Esperon, Senga cowards, enemies of the people, Gen. Danny Lim says

“Cowards and clear enemies of democracy and the people.”

This is how detained Brigadier General Danilo “Danny” Lim described former Philippine Army Chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and former Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief Generoso Senga concerning their supposed backing out from the February 2006 military uprising against President Macapagal-Arroyo; a plan, which Lim claimed, Esperon initially agreed to take part in.

In a statement, Lim said Esperon’s recent statement on this matter is enough evidence.

Esperon’s virtual admission

“The mere fact that he did not deny that he was part of the meetings and even admitted in giving suggestions, establishes the truth about his role, something which he cleansed himself off by being a turncoat, by cowardly siding with Mrs. Arroyo and her illegitimate government instead of heeding the people’s demand for change.”

It was reported that Esperon admitted to talking to Lim and other restive soldiers. He also admitted that he proposed that Lim’s group needed five days for the hatching of the plot. However, Esperon said he only did this to squeeze information and to “taunt” Lim.

“By this statement alone, Esperon is virtually admitting that he was part of the plot, but decided to bail out by packaging himself as Arroyo’s loyal spy when the situation became unfavorable. That is not information-gathering, that is out and out opportunism; abandoning what is left of principles in order to advance one’s political power and influence,” Lim said.

“Come and arrest me”

Lim also contered Esperon’s statement that he asked the ex army chief to take him under his custody to “save face.”

“Like his puppet master Gloria, Esperon is lying to his teeth. Yes, we did have a phone conversation. But I did not asked to be taken under his custody. What I said was, ‘you want me? Come and arrest me yourself’. Of course, that is something he did not do. True to form, he let others do his dirty work,” Lim asserted.

Senga initially agreed

It was reported that then Senga took custody of the general. Senga was also implicated by Lim in the February 2006 event. Lim claimed that Senga had a meeting with him and initially agreed to “withdraw support” from the President.

However, like Esperon, Lim said the former AFP chief allegedly also backed out of the plan. Lim claimed Esperon and Senga ditched them in exchange for political enticements from Malacanang. Senga is now ambassador to Iran.

Esperon, Senga, military’s shame

Lim said he was regretful that they included Esperon and Senga in what the WestPoint graduate described as a supposed non-violent military and people uprising to rid of Mrs. Arroyo from power.

“I would like to apologize to the Filipino people that we have military leaders like Esperon and Senga who rather than defend the people they swore to protect have instead pursued their own selfish interests. They are a shame to the uniformed service. What they thwarted was not a coup d’état, but the popular uprising of the Filipino people,” Lim asserted.

No coup but a non-violent and popular military/people uprising

The rebel general also claimed the February 2006 event was not a coup d’état but a popular political action backed up by the people.

“A coup is the sudden overthrow of a government by a small group within the existing state apparatus. What happened in 2006 was entirely different. The military was there, but so are the people. The dissent was so massive that Mrs. Arroyo needed to impose a state of emergency and bludgeoned thousands of protestors to maintain control,” Lim explained.

During the height of the February 2006 event, a mammoth rally estimated at 40,000 and led by Laban ng Masa near Camp Crame was brutally dispersed by the Philippine National Police. Among those arrested was University of the Philippines Professor Randy David.

“The enemy is an illegitimate power propelled by cheating and tyranny. To dislodge an anti-people leader is not a coup. It is a democratic and popular uprising, an inherent right and responsibility of all freedom-loving citizens,” Lim added.

Inveterate mutineers vs. Inveterate Oppressors

Lim who is also running as a senator under the Liberal Party rebuked Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Gary Olivar who called him an “inveterate coup plotter.”

“Olivar can call me whatever he wants to, a chronic mutineer or insurgent if he likes. But the truth is, rebellion and dissent have been in the agenda of our national politics for the longest time because the government and our leaders like the one he is devotedly serving are inveterate oppressors themselves,” Lim said.

Lim said he was sad that Olivar seemed to have forgotten an important political truth. “The fight for freedom, democracy and justice doesn’t end with the fall of the Marcos dictatorship. However, some activists like Olivar think so and have since become rabid defenders of a consent-challenged establishment. I hope he will have a change of heart.”

Lim also shot back at Olivar’s statement saying his “adventurism” led him also to rebel against the late President Corazon Aquino whose son he is now supporting for president.

“My politics and convictions are not personality-based. Senator Aquino knows this and I think he shares this perspective. This is also the reason why I am under his ticket,” Lim said.

Lim said injustices are injustices whether the left or the right commits them or by governments, whether they are popular or illegitimate. “I have no regrets for what I did. I paid the price and will necessarily continue to do so in order to extract justice and give our people the democracy they deserve.”

On Olivar’s challenge that he brings his charges to the proper forum and to back them with evidence, Lim said his last arbiter is the Filipino people.

“Bring it to the proper channels they say. But I have seen how they manipulated and destroyed these so-called channels, how they made a mockery of our democratic institutions. My final arbiter is the Filipino people. Let them be the judge,” Lim concluded.

Danny Lim to public: Destroy what destroys us

“Destroy what destroys us.”

This is the political call made by detained Brigadier General Danilo “Danny” Lim to the public as the election campaign period winds down to its final leg.

In a statement on Friday, Lim said the elections have blurred the lines between good and evil. “Thieves in government use their ill-gotten wealth to run for office and have the temerity to call it public service. Mud is thrown at the decent and well-meaning, spin doctors go to town turning black into white, wrong into right.”

“Worse, everyday we see troubling events that clearly paves way for massive cheating if not a total failure of the entire election,” Lim said.

Destroy, Ruin the Structures of Cheating and Patronage

Lim said now is the time to “show political courage and destroy the forces that has destroyed the very fiber of our democracy, the functions of our institutions and the people’s hope.” He called on the people, the democratic progressive movement and all the patriotic sections of the uniformed service to close ranks.

However, Lim clarified his call. “Lest I be misunderstood, when I say ‘destroy’, I mean to politically dismantle the forces of evil, to ruin the structures of cheating and patronage politics, to politically obliterate them by being vigilant, exacting justice, implementing socio-economic reforms and if necessary, to reasonably revolt,” Lim explained.

Respect Elections or Prepare for Rebellion

The bemedalled Westpoint Graduate also said Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo remains the single most destructive force this country has ever had to contend with.

“The evil she has infused into government has besmirched our institutions and we must go back to the original sin. She cheated in the 2004 elections. She lied. She covered it up and she paid others to lie for and on her behalf,” Lim said.

Lim said Mrs. Arroyo’s same cheating machine is back. He said the fraud apparatus is out to help her and her family’s political gambit this election, and to help her secret presidential candidate win,” Lim asserted.

“We must stop this. I give Mrs. Arroyo and her cabal of fraudters a final ultimatum, respect the elections or prepare for rebellion,” Lim said.

Lim Bares Turncoat Generals

Lim who is also running for senator also exposed the events of the 2006 “military uprising.” He particularly implicated then Armed Forces Chief of Staff Generoso Senga and Philippine Army chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon.

“These people are turncoats and rabid opporunists. During that particular moment they were convinced of the idea that Mrs. Arroyo must be forced out by a non-violent revolt by the military and the people, then all of the sudden they defected to the evil they supposed despise, thus, becoming the very same malevolence the people loathe,” Lim said.

It was reported that Senga and Esperon initially agreed to withdraw support from the Arroyo administration. Lim said Esperon said that the idea was “okay” and even suggested that “it would be better to work this out for at least for five days so it’s smooth.”

However, Senga and Esperon did not withdraw their support to the Arroyo administration. Lim said the generals succumbed to political enticements.

“I am divulging this not as an attempt at politicking. Rather, I have come out to make a clean slate of the events of 2006 as a simple reminder to Mrs. Arroyo and her loyalists that we, the real defenders of democracy, know the truth and are acting on it,” Lim said.

