A traveler's Journal:
                                  The Philippines, a look at the past and the present
                                                                                                   by Heidi M. Pascual
     I arrived in Manila on February 24, the day Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared Proclamation 1017, a declaration of a state of national emergency. I was on a personal visit and didn't expect to be in the middle of political turmoil, but the drama made my visit extra exciting and reminded me of my past as a Filipino whose colonial history has kept our people vigilant against any form of oppression or suppression of our hard-earned freedoms.
      Proclamation 1017 was President Macapagal-Arroyo's response to a report of an alleged conspiracy to overthrow her government by some members of the political opposition, right-wing military officers (Magdalo faction), and communist rebels. These forces, according to Manila media reports, alleged that Macapagal-Arroyo rigged the May 2004 presidential election that put her in power. The government subsequently arrested opposition voices such as  Anakpawis party-list representative Crispin Beltran, University of the Philippines professor Randy David, and a retired military general, Ramon Montano, and clamped down on an opposition newspaper, The Daily Tribune. On Sunday (Feb. 26), a multi-awarded military colonel, Ariel Querubin, led a group of armed troops at the Marine headquarters in Fort Bonifacio to protest the relief of their commandant, Maj. General Renato Miranda, who had been blamed for his men's political actions.
      When priests, nuns, politicos, and VIPs including former President Corazon Aquino showed up to pray for peace and to avert any use of military force, I was reminded of the First EDSA People Power revolution that toppled the Marcos regime almost exactly the same day in 1986. It was an odd "celebration" of EDSA's 20th Anniversary, but it didn't end the same way. The president kept her post.
      The standoff ended peacefully when Querubin appeared later to the media with Miranda's replacement, Brig. Gen. Nelson Allaga, who declared that the Marine Corps is united and afterward directed the troops to return to their barracks. A few days later, Querubin tearfully relinquished his position as commandant of the 1st Marine Brigade in Campo Ranao, Marawi City in the southern island of Mindanao. Meanwhile, five opposition legislators remained in the Batasang Pambansa (House of Representatives) building to avoid arrest. (The Philippine Constitution prohibits the arrest of any member of Congress while Congress is in session.) As of this writing, several military and political personalities are being investigated for their alleged participation in the latest coup attempt to unseat a president.
Philippine "Democracy"
      I may get a lot of negative reaction when I say that no matter how many times and by what means the Philippines changes its leadership, the improvement in governance and the poor?s situation will be minimal or nil. Why? Graft and corruption has eaten up the soul of the systems that run the lives of the rich and the poor alike. A new leader will find it hard to implement a plan on paper to rid the government and its institutions of corrupt officials and followers because the cancer is imbedded in the systems themselves. Officials who swim against the flow are rare and targets of cleansing. When a new leader tries to correct any part of it, his cordon sanitaire soon becomes his closest adversary without his knowing it. How else can one recover millions of investments to campaign funds? I have yet to see a government official, at department level, who didn't enrich himself while in power. (OK, let me correct myself, there are a few exceptions, but they end up leaving the service early.) The money comes from all sources: bribes or lagay, SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for negotiated contracts, foreign grants and multinational investments, sky-high salaries and perks, illegal gambling, and more. The military is not exempt; in fact, in my humble observation as a Filipino who used to work in government for more than 20 years (1970s-1990s), it is part and parcel of the "system." I used to wonder why some military officials could maintain more than one household at different places. The military, while supposed to be apolitical, is and has always been, the other half of the political power in the Philippines. To declare otherwise is a blatant lie. Former President Fidel Ramos was a general during the Marcos regime, while Gregorio 'Gringo' Honasan was the famous military rebel-turned-Senator.
      Sad to say, the kind of democracy the Philippines has had is balanced in favor of the rich and the powerful. Nothing much has changed since I left more than seven years ago. I won't be surprised if EDSA is repeated over and over until the most determined cancer surgeon in politics emerges in the horizon. His/her determination must completely attack greed in all forms and overhaul an educational system that keeps the Filipino youth away from mathematics, science, and GMRC (good manners and right conduct). He/She must exhibit a kind of discipline that commands total respect and emulation. A very tall order, indeed.
