physically (physical trading) but also through paper, i.e., futures and swap contracts. They call it hedging or risk management.

Second, because of greed, speculators invest heavily in the futures and oil derivatives market. They call it trading or portfolio diversification.

Meanwhile, the actual demand for physical oil remains the same. The oil suppliers have been saying that there is over-supply of oil, but nobody seems to believe them.

Just recently, OPEC REDUCED oil production, still claiming that there is over-supply. Some “experts” were surprised because they thought that OPEC would INCREASE oil production. The US has constantly pressured Saudi Arabia to increase production and it constantly did. Now, OPEC said enough is enough.

INSTANT FALL OF OIL PRICE

Now, despite OPEC’s reduction of oil supply, the oil price dropped tremendously. Why? Because the price increase was ARTIFICIAL.

The fear and greed of the companies, institutions and individuals of the developed economies have brought ruin to their own kind. The price increase of gasoline has created havoc in the US, especially in its automobile and airline industries.

With the collapse of American mortgage giants, iconic investment banks and the world’s largest insurer, the greedy speculators are finally selling off their oil portfolio.

FREE MARKETS ANYONE?

During the Asian Crisis, the Americans, Europeans and Filipino Amboys kept on saying. “Don’t bail-out companies. Sacrifice! Let markets be free.” Well, now, look who is bailing out companies? The Republican-controlled US government!

The vaunted free market economy of the US is in danger of collapse. The housing market has collapsed leaving millions of Americans unable to pay their mortgages. The government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac almost went bankrupt and had to be bailed out by the Federal Reserve Bank.

Then came the fall of investment banks Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merryl Lynch. For anyone who knows a bit of financial markets, s/he would realize that when the 158-year old Lehman Brothers falls, the system must be in BIG trouble. Add to that Bear Stearns and Merryl Lynch, then the free market system of America certainly needs some fixing.

Now comes the fall of the world’s biggest insurer – American International Group (AIG). In school, we were taught that banks could collapse anytime and it would not do much damage to the country or system, but if insurers fall, it is time to run. AIG just happens to be the world’s biggest insurer.

CHINESE CONNECTION

The Fed has to save Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac not only because they were thinking of the poor Americans who may be homeless soon, but because most of the debts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been bought by central banks and government financial institutions of other countries, especially China and “friendly” Arab countries. As government-sponsored entities, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bonds are practically guaranteed by the US government and gives higher interest rates than Treasury bonds.

The Americans have actually been taking out their housing mortgage from Chinese communists and Arab Muslims (terrorists?)

The US wants to save face in the world’s financial markets.

Bear Stearns, an investment bank, was also lucky enough to be saved by the government. It, too, has lots of foreign clients. Bear Stearns has a partnership with the Chinese government-controlled CITIC Securities Company.

Unfortunately for Lehman Brothers, the US government did not think it has lots of foreign investors, especially Chinese.

And now comes American International Group’s (AIG’s) collapse. Again, the Fed stepped in. AIG, too has lots of business in Asia, especially China. In fact, it was founded in Shanghai in 1919. In 1980, China AIG was formed on a 50-50 joint venture between AIG and the People’s Insurance Company of China.

No wonder Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has a fascination for Chinese business ventures like the ZTE-NBN. She is just following the moves of her idols, George Bush, father and son.

As I have known all along, the MILF – GRP peace negotiations would amount to nothing. For the past three years, the very term “peace process” came to mean the MILF- GRP peace talks. Peace talks with other groups like the MNLF or the NPA-NDF were not included in this quite exclusive “peace process.” Finally, this “peace process” has been revealed to be nothing but a sham.

Like the Tripoli Agreement or the Jakarta Accord, the Philippine government has absolutely no plans whatsoever of implementing any agreements with the Moros. Even if the MILF – GRP Memorandum Of Agreement on Ancestral Domain were signed in Malaysia, it would never have passed muster at the Congress or at the Supreme Court. No way.

FEAR AND HATRED OF MOROS

Three hundred and fifty years of Spanish indoctrination, fifty years of American propaganda and 50 more years of Filipino misinformation have inculcated in the minds of the Indios-Filipinos that the Moros are “heathens and infidels”, that “a good Moro is a dead Moro,” that “a terrorist is a Muslim unless proven otherwise,” etc.

In 1991, Mr. Alfonso Felix, Jr. was the President of the Historical Conservation Society. The members of the Society at that time included Alejandro Melchor, Jesus Lazatin, Antonio Araneta, Jr., Enrique Syquia, Ernesto Aboitiz, Feliciano Belmonte, Jr., Antonio Concepcion, Francisco Elizalde, O.D. Corpuz, etc. – a veritable Who’s Who among the Filipino elite. Mr. Felix obtained copies of certain historical documents from the Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid and proudly reported it to the Society.

In his Report and Acknowledgement speech of Aug. 28, 1991 in Manila, he let it all hang out. His prejudices and biases against the Moros and Muslims, in general, knew no bounds.

About Islam, he said: “…there seems to be in Islam something that pushes its adherents to a delight in the pain of others. The names of Genghis Khan and Tamerlaine are too well-known to need further comment.”