“We have one weapon against their lies. Mrs. Arroyo may not recognize it and her guilty minions may deny it. But it has a name. It is called the Truth,” Lim concluded.

OMNIBUS REPLY OF CAPT. DANILO D. LIM, 1SRR TO QUESTIONS FROM THE MEDIA

OMNIBUS REPLY OF CAPT. DANILO D. LIM, 1SRR
TO QUESTIONS FROM THE FOLLOWING MEDIA:
MS. GLENDA GLORIA, THE MANILA TIMES;
MS. CRISELDA YABES, NEWSWEEK
MR. JULIUS FORTUNA, PHILIPPINE DAILY GLOBE
MR. MANNY MOGATO, THE MANILA CHRONICLE
MR. NESTOR ARELLANO, MALAYA
MS. SHEILA CORONEL, CENTER FOR
INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM


QUESTION: The fact that you are a Western-trained officer has prompted not a few people to ask why you had to sacrifice a promising career for a coup attempt. Why did you join the last mutiny?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: Purely out of idealism and a sincere desire to see a better lot for our country and people, I actively joined the November 30 movement. I firmly believe in the urgency, relevance, validity and righteousness of the cause of reform and good government which the movement sought and is seeking to achieve. It is true that with my background and past accomplishments, even with mediocre performances for the rest of my military life, my rise up the ladder may not be too precipitous. A promising career for me, however, means nothing if the very institutions upon which such career rests is riddled with so much graft and corruption, personal interests and aggrandizement, incompetence, and vindictiveness and have become willing tools of oppression and exploitation instead of being instruments of our people’s liberation from existing societal ills. I cannot in conscience let this maladministration improve my standing and enjoy all the benefits it could provide while our people suffer in contrast. My heart bleeds at the sight of every malnourished waif, of every Madonna (in tattered garments) and child in arm, hands stretched out for alms. I cry everytime I see the ubiquitous and stark faces of poverty, injustice and misery being experienced by so many even as the few who wallow in luxury hunger for more. I have already come to a point where my personal career is already dependent on and subordinate to the collective career of our people and the national career of our nation.

The ideals of nationalism, reform and good government vis-a-vis the actual conditions prevalent in our country to which I have long been exposed in the countrysides compel me and my comrades to undertake the November 30 movement. My western training has little to do with my joining in the struggle except perhaps for my learning the historical experiences and lessons of western countries that have achieved their present status through the struggles and sacrifices of their heroes and leaders for the sake of nationalism, reform and good government.

Q: What drove you to the rebellious faction in the AFP? Were you just casually recruited or did you - like most - undergo a long process of politicization? Could you trace the root of your involvement in the cause?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: The Filipino soldier has always been criticized as one who does not have full clarity and understanding of what he is fighting for, though he fully knows what he is fighting against and whom he is fighting. We have always been asked questions on this regard. If the communist rebels have a cause and an ideology that build their commitment to struggle unselfishly and with utmost dedication; then, on the other hand, to what cause and ideology is the Filipino soldier dedicated to? And why are Filipinos fighting and killing one another? Frankly, this criticism and questions are evident in the present insurgency war the AFP is waging against the communist rebels and they are very valid. These criticism and questions mostly forces the Filipino soldier to examine himself and his surroundings and reflect on his struggle. The very question of why we haven’t overcome the problem of communism since the 1930’s, since the 1960’s, for instance, has compelled us into examining the root causes of communism and the conditions favorable to its growth and development. Sadly, the end result of such examination directly indicts the status quo, the government, and the very institutions that we are in. So what must we do about it?

As Filipino citizens and as Filipino soldiers, we then realized that if we have somehow contributed to the maladministration, then the only honorable thing to do as a sincere gesture of remorse and restitution is a thorough change of the heart and mind which must be concretely translated into action by becoming an active part of the solution to the problem.

My politicization and my joining the nationalist movement in the AFP are natural consequences of my long exposure to the countrysides and endless discussions with my fellow soldiers and with the people. More importantly, it is a product of profound self-examinations I have undergone after having literally spilled blood fighting the “enemies” of our country and people. Recruitment, therefore, in a case such as mine, only becomes the finishing touches to an already constructed house. Even in the absence of the involved group to enlist me, inevitably soon, I and other genuinely concerned individuals surely would have organized such group, do the recruitment, then lead the movement ourselves. Why to the rebellions faction of the military organization? Because it is the only organization within the military establishment which is openly, consistently and sincerely advocating and fighting for nationalism, reform and good government! xxx

Q: Why did you join only last December, and not in earlier coup attempts against the government?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: I have always hoped that the incumbent national leadership would rose from slumber, reform itself and become more sensitive to the demands, grief and sufferings of our people in order to adequately address them. Prior to the November 30 movement, I came to realize the futility of any other softer approaches less than a military exercise. While at first, I believed that the cause of nationalism, reform and good government could be achieved through the usual channels and processes, events prior to November 30, 1989 have proven otherwise. xxx It is only through a military exercise, the only language they could understand, that the regime could be jolted from its enjoyment and be forced to face reality.

The ideals and cause of nationalism, reform and good government could not be delivered to us in a silver platter. These must be actively fought for! If the present regime refuse to heed the Filipino people’s cries, then the Filipino people, with their soldiers must do something to compel it to act accordingly.

Q: Could you cite some military officers who were instrumental in your political growth?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: Military officers who politicized me? Well, General Gregorio del Pilar, General Antonio Luna, General Emilio Aguinaldo, etc.. All those military officers who gallantly fought against the forces of Spanish, American and Japanese colonialism and imperialism. My comrades-in-arms in the AFP - all of them were instrumental. xxx

Q: Looking back, why do you think did the December mutiny fail? Where did it go wrong?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: In terms perhaps of easing out personalities in the administration, the November 30 movement failed. In other aspects, there were victories. The message delivered was loud and clear. Not a single square inch of real estate occupied by us was recovered by government forces. They never took back Makati! It was not overran, recaptured or conquered - we went back to barracks!

Generally, any uprising no matter how militarily superior could never completely succeed without the mass support of the people for whom the uprising is undertaken. Coups d’etat, mutinies, or military exercises now seen to be irrelevant to Philippine conditions. What is needed is a Nationalist Revolution where the Filipino masses will rise up with the Philippine military providing the spark and the armed might. The essence of a Coup Cum Revolution - People’s uprising.

The direct interference of foreign imperialist forces, as manifested by the so-called “US persuasion flights,” which were not really persuasive but destructive and annihilative, have greatly contributed to the eventual stalling of the November 30 movement. Of course there were other factors like the failure to fully explain to the people the causes and nature of the exercise. But the basics will always be the factors of mass support and foreign intervention. xxx


Q: How do you regard traditional politicians? And how do you view the involvement of Marcos loyalists in last December’s operation?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: Traditional politicians, to a large extent, constitute one of the factors why the country finds itself in this present state of mess. They are products of our political culture and our present political systems. While I abhor traditional politics, the politics of personalism, individualism, patronage and opportunism, still, my comrades and I do not abhor traditional politicians. No one has a monopoly of that rectitude of conduct, nationalism, reform and good government and all have the capacity for reforms. I believe even our traditional politicians are still capable of embracing nationalist revolutionary politics. For the moment, this is how we regard them. In the future, it depends on their actual reformation and internalization of Filipinism as the essence of Philippine Politics. Their relevance to our struggle and to the Philippine society depends on this.

The “Marcos loyalist” angle of the November 30 movement is the handiwork of the regime’s propagandists who are at a loss for valid and sound reasons to explain the magnitude of soldiers’ participation in the exercise. The soldiers who joined the November 30 movement were motivated by the cause and ideals of nationalism, reform and good government and not by any personal loyalties, interest or mercenary motives. The “Marcos Loyalist” syndrome died and got buried with the former president. It’s funny, it was and it is still being resurrected and given substance by the present regime itself which creates its own spectre.