      The emerging pressure from below to compete in the global market through technological skills and English language proficiency is something worth watching, though. Through the people's initiative and less reliance on inefficient and corrupt
INTRAMUROS
      Long before the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, communities prospered along the banks of the Pasig River. One of these was a palisaded fort called Maynilad. Ruled by Rajah Soliman, a native chieftain, the citadel was a trade center for Asian goods.Peace in the thriving community was shattered upon the arrival of the Spaniards led by master of camp Martin de Goiti and later by conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi.
      In 1571, Legazpi founded the city of Manila, which became the capital and the seat of Spanish sovereignty in the Orient for over 300 years.
      Threats of invasion by Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, and Portuguese pirates prompted the construction of defenses consisting of high stone walls, bulwarks, and moats. The walls stretched to 4.5 kilometers in length, enclosing a pentagonal area of approximately 64 hectares. The area consisted of residences, churches, palaces, schools, and government buildings. Entry was made possible through gates with drawbridges. The city earned the name Intramuros (within the walls) and was honored by Spanish King Philip II with the title Insigne Y Siempre Leal Ciudad (Distinguished and Ever Loyal City). The riches of Asia were gathered in the Ciudad Murada (or Walled City, as Intramuros was later known), and loaded on galleons in Cavite for transport to Acapulco, Mexico. / But the walls did not discourage other European powers from trying to invade the city. The British invaded Intramuros in 1762 and ruled for almost two years before returning the country to Spain. The Spanish-American War in 1898 brought the Americans to the Philippines. The Japanese took over in World War II. Intramuros was the site of fear and death. It was reduced to ashes during the eight-day siege launched by the Americans against Japanese forces in 1945.
      When it was over, Intramuros was a dead city.
      It was Presidential Decree 1616 of deposed president Ferdinand Marcos that created the Intramuros Administration in 1979 to undertake the restoration and development of Intramuros as a monument to the Hispanic period in Philippine history. -- Intramuros Administration, 5/F Palacio del Gobernador, Manila
(Above) A "weapon of mass destruction" stands guard at the ruins of Intramuros (Walled City); (below) part of the ruins near The Manila Hotel and Rizal Park in Manila.
(Above) A monument of Jose Rizal, the Philippines' national hero, at Fort Santiago where he was imprisoned before is execution in 1896. (below) Rizal's " footsteps" were traced from his cell in Fort Santiago to Bagumbayan (Luneta Park) where he was shot.
(Above and below) Markers in Fort Santiago grounds to memorialize hundreds of Filipino and American soldiers killed during the Japanese occupation, world War II.
government for services, then there is hope that poverty would be minimized and soon a new form of political leadership would emerge.
A look at Rizal's heroism
      Amid the ongoing political turmoil in the Philippines during my visit, I went to Intramuros and Fort Santiago to divert my attention from the daily T.V. fare on the same stuff and to refresh my memory of a great Filipino and provincemate -- Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the Philippines' national hero. Rizal was shot in Bagumbayan (or Luneta Park along Manila Bay) on December 30, 1896 by the Spanish regime, for allegedly inciting Filipinos to take up arms against the government. Rizal, an opthalmologist by profession and a sculptor, painter, and poet on the side, wrote the novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, that described the atrocities of the Spanish friars and civil authorities in detail. His last days were spent in Fort Santiago, where a shrine has been erected in his honor.
     I learned early on that Rizal was inspired to write Noli Me Tangere after reading Harriet Beacher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, a graphic description of Black slavery. He compared the Filipinos' condition at the time to that of the Blacks. Noli Me Tangere means "Touch Me Not," directed to a society suffering from a malignant cancer needing immediate surgery.
     El Filibusterismo, Noli's sequel, dedicated the book to three Filipino martyred priests, Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora, who were executed by the Spaniards in 1872 for their alleged involvement in the Cavite (province) mutiny. Fili's foreword was addressed  "To the Filipino people and their government." The book described Spanish colonial policies; attacked Filipino collaborators of the system; and projected a society ready to explode and revolt. It was printed in 1891.  
      The Philippine revolution against Spain was initiated by the Katipunan movement shortly after Rizal's execution. After more than 300 years of colonization, the Spaniards were driven off the Philippine shores.  When the Philippine flag was raised in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898, the Filipinos thought they were free at last.
      But the United States took over, followed by the Japanese. After World War II, the United States granted the Philippines its independence on July 4, 1946.
     (Part 2 will focus on the author's  personal reminiscences.)
Rizal's home in Calamba, Laguna
April 2006 Preview