His hatred for Muslims is evident. He said: “Let us take the case of Salman Rushdie whom the Holy Ayatollah condemned to death and who is now living in hiding. Unfortunately, the British have gone soft. If they had made it clear to the Iranians that the death of Salman Rushdie would result in the destruction of Teheran, the Iranians would think twice before inflicting their religion on civilized countries.”

He called Moros names like “devils in human form” or citizens “of the Republic of Mad Dogs” or “reptiles”.  He obviously believed that the Moro Wars is not yet over.  And his recommendation: “I do not think Christian Filipinos are afraid of Moros. A modern army equipped with the weapons of today and above all with the will to use them will soon cause the Moros to reconsider. When the Italians used poison gas in Ethiopia in 1935 many Ethiopians were exterminated and the liberals of the world found themselves in tears. I do not find poison gas used against Ethiopians deplorable.”

In his speech, he counseled the then President Aquino thus: “I invite our President, Her Excellency Da. Corazon Cojuangco vda. de Aquino to reflect on my words for I feel I am expressing with these words the opinion of the majority of  Filipino peasants and Filipino soldiers.”

(See Episodes of the Moro Wars, General History of the Philippine, Part III, Volume II, Manila: Historical Conservation Society, Folio LIV, 1991 )

Ever since the Philippine government’s undeclared all-out war against the MILF and the resurrection of the notorious ILAGA (Ilonggo Land Grabbers Association), the ilaga supporters have been sending comments (to my other blogs, not to this blog, so far) and hate emails, like the one below:

From: Elmer Manejero <elmermanejero@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 11:12 AM
Subject: DEATH TO ALL ISLAM AND SHAME ON MOHAMMED OF MEDINA

1) I WAS BORN AND RAISE UP IN TUPI, SOUTH COATABATO.

2) I AM CONVERSANT IN COLLOQUIAL LANGUAGE WHICH AS FOLLOWS:
a) ARABIC
b) TAUSOG
c)  MARANAW

3)  I AM AN ILONGO AND MEMBER OF ILAGA IN 1970′S AND I KILLED A LOT
OF MOROS IN COTABATO, LANAO DEL SUR AND LANAO DEL NORTE AND INFACT
I USUALLY EAT THIER EARS.

4)  YOU CANNOT ACCEPT THAT ISLAM IS IRRELEVANT TODAY BECAUSE
MOHAMMED OF MEDINA, SAUDI ARABIA DECEIVE YOU, HE PRETEND TO BE
A PROPHET BUT INFACT HE IS A HOLIGAN, THIEF AND PROPET OF TERROR
HE SPREAD YOUR NON-SENSE RELIGION BY SWORD AND FIRE NOT BY LOVE.

NOW I CHALLENGE YOU ALL MOROS AND I AM READY TO FACE YOU ANYTIME
AND I WANT TO SHOUT TO THE WHOLE WORLD THAT ISLAM IS HYPORCITE, PRETENDING TO BE RELIGIOUS, PRAYING 5 TIMES A DAY BUT DEEP IN YOUR INNER CORE YOU ARE ALL DEVILS LIKE YOUR MOHAMED OF MEDINA, YOU ARE ALL KILLERS,
DUBIOUS.

IF YOU ACCEPT MY CHALLENGE IN FIGHTING, GUN DUEL, KRIS/TABAK FIGHTING
YOU CAN COME TO MY PLACE, AS I SAID I AM READY.

ELMER MANEJERO (FULL BLOODED ILONGO ” ILAGA”) READY TO ANHILATE
ALL MUSLIM IN THE MINDANAO, LUZON, VISAYAS AND METROMANILA.

 

ELMER MANEJERO
N0.5 VIOLET STREET, PILAR VILLAGE, ALMANZA, LAS PINAS CITY,
METROMANILA
TEL NO. 801 4611

 

And so, from the scum to the cream of Indio-Filipino society, the hatred for Muslims and Moros is evident.

HOPEFUL MILF

Since hope springs eternal, the MILF was naively hopeful that the Philippine government would actually implement whatever is negotiated with them in the peace talks.

It is a blessing in disguise that the opposition politicians got wind of the MOA before it was formally signed in Malaysia. The sound and fury unleashed by the Filipino politicians, the ILAGAS and their supporters have shown to all and sundry – including the foreign Muslims – how the majority of the Filipinos really feel about the Moros. The foreign Muslims, especially the Arabs, should take note of the real feelings of Filipinos with regards to Muslims in general.

END OF PEACE PROCESS

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, bowing down to popular demand, has scrapped the government peace panel, junked the MOA, and practically declared the end of the peace process – especially with particular armed groups like the MILF.

Moreover, the President has announced her new approach to the peace process – DDR before anything else. Disarmament – Demobilization – Rehabilitation is the new slogan of the government. This is a euphemism for TOTAL SURRENDER.

As Atty. Malang noted in a TV interview, no self-respecting liberation army will agree to those conditions before any peace agreements.

So what and where does that leave the MILF; and for that matter, the MNLF, whose own peace agreement (the Jakarta Accord) still needs to be implemented in its second and third phases?

And more importantly, where do we, of the Bangsa Moro, go from here? Quo vadis, Bangsa Moro?