Q: Foremost in the public mind today is the fact that all the past six coup attempts against this government have failed. What drives the soldiers to mount coups which never succeed?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: As long as the ideals of nationalism, reform and good government, of national and social liberation, of genuine freedom, democracy, justice, progress and peace are not won and enjoyed by the Filipino people, then nothing can stop the soldiers and people in their struggle to achieve these ends.

In essence, there have been no failed coups. Every attempt has been a dress rehearsal, a lesson and an experience for another. Each attempt is also a progression and an improvement of the other. There is now in the process of development a design where a simple coup becomes a revolution; where a simple defensive act becomes a mass uprising. We do not join an exercise with the intention to fail but with a determination to drive our point and eventually win. Today, we now realize the necessity of a revolution and mass support of the CCR/PU.

Q: Given the chance, will you join a seventh attempt?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: I will not join any seventh coup attempt, nor any coup attempt of the traditional mode for that matter! But the Nationalist Revolution must be won and I would unselfishly offer to the altar of sacrifice all of myself for the success of this revolution. I am in the Revolution. NO SA KUDETA! YES SA REBOLUSYON!

Q: Have you any prior knowledge on the post-coup government had the last coup succeed? To your knowledge, what was the envisioned set-up (government/leadership) and did you wholeheartedly approve it?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: Of course, all those who joined the November 30 movement knew the objectives, plans and designs had the exercise been consummated successfully. It would not look good for any soldier who actively participated not to have any knowledge of the direction the exercise would take.

The November 30 movement envisions the establishment of a National Governing Council (NGC) which will essentially be a collective, multisectoral, and transitional kind of government which would steer the country in the proper direction, put the house in order and place the foundations of reforms and good government in solid grounds. Then some few months after everything has been well-anchored, the NGC will conduct the freest, most honest, genuinely impartial and democratic elections for would-be leaders of this nation.

As a professional soldier, I firmly support the idea that the Armed Forces is the guardian of reform, good government, and democracy; sometimes it becomes a catalyst or trailblazer as the situation warrants. In as much as the November 30 movement envisioned noble objectives, then I view that military exercise as a concrete manifestation of this idea.

Q: Why did you “return to barracks?” What were the agreements reached with Brig. Gen. Enrile during the talks? Why did you not choose to escape instead, like Maj. Purugganan, or was it beyond you to decide?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: We marched back to barracks because we have already proven our point; we have driven the message. The Makati incident is a manifestation of our strong determination to the cause of nationalism, reform, and good government and our belief in achieving this through ways without bloodshed if possible. We left Makati because the regime and its mercenary generals were determined to recapture it at all cost regardless of anything. They were determined to risk the annihilation of their very own soldiers and kill civilians who were caught in the crossfire. They even fired indiscriminately at journalists, Red Cross volunteers and tourists we have begun evacuating. They were determined to destroy all those buildings and infrastructures. Though we were determined on our part to put up a good fight to the last drop of our blood, we refused, however, to unnecessarily sacrifice civilian lives who may be caught in the crossfire. We did not want to see the infrastructures blown to pieces and levelled to the ground in the course of the hostilities, and the eventual collapse of our economy and the financial district. We also could not stomach shooting at our fellow comrades-in-uniform who were there only because they have been cowed by their mercenary superiors. Those soldiers were not our real enemies. They were used as pawns and shields of those who must pay for all these maladministration in our society.

Considering our strong defensive positions, the choke points we had under control and the vantage positions occupied by our sharpshooters we could have easily inflicted a lot more casualties and caused extensive damages have we wanted to, look at the kinds of gunshot wounds suffered by their casualties during the Makati fighting and you’ll see that they were all wounds on the legs and extremities, nothing fatal. The shots were deliberately aimed and fired not to kill but only to disable.

In order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and destruction, we have decided to return to barracks and take all the responsibilities due our actions.

To facilitate the execution of this decision, we have accepted the offer of Brig. Gen. Enrile to help in the implementation. We have agreed that soldiers who have participated in the Makati incident would return to their barracks and be confined there until such time as proper changes would be filed against them. It was a gentlemen’s agreement. But unfortunately, it was breached and disregarded by the mercenary authorities. Immediately, the officers were separately detained without any formal charges including the soldiers. If these so called national military leaders could not honor the agreement they have entered into with their very own soldiers, how much more will they remain faithful to their duties and responsibilities to the Filipino people?

Escape was never in my mind because I had responsibilities to my comrade-soldiers. I had to be with them at all cost. Maj. Abraham Purugganan had no choice except to escape because of compelling reasons that would even cost his life. He could not join his comrade-soldiers even though he really wanted to. Moreover, there has to be someone out there to continue the struggle in a different front and to ensure also our ranks and our welfare.

The struggle must go on. Maj. Purugganan has to continue it by eluding arrest. We have to continue the struggle by returning to barracks. Even now, the detention center is one venue wherein which to heighten the struggle.

Q: The YOU has emerged as a nationalist group of junior officers which claims to be different from the RAM. As a junior officer yourself, are you able to identify yourself with this group? What do you think of their espousal of their so called “Nationalist Revolution?”

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: I am with the Young Officers Union (YOU). Its emergence is an answer to the call of the prevailing situation. It is somewhat different from the RAM as YOU’s ranks are composed of junior officers and young soldiers mostly 35 years and below. YOU emphasizes a comprehensive approach to tackle the general problems of Philippine society and its clarity on ideological, political and organizational lines of work would perhaps delineate it from the RAM. Though both have the same visions of reform and good government, there are, however, some parameters that demarcate the lines between the two organizations. They are our Kuyas and we are their younger brothers and as all brothers we have different views, ways and means, and ideas in the same manner that we share the same vision and direction. RAM has emerged as conditions warranted then; YOU now emerges as compelled by the current conditions. We can liken their birth to the emergence of the LA LIGA FILIPINA and the KATIPUNAN. While different problems need different solutions, all problems need all the necessary solutions.

Of course, it is only through a Nationalist Revolution that the Filipino people can truly achieve national and social liberation. It is the only means to end our people’s eco-socio-political bondage.

Q: They have chided the RAM for the “political interest” that marked the December coup as well as past “misadventures.” They said they have abandoned conventional coups as tactic. Have you undergone the same assessment of the whole situation?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: Every organization has its own weaknesses and mistakes. As brother organizations it is the responsibility of one to criticize the errors and mistakes of the other. More importantly, we can learn from them especially so that they have been there long before we were born. Mistakes and weaknesses won’t be repeated if errors are rectified so they are avoided in the future. “Kung nauntog ka sa una, yuyuko ka na sa pangalawa.” The same is true even with regards to tactics and strategies. The experiences encountered by the soldiers since 1985 and all the past coups have compelled us to abandon and reject all things that obstruct or hinder the realization of National and social liberation. Not involving myself in this analysis, assessment and the summing up of all previous experiences and not adopting to present conditions means the stop of my growth and development. I, as much as anybody, have to progress. Only those who are well entrenched in power and wealth do not want us to progress because it would mean their near end.

Conventional or traditional coups are now passe’. The compelling necessity which Philippine conditions dictate is a Nationalist Revolution. There has to be a radical transformation of the society in order that genuine freedom, democracy, justice progress and peace could be fully attained. Only then could there be good government and the realization of meaningful reforms. In such Nationalist Revolution, misadventures must have no place and political interests are subordinated to the collective interest of the Filipino people.xxx

Q On what conditions are you willing to give up the struggle and work within the system?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: The moment the system negates itself and is able to respond to the grievances of our people and to address the root causes of societal ills; the moment the AFP is transformed into an instrument of liberation from being a tool of oppression and foreign control; the moment the agenda of genuine freedom, justice, democracy, progress and peace, of meaningful reforms and good government, and of national and social liberation become concrete programs as proven by practice and action, then the struggle has been won. I can then work within the operating system. But I will never give up the struggle because even if certain goals are already achieved, certainly there will always be new, bigger and higher goals to pursue.

Q: Anti-imperialism seems to set well within the ranks of the junior officers. Are you anti-imperialist and if so, how come, considering your western schooling?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: I am a Filipinist! I firmly believe that the Philippines and all its resources - natural, human, spiritual etc. belong primarily to the Filipino nation and people to develop and enjoy. The Filipinos must be supreme in all aspects of their national life - in politics, in the economy, in culture, in the military, etc. and this supremacy should never be surrendered to the foreigners. Filipinism is basically non-communist and anti-imperialist.

That I attended West Point, a Western school does not affect my being pro-Filipino. Western schooling does not necessarily derange ones thinking into embracing lines of imperialism and western culture. Dr. Jose Rizal, our foremost nationalist and an anti-colonialist was educated in the west. Gen. Antonio Luna, Marcelo Del Pilar and other nationalists of their times were educated under Spanish tutelage. The likes of Don Claro Mayo Recto, Hilarion Henares Jr., Renato Constantino, Sr., And Alejandro Lichauco were all educated in western institutions and were exposed to western traditions and culture yet they became nationalist and staunch anti-imperialists. I am just one among the many who had the opportunity to experience foreign exposure. But of course, there are those who have been deeply miseducated and deeply colonialized that they have become willing tools of foreign control and denomination like Mrs. Aquino and Mr. Ramos.

The nationalistic and anti-imperialistic fervor of the Filipino soldiers is developed from exposures to hardships and depravity in the cities as well as in the countrysides. As they reflect on the conditions they experience and observe, and as they examine the root causes of poverty, insurgency and various crises our nation is experiencing particularly the anti-insurgency and anti-seccessionist wars they have been waging, they perceive their own ideological weakness. After they have been aroused and awakened into embracing the necessities in resolving all our societal ills, the soldiers eventually become committed to nationalism and Filipinism.

Q: Do you consider the communist rebels as enemies? Do you dread the thought of a coalition government with them in the future?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: The communist and seccessionist rebels are also Filipinos. In every battlefield encounter in the countrysides and even in urban areas Filipino lives are lost. As I see comrade-soldiers killed in firefights and as equally gallant communist or seccessionist rebels fall in battle the disturbing question, “why are we Filipinos fighting and killing one another?” always come to mind.

After an objective consideration of all things, I consider the communist rebels fellow Filipinos, fellow rebel Filipinos and not as enemies. They are not our real enemies. Our real enemy is imperialism and all those who obstruct meaningful reforms and good government.

Of course, our call upon the communist rebels is to lay down their dogmatic application of foreign solutions to Philippine problems, their class struggle which will divide rather than unite the Filipino people, and their Marxist-Leninist-Mao-Zedong concepts and thinkings that are not really relevant and cannot be adopted to Philippine realities, prevailing objective conditions and settings. At present, we do not ask them to lay down their arms, but to lay down their foreign ideology; renounce it and instead embrace Filipinism, and then together we can fight the real enemy.

It is only when they have discarded their foreign ideology and embraced Filipinism can we unite tactically and strategically so that our vision of national and social liberation can be fully achieved.

Q Has detention tamed or mellowed you down? Are you a changed man from the time you holed out at Hotel Intercon and now that you are facing court martial proceedings?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: There’s no taming or mellowing down when we talk of commitment and dedication to Filipinism and the Filipino people even if one is in detention or undergoing trial. On the other hand, detention and court martial have further strengthened my resolve, commitment and faith that the struggle must go on and the service to our people continue on unbended knees.

From Hotel Intercon to the detention center and the court martial proceedings I have changed. I have developed as a person, progressed further and have remained even more determined and committed. I have changed for the better and not for the worst because of these experiences..

Q: The government seems bent on pinning you (and the rest of the military officers) down. Has it ever crossed your mind that you could be behind bars at least for as long as this government is in power? Do you dread that thought?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: Of course, these thoughts have crossed my mind and I’m sure the minds of the others similarly situated too. If this is the price to pay for our liberation struggle, fight for justice, democracy, progress and peace, then so be it! But as I have said, these thoughts instead of weakening have strengthened our resolve even more. The present regime cannot forever cow, detain, imprison or kill the ideas and cause of nationalism, reform and good government. It cannot forever suppress the rebellion, much more the revolution.

The detention is only temporary. Our spirit lives on and the iron bars and walls are things, temporary that will soon break down together with this regime and the shackles fastened by its foreign master.

Q: What do you think of the ongoing trial against you and 20 other military officers? Do you still have hope in the judicial system?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: Our trial is a travesty in the manner of Rizal’s and Bonifacio’s trials. We have already been publicly tried and convicted. I discern a grand design to dispense a tainted and dictated brand of justice for one cannot really expect independent judgments from appointees of the mercenary leadership in the military and the present regime. They are there precisely to carry out the will and satisfy the whims and caprices of the appointing authorities. After observing the conduct of the members of our court martial, their single-track mind, insensitivity, and impervious attitude to reason, in denying every important and substantial defense motion no matter how meritorious to the detriment of justice and fairness, I am all the more convinced that while defending oneself is an inherent right of any accused before a bar of justice, in an atmosphere of sham and pretension it would merely be an exercise in futility. While the trial is being conducted in a semblance and facade of democratic processes, it is in essence a Kangaroo Court.

Our charges are multiplied and magnified and are not in accordance with existing jurisprudence nor commensurate to the act. We are even being charged with multiple counts of murder and frustrated murder even if the highest court of the land has already rendered its final verdict on the Complex issue!

An impartial and responsible judicial system can only flourish under a regime of genuine freedom, democracy, justice, progress and peace. It is only when our politics, economy and culture are genuinely free and genuinely Filipino can our Judicial system function properly. xxx


Q: Any regrets for having joined the mutiny? Do you honestly envision yourself still as a military officer in the future

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: Regrets are only for those who joined the November 30 movement for any other reasons other than reform, good government and genuine national liberation. Joining the November 30 movement was a noble act, a moral duty and responsibility of every Filipino soldier. I have no regrets whatsoever!

I am a military officer now and would like to still be one in the future. I am a soldier of the Filipino people and an officer of the Army of the Filipino people. But my being a soldier and an officer is of little consequence for me now. My firm resolve to serve the Filipino people through the revolutionary struggle does not hinge on my being in uniform or not. My being in the profession of arms is only incidental. What matters is for me to continue serving the people through any way possible.

Q: Do you believe in civilian supremacy over the military? How do you reconcile this with the deep involvement of the military in current political affairs?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: Of course I believe in civilian supremacy and I don’t see any conflict of this belief with what we have undertaken and will continue to undertake. The military establishment as an institution exists for the benefit of the people, the supreme authority in the state.

As the military is part of the government and has been an integral part of the constitution and the nation’s body-politic, it is in essence inherently political. The soldiers are citizens too and therefore have the right and responsibility to participate in the political affairs of the society. They too have the right and duty to revolt when the very administration supposed to serve the people as mandated by the supreme law continuously refuse to fulfill its covenant with the people.

We are only doing our constitutional role of being the protector of the state and people.xxx


Q: Do you have any other leader in mind? Are you willing to go back mainstream provided the present AFP leadership is overhauled? What is your concept of a military leadership?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: My opinion on any other leader is irrelevant as leaders emerge out of necessary conditions and by consent of the would-be constituents.

It is no longer a question of overhauling the AFP leadership. It is a matter of radical restructuring of the society of which the military and its leadership form but a part. In line with this, only when the entire system negates itself will I reintegrate myself.

Military leadership should first and foremost be ideological. It must lead an AFP that is genuinely an Army of the Filipino people, an instrument of liberation, a citadel of patriotism and nationalism, a bulwark of Filipino identity and values, and forever loyal to the Filipino people.xxx


Q: What is in store for the Armed Forces in the future, Captain? Is there hope for this government and for this country, for that matter?

CAPT. DANILO D. LIM: It is inevitable for the Armed Forces to be nationalist, to be Filipinist, to be pro-people and revolutionary.

As the government is the people, certainly there is hope for the government. As for this curse of a regime, there is non... Unless it decides to lead the revolution.

For this country, hope is as bright as the sun at its brightest.


CAPT. DANILO D. LIM, 1SRR
YOU Detention 1st Cell/YOU Camp Crame 4th Collective (YDIC/YCC4C)
Young Officers Union - Kasapi,Aklasan ng Kabataang Lakas ng Sambayanang Pilipino
(YOU/AKLAS PILIPINO)

July 1, 1990
Camp Crame, Quezon City

Gen. Lim to Villar: Apologize for fake psychiatric report Rebel general says NP’s smear campaign is unwarranted, asks Villar to do a Manny Pangil

“Apologize.”

This is the simple unsolicited advice given by Brigadier General Danilo “Danny” Lim to Nacionalista Party standard bearer Manuel “Manny” Villar on the fake psychiatric report which claimed that Liberal party presidential bet Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III was clinically depressed and smoked marijuana.

In a statement released on Monday, the detained general said a simple apology from Villar could give immediate closure to this issue. He urged the NP standard-bearer to replicate the humility of another “Manny”, who he said, “took the responsibility of owing up to his indiscretion.”

“I urge Senator Villar to do a Manny Pangilinan,” Lim said. “A true national leader is capable of acknowledging when he is at fault, whether he or his people caused the transgression. As such, I ask, can Villar do that? Can he swallow his pride and admit wrongdoing?

Lim said the mere fact that institutions such as ABS-CBN and Ateneo De Manila University already confirmed that the alleged psychiatric analysis of Aquino was fake and was sourced from the NP are enough reasons for Villar to seek apology and owe responsibility.

“Instead of cashing in on this propped up controversy which is only wasting our time and hurting many people, Villar should be responsible enough to order his people to stop from further escalating the issue,” Lim said.

Lim is reacting to the Villar camp’s statement on Sunday challenging Aquino to address the issues contained in the fake psychiatric report.

“It flies in the face of logic. To begin with, the document is a forgery. So how could somebody respond to such a report without making a fool of himself? Naturally, Noynoy will not dignify this,” Lim said.

Lim who is also running for senator in the May polls appealed for sobriety. He said instead of engaging in mudslinging, candidates especially those seeking the presidency should engage in a passionate and communicative “platform brawl.”

“As a substitute for mudslinging and empty bravado, I strongly suggest we focus our energies in elevating the level of the electoral discourse. Let’s talk about real issues, concrete platforms and policy proposals,” Lim asserted.

The bemedalled soldier said candidates resorting heavily to black propaganda and smear campaigns are those who are incapable of firm reasoning and democratic persuasion. He said the Filipino voters deserve “better exchanges from better candidates.”

“Let’s prove to the voting public we are deserving of their votes. Let’s be the candidates they want us to be,” Lim said.

Lim also challenged all presidential candidates to make public their plan on how to restore good democratic governance after Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s nine-year misrule. He particularly issued the challenge to Villar who recently was bombarded with accusations that he is Arroyo’s secret candidate.

“I suggest Villar put more energy in disproving this accusation instead of the fake Aquino psychiatric report. The VillArroyo tag will not go way by simply dismissing it. The only way to repudiate it is for the NP presidential bet to set the record straight on how he will make Arroyo accountable for her crimes against the people. Again I ask, is Villar up to it?” Lim ended.

We hereby officially declare that we have formally united under the leadership of BGen. Danilo "Danny" Lim.

We, the undersigned, hereby officially declare that we have formally united under the leadership of BGen. Danilo "Danny" Lim.

We have agreed to unite for the following reasons:

We aspire for the collective vision of a country of peace, progress and prosperity;
We are fully aware that our country is slowly being engulfed by the fires of poverty, war and corruption;
We concede the need to strengthen our ranks in the face of a ruthless enemy;
We recognize our people's longing for change and their desire for a new breed of leader.

We have chosen BGen. Danilo "Danny" Lim for the following reasons:

He has the essential leadership qualities to steer us towards our vision;
He has the impeccable character to lead with moral authority;
He has consistently displayed uncommon valor and patriotism in the face of extremely difficult situations.

We have been forged in adversity; we are now ready to answer the call of duty...

For God, country and people.

For BAGONG KATIPUNAN (BK): Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV

For MAGDALO: LtSG. James Layug

For NATIONALIST ARMY OF THE PHILIPPINES (NAP): Col. Reynaldo Cabauatan

For OFFICERS DETAINED IN TANAY (ODT): Lt. Col. Jun Parcon, Maj.. Leomar Jose Doctolero, Maj. Francisco Fernandez, Capt. James Sababan, Capt. Ruben, Guinolbay, Capt. Isagani Criste, Capt. Joey Fontiveros, Capt. Montano Almodova, Capt. Frederick Sales, 1Lt. Jacon Cordero, Capt. Allan Aurino, Capt. William Upano, 1Lt. Homer Estolas, 1Lt. Richiemel Caballes.

For REBOLUSYONARYONG ALYANSANG MAKABANSA (RAM): Lt.Col. Florencio Flores; Willy Calderon, National Treasurer; Antonio Daza, Region VIII; Capt. Manuel Ison, PN, Palawan; Nonong Cordova, National Capital Region; Zaldy Espartero, Antique; Romeo Aparis, Leyte; Fortunato de Jesus, Romblon; Dj Lampaso, Roxas; Nelson Inesin, Cagayan de Oro; Capt. Armando Abucejo, General Santos; Vic Dultra, Gingoog; Gerry Sia, Lucena; Albert Helira, Navotas; Rodolfo Balastigue, Malabon; Virgilio Mauricio, Caloocan; Randy Regalado, Northwest California, USA

For PARA SA BAYAN (PSB): Marines - Col. Orlando de Leon. Scout Rangers - Lt. Col. Nestor Flordeliza, Lt. Col. Ed Malabanjot, Maj. Jason Aquino

For REFORMIST: BGen. Tomas Diaz

For RETIRED AND ACTIVE WILDCATS ASSOCIATION, INC. (RAWAI): MGen. Johnny Gomez, former 7ID Commander; Col. Antonio Inciong, Former AFP Public Information Officer; Col. Leonides Landicho; MSgt. Reynaldo Ramos, former PMA Sgt. Major; Jun Owinacman, President

For SAMAHANG MAGDALO: Capt. Gary Alejano

For SOLDIERS OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE (SFP): Col. Cesar dela Pena

For YOUNG ENLISTED SOLDIERS WITH ACTIVE AND RETIRED MILITARY-POLICE FOR SOLIDARITY (YES ARMS): Commodore Ismael Aparri

For YOUNG OFFICERS UNION (YOU): Col. Emilio Maglaya, Spokesman; Col. Ariel Querubin, YOU ‘89

INDIVIDUAL OFFICERS: Lt.Gen. Romeo Dominguez, Former Northern Luzon Commanding General; BGen. Charlie Fayloga, Former AFP J-6; Col. Roberto Rocio, Former Signal Battallion Commander; Capt. Julian Advincula, PN, Former Naval Special Warfare Group Commander; Lt. Col. Romeo Ranay, Signal Corps; Col. Rodrigo Rosqueta; Col. Raymundo Pagaduan; Col. Marcial Dimaapi; Capt. Ephraim Rio, PN; Col. Melvin Gutieres; Col. Alfonso Ranullo; Lt.Col. Jaime Junio; Lt. Col. Achilles Santacruz; Capt. Ervin Divinagracia

For PHILIPPINE GUARDIANS BROTHERHOOD, INC. (PGBI): Miguel Salomon, National Executive Council and Region II; Jojo Villafuerte, Region V Vice Chairman and Camarines Sur Chairman; Danilo Martinez, Batangas; Robencio Velasco, Santiago City

For GRAND ORDER OF THE UNIFIED GUARDIAN ASSOCIATION, INC. (GOUGAI): Criselda Tan, Chairperson; Adelon Albano, National Vice President; Ronald Fabros, Taguig; ; Henry Mopera, Sta. Rosa; Ignacio Minoza, San Pedro; Allan Espiritu, Libmanan.

For 1GANAP: Ernesto Macahiya, National President; Job Valenzuela, National Vice President; , Head Secretariat; Mark Anthony Villalampa, Laguna; Germiliano Batac, Northern LuzonJulius Larobis, Mindanao; Edwin Molao Jr, Quezon City

For GBHFI: Jimmy Guban, Chief Executive Officer

See entire Manifesto at http://www.sundalo.bravehost.com/Unity%20of%20Command.htm

STOP TYRANNY! ESTABLISH A JUST AND HUMANE GOVERNMENT.

When I submitted myself to trial in August 2006, I had faith in the system then. I did so with the full belief that no matter the quality of people who man the positions of power in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the system works, and that it would work in delivering justice. I do not have such faith anymore.

Today, the court martial will rule on the Demurrer to Evidence filed by the defense lawyers. The outcome of this trial today – dismiss or continue with the trial– will not change my loss of faith, because the damage has been done.

I see Maj. Aquino and Cpt. Divinagracia mourn their terrible losses, made even worse by their prolonged separation from beloved family members, now forever gone. Col. De Leon Col. Segumalian, Lts. Estolas and Sereno are lucky to get yearly visits from their province-based families.

I look at the upstanding officers detained with me and I see careers derailed, and the country deprived of their honest outstanding service. Worse, I see undeserving people, cowardly, callous, selfish and greedy perpetrating themselves in power, at the expense of these detainees.

This trial is indicative of much that is wrong with the present governance. It shows that discipline is demanded from – and more often than not, given by – those who do not wield power. So we pay our taxes, follow orders from our superior officers, obey the laws, submit to processes. In return our officials steal from us, evade the law, lie blatantly, cheat openly and make us out for fools. When we are hurt or oppressed by such actions no restitution is forthcoming. To them, this is justice and democracy.

There is no doubt that we are all innocent of these trumped up charges. Yet my fellow officers were unjustly detained and subjected to a choreographed trial. Our lives are being continuously hostaged by unscrupulous powerful individuals.

Definitely, we can endure the severity of detention and the bastardization of the process.

Ang nakalulungkot at nakababahala lang ay: kung nagawa nila ito sa amin, paano na ang ordinaryong sundalo at mamamayang Pilipino na walang kakayahang lumaban? Hayaan na lang ba natin na mananaig ang katiwalian, pananakot at pang aabuso ng mga nasa huwad na kapangyarihan?

This is tyranny. Tyrants must be removed. A just and humane government must be established; a government of the people, for the people and by the people.

MGEN RENATO MIRANDA PN (M) AFP

TIME TO DIE FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS

I call on my brothers in uniform, NOW is the time to redeem ourselves. The whole nation cries for succor against the relentless onslaught of tyrants.

Our organization and our systems have been prostituted. Our justice system doesn’t work. Our territorial integrity is under attack. Law and order is a dream. Our coffers are being robbed. The dignity of a whole generation is lost.

We are being pitted, used and abused against the very people whom we have sworn to defend and protect. Our sense of loyalties has been distorted to favor a cabal of criminals. We shed blood, sweat and tears and the comfort of our families for all these wrong reasons!

We dare to imprison those who stood up against cheating…but we never dared to put to task the cheaters.

We dare to shoot our Muslim brothers…but we never dared to hang those who committed treason.

We dare to run after farmers, fishermen and workers…but we never dared to break the cause of their poverty.

We dare to stop legitimate dissent…but we never dared to confront an illegitimate government.

We dare to serve the ends of criminals…but we never dared to protect a nation.

Fellow soldiers, we cannot fool a nation that our silence and inaction is a mark of professionalism. Neither do we fool ourselves. For in truth and in fact, we refuse to leave our comfort zones.

We hate to be called cowards for we are not. Let us not wait for the Filipino people to judge us.

Now is the time to rectify. Now is the time to perform our mandate.

A call to MARCH has been sounded. I enjoin everybody to march in cadence with the Nation. I will be there.

Time to die for all the right reasons!

SULBATZ

It's time for the military and police leaderships to unify the armed services and make a genuine revolutionary reform

Ang nakakaraming mambabatas sa Justice Committee of the House of Representatives, na kaalyado, kakutsaba ng korap na rehimen pulitikal ay muling binasura ang impeachment complaint re pandaraya sa eleksyon, malawakang suhulan na naganap sa Malakanyang, kitang-kita ito sa video sa TV kamakalawa bilang patunay, na me mga bitbit silang bagfuls of money to the tune of P0.5M per bag as claimed by pro-impeachment solons (laking kawalang-hiyaan ito, sa Malakanyang pa naman), at sari-saring korap mega deals like the NBN-ZTE (na mismo sina GMA & FG the Full of Greed pumunta sa Tsina together with other officials) atbpang shady deals, at matinding pagnanakaw sa kaban ng bayan.

Sobra-sobrang kabuktutan at kawalang-hiyaan ito, TOP to BOTTOM, NATIONAL to LOCAL LEVEL, sa taumbayan at bansa - systemic, endemic kind of LEADERSHIP BY BAD EXAMPLE. Huwad na mga national political leaders exercising political power only because of sheer protection of the armed services, the military and police. Who'll say they're the legitimate, duly constituted authorities, when they are violators of the Constitution. They took only a sham Oath of Office to obey and defend the Constititution. They don't protect the interests of the people and the state. Bagkus pa niyuyurakan nila especially the basic value on honesty and integrity. Dahil sa ganitong sistema, no amount ang ethical standards, code of conduct and HONOR SYSTEM sa PMA, AFP & PNP, may mga naligaw ng landas. Yun kasi ang kalakaran ng nakakataas kono na political leadership system. Decades na itong ganitong kalintikan sistemang ito, asserting their bogus civilian supremacy over the armed services to serve their selfish interests..

But there's still chance - they reform, rectify themselves, ang mga naligaw ng landas sa militar at pulisya. Mahuhugasan ito if they conform with the winds of change for the better.

Remove this protection and these sham and corrupt political leaders are gone with the winds . . . of revolutionary change for the betterment of our country that has been suffering from this kind of political bondage and from the decades old political and social malaise.

It's high time for the military and police, na binababoy lang ng mga pulitikong ito, ginagamit lang sa kanilang kabuktutan, na tanggalin ang kanilang korap at ganid na kapangyarihang pulitikal. Maliwanag sa Constitution, the armed services are mandated to serve and protect the interests of the people and country from all kinds of viciousness especially that of mandaraya, fake and corrupt leaders.

This is only a "single stroke of the pen" by the top and senior military-police leaderships, a mere announcement. It's a pronunciamento in the media, in alliance with the morally concerned leaders in the country. The majority members of the military and police, pati taumbayan na naghu-humiyaw na sa pagsulong ng makabago at rebolusyunaryong pagbabago ay mga magsisipagsunod, aayon na mawala na finally ang kabuktutan ng rehimeng ito, di lang ng kay Gloria, GMA, her political dynasty and her cohorts, pati na ang mga nakaraang dekada, na tigib ng SISTEMANG KAISIPAN ng kabulukan at kabuktutan.

Wag ng hintayin ng high command of the military and police na ang kanilang mas nakakabatang opisyal at sundalo ang magtuloy ng ganitong REVOLUTIONARY REFORM MOVEMENT. Marami ng nakulong sa panahon ni Esperon'74 na baluktot ang isip sa pagtulong sa dayaan sa eleksyon at pagprotekta sa huwad na rehimen. Despite this, di maaawat ito, ang kilusang ito. Patuloy ito. NAGSIMULA ITO NUONG EDSA I & II, though genuine revolutionary reforms were not achieved due to fast turn--over to leaders with the same collar of dog, kaparehong uri at hanay, kaparehong kaisipan.

Nasa diwa at isip ng nakakaraming taumbayan itong KILUSANG ito - ang sila'y magkaroon ng tunay na kalayaan, di sa ganitong corrupt political system. Kitang kita na ang kabuktutan. It's time for the top/senior military and police leaderships to unify the armed services and make a genurine revolutionary reform in alliance with morally concerned leaders and intelligentsia and the masses. Kahiya-hiya naman kung ayaw nilang magpasimuno at lalong umigting ang kanilang pagprotekta sa dekadang korap na political system. Nasaan ang propesyonalismo nila to lead the good example of serving the people sa ganitong pagsuporta sa huwad na rehimen at corrupt political system. Lalabas na leaders by bad example din sila following the same vein of their political leadership. Their names will go down to history if they don't listen to the people's clamor, wakasan na finally ang kawalanghiyaan ng corrupt political system para guminhawa ang taumbayan.. Bemedalled nga sila sa lahat ng laban, tactical & combat, pero ang tunay na laban na kumampi at maglingkod sa taumbayan ay di dapat nilang iwaksi.

Lahat tayo ay social and political being na dapat kahanay ang taumbayan hindi ang political parties o anuman - ang interes ng masa, lalo na. Ang militar at pulisya ay galing at kauri ng mahihirap lalo na ang taong masa, Di sila pinanganak with silver spoon in their mouth. Laki sila sa hirap di gaya ng mga ganid na pulitiko lalo na mga anak nila na hinubog upang sumanib sa hanay ng political dynasties. So, walang mawawalang kayamanang materyal sa kanila bagkus pa, mabibiyayaan ang taumbayan sa kanilang paglilingkod upang isulong ang tunay na revolutionary reform in our political system.

This is the constitutional duty of the armed services, not to give continuing and further protection to illegitimate, dishonest and corrupt political system that tramples on the rights of the people especially the poor masses and low-salaried employees like the soldiers. Tito'66

Senator Trillanes calls for support to the new impeachment against GMA

He has been behind bars and has yet to set foot in the Senate since being elected last year. Yet, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV remains to be one of President Arroyo's harshest critics.

In an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News, he praised former House Speaker Jose de Venecia for his revelations on the government's controversial National Broadband Network project.

Trillanes says if former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis 'Chavit' Singson was the star witness in the impeachment case against former President Joseph Estrada, this is now the role of former House Speaker Jose de Venecia.

"It's a welcome development," Trillanes says, when asked what he thought of De Venecia's move to go against Arroyo. "The act of Gov. Chavit Singson, they were demonizing him, and yet, they welcomed him when he started revealing some things."

Trillanes also dared House members to support the new impeachment complaint against the president and prove they are pursuing the interest of the public.

"Dapat, kung ano ang hinaing nila, dapat yun ang hinaing ng congressman. But, so far, hindi yun ang nangyayari dahil sa kanya-kanyang personal na interes," he says.

If the House junks the latest impeachment complaint against Arroyo, Trillanes says, "The bottom line is, I will let the people decide kung saan nila gusto patungo ang ating bayan. Kung gusto nilang manatili si GMA even beyond 2010, it is up to them."

Trillanes says his vote was not sought in the recent leadership change in the Senate, but he says the new alliances won't have any effect on how the upper chamber works.

He believes Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile could change his position on any issue even if he is a Palace ally.

"People change, and remember, Senator Enrile turned his back also on Marcos," he says.

Trillanes also warns Malacañang should not be too confident even if the uprising at the Manila Peninsula hotel last year failed saying, it's difficult to gauge the sentiment of the masses.

"Unfair po na i-husgahan natin ang taong bayan na pagod na sila sa mga ganitong mga political activities," he says.

The AFP's Original Sin (Adam and Esperon)

By BGen. Danny Lim

Before the Filipino people, the raison d’etre for its existence, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is currently in a state of disgrace. This alienation is the price soldiers pay for the Original Sin committed by their senior officers, Esperon and his rogue accomplices, who allowed themselves to be “used” and in the process unconscionably got the institution involved in the massive electoral fraud in 2004.

Like Adam and Eve who were unable to resist the crafty snake’s temptation and ate from the Tree of Knowledge, Esperon and his self-aggrandizement group succumbed to the offers of immoral political leaders and helped themselves to the “tree of Garci.” But unlike the Garden of Eden’s original sin, Esperon’s partakes of a mortal character, not merely venial. It was a grievous criminal offense when he and his gang knowingly and willfully violated our election laws and thwarted the people’s sovereign political mandate. And being mortal, such stain cannot be cleansed by Baptismal waters alone. The sin can only be forgiven and the soldier reconciled with his people through a sincere Act of Contrition and the corresponding Acts of Penance.

To be redeemed from its complete separation from the Filipino people, for a start, the military needs to be honest with itself and be truthful to the country it has sworn to serve. The AFP needs to come out of it with a clean breast by admitting the fault, dealing with it squarely and helping initiate moves that would task those responsible to account for their illegal acts. Unfortunately, it is like wishing for the moon at this time; even a watered down version of the Mayuga Report has yet to be made public.

Meantime, a chasm of sinfulness and damnation continue to define the military’s relationship with the Filipino people and its estranged sons and daughters continue to suffer from the stigma of Esperon’s shameless act. Innocent soldiers continue to suffer and pay for the original crime. Some who stood up to be counted for the side of truth and justice ended up in detention and continue to languish in their cells to this day. Add to this the cases of involuntary disappearances, tortures, abuses, etc and you multiply and magnify the gulf between soldiers and civilians.

From accounts in the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden and condemned to perpetual harsh existence where they can only “eat bread from the sweat of their faces.” The serpent’s punishment, “on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life.” No such treatment for Esperon, his rotten crew and the big Anaconda, no matter how well they deserve it. The crooks in uniform were, to a man, amply rewarded for their “invaluable services” with promotions, incentives (including financial) and other perks. They’ve got it made! Their brows need no longer sweat. They were banished to paradise (juicy positions) after retirement. The political serpent is not crawling on its belly. It continues to lord it over the garden and abuse its hapless and downtrodden residents.

Only when the men in uniform and the Filipino people unite and act as one can the Biblical story rooted in crime and punishment come to full realization.

Business leaders join 5 Catholic bishops, call for 'new governance'

Written by Carmela Fonbuena
Thursday, 20 November 2008

Image The country’s top business groups—the Makati Business Club (MBC) and the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP)—on Thursday issued a statement supporting the earlier call of five Catholic church leaders for a “new government.”

Echoing the five bishops’ statement that “the time to prepare a new government in now”, the business groups’ said: “We should now prepare for a new kind of governance.”

“We support the call of the five senior bishops led by Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo that the time for radical reforms to rebuild our country economically, socially and politically, and to conquer complacency, cynicism and apathy, is now,” the business groups said.

Lagdameo is the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Others who joined him in calling for a new government were: Balanga Bishop Socrates Villegas, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, Masbate Bishop Joel Baylon, and Legazpi Bishop-Emeritus Jose Sorra.

Among the members of MBC and MAP are the chief executive officers, chief operating officers, and top business executives of the country’s largest and most profitable corporations.

When the bishops made the call in October, they were criticized by administration allies for being “seditious.” Among them was Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, who interpreted the bishops’ statement as a call for the removal of President Arroyo.

When asked about the possibility that their statement may be interpreted as seditious, MBC executive director Alberto Lim told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak, “We don’t mean to be seditious.”
Unabated Corruption

Like the bishops, the business groups also condemned the unabated corruption in government.

“Corruption is bad for business growth, employment and long-term survival. It worsens poverty, steals from the poor, compromises public order and safety, mocks the rule of law, encourages bureaucratic inefficiency, and destroys society's moral fabric,” the statement said.

“The dishonor of being the most corrupt in Asia and one of the worst in the world compels us to join the call for redemption,” it added.

When the Church made their statement in October, former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante was about to be deported to the Philippines.

Critics of President Arroyo urged Bolante to testify on the P728-million fertilizer fund that was allegedly misused to help finance President Arroyo’s election campaign in 2004.

Bolante has repeatedly denied this in congressional hearings. “There is no fertilizer fund scam,” he said at the House hearing last Tuesday.

The business groups lamented how no one has been made accountable for the high-profile corruption cases involving government officials.

“Suspects are, in fact, perceived as being protected and even rewarded. We cannot understand government's inability or refusal to wield its vast powers to prosecute the accused,” the statement said.

“We’ve been wanting to catch a big fish,” Lim said in a phone interview. “We regret that the big fish was let go,” he added, referring to the parole President Arroyo granted former President Estrada, who was convicted by the Sandiganbayan for plunder.

Early this year, at the height of the National Broadband Network (NBN)-ZTE Corp. deal controversy, some MBC members, including its chairman—Phinma’s Ramon del Rosario Jr.—joined calls for President Arroyo’s resignation.

MBC also supported in 2001 the successful ouster move against former President Joseph Estrada.
JIL, too

The business groups also called on President Arroyo, senators and congressmen to “demonstrate their patriotism and have the courage to use the remaining 18 months of their term to do what is right for our country and our people.”

They also called on religious leaders, other business groups, and civil society to throw their support behind the bishops and told them “to not only speak out against wrongdoing but also do something about it.”

The Jesus Is Lord (JIL) movement’s Coalition for National Transformation is also a signatory to the MBC and MAP statement. (abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak)

The Time to prepare for new government is now

Gloria must go: CBCP head Says Arroyo hopelessly corrupt
By Gerald Naval, Malaya

ARCHBISHOP Angel Lagdameo yesterday called on Filipinos to start preparing for a new government, citing the need for transformation amid rampant state corruption.

Reading a prepared statement at a press conference, the Jaro (Iloilo) bishop said there is a real need to have a new government as the current one has been severely stricken by the "social and moral cancer" that is corruption.

"In response to the global economic crisis and the pitiful state of our country, the time to rebuild our country economically, socially, politically is now. The time to start radical reforms is now. The time for moral regeneration is now. The time to conquer complacency, cynicism and apathy and to prove that we have matured from our political disappointments is now. The time to prepare a new government is now," he said.

Asked if his statement is tantamount to calling for a public uprising to force President Arroyo to step down, Lagdameo said it is up to the people to decide what course of action to take.
"Kailangan ang taong bayan ay magsama-sama kung paano sila mag-response together dun sa sulat namin na sinabi naming communal discernment and communal action," he said in an interview.

Lagdameo clarified he was making the statement as a bishop and not as president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

During the press conference, he was flanked by four other prelates — Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, and Bishops Joel Baylon (Masbate) and Socrates Villegas (Balanga), and Bishop emeritus Jose Sorra.

Lagdameo said the presence of the four signifies their concurrence to his statement which he said was spurred by a letter sent to him by the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines.

The AMRSP letter said: "At this time when people are losing hope and are becoming cynical and apathetic, a prophetic word from you will be like a Pentecost event, a rekindling of hope and an inspiration and impetus to take active part on social transformation."

Lagdameo said corruption has been continuously growing despite repeated condemnation by the Catholic Church and calls for widespread reform.

"In the past few years up to today, we have watched how corruption has become endemic, massive, systemic and rampant in our politics. The faces and symptoms of corruption are overprized projects, multi-billion scams of various kinds, election manipulations, anomalous transactions, bribery of both high and low, unsolved murders of media practitioners. Corruption is a social and moral cancer," Lagdameo said.

He noted there have been at least three CBCP statements denouncing corruption.
Lagdameo said he believes Arroyo is a corrupt leader and has done little in preparing for a new government that could make a transition away from a corrupt one.
In his statement, Lagdameo said corruption is the reason the country could not get out of the quagmire it is in.

"Corruption impedes economic development, worsens income inequity and poverty, endangers public order and safety. Corruption results in bureaucratic inefficiency and demoralization," Lagdameo said.

The bishops said they are hopeful new leaders will emerge in the process of "liberating" the country from the claws of corruption.

"In spite of the seemingly hopeless and negative prognosis, our liberation may yet serendipitously happen. We are dreaming, praying and hoping that our country may yet have the liberators. Yes, liberators who will, in a courageous peaceful way, effectively and uncompromisingly reform our country," they said in the statement.

Cruz said corruption under the Arroyo administration is something that cannot be dealt with by the human justice system alone.

"Corruption in such an extensive degree in the Philippines is a crime that cries to heaven for vengeance. Corruption in this country has become endemic, systemic, from top to bottom in government. Perhaps they may be given the punishment they deserve by the human justice system, but that’s not enough. Someone else in the Higher Authority will punish them as they deserve," said Cruz, former CBCP president.

The known Arroyo critic said it was not too long ago when the President received the "distinction" of being the most corrupt president in the country’s history.

"Though our country is at the 11th place of the most corrupt from the bottom, we even have a gold medalist of corruption in our national leader. To say that the Malacañang occupant is a follower of corruption and not a leader in corruption is already asking too much. Perhaps, if this is said, it will take someone from the moon to believe that the head of corruption is down below and not above," Cruz said.

Villegas said they are hoping their statement will continuously bother the public.

"We are not here to bring you peace. We are here to disturb you. I’m praying to God that after this meeting, may the Lord trouble you because the trouble that comes from the Lord is going to make you a better person and it’s going to make the country a better country," said the protégé of Cardinal Jaime Sin, archbishop of Manila.

Villegas said that with the current state of the government, there must be very drastic and dramatic actions from each and every one.

"If we have been only half less corrupt, we would have more money to feed our children, more money to put up schools, more money to bring medicines to hospitals. The problem is not population. The problem is corruption. Just cut the corruption in half and we would have enough money to take care of the poor," Villegas said. – With Jocelyn Montemayor

Bishops call for GMA’s ouster
By Ellen Tordesillas, Malaya

That was one great statement that the Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, released yesterday. He practically called for the ouster of Gloria Arroyo.

Not in 2010 but now.

In a statement he read flanked by four other progressive-thinking bishops namely, Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz, Bataan Bishop Socrates Villegas, Masbate Bishop Joel Baylon, and Legazpi Bishop Emeritus Jose Sorra, Lagdameo said: "The time to start radical reforms is now. The time for moral regeneration is now. The time to conquer complacency, cynicism and apathy and to prove that we matured from our political disappointments is now. The time to prepare a new government is now. "

In the open forum, Lagdameo said Gloria Arroyo is not capable of instituting reforms because he said, "I believe that the President is corrupt."

The question and answer portion with Bishop Cruz was fascinating. Asked if Arroyo can lead the radical reforms, he replied, "Siempre hindi."

Q: How about Vice President Noli de Castro?
Cruz: Walang ganyanan.

Q: How about Senate President Manny Villar?
Cruz: Walang ganyanan.

Q: How about House Speaker Prospero Nograles?
Cruz: Walang ganyanan.

Q: How about Chief Justice Reynato Puno?
Cruz: Pwede.

Q: How about AFP Chief Alexander Yano?
Cruz: Okay yun.

Q: Have you met with General Yano?
Cruz: Tama na. tama na.

It is about time that leaders of the Catholic Church whose consciences haves not been numbed by Malacañang’s cash donations, do what they preach. They cannot be preaching "Thou shalt not steal" while closing their eyes on the thievery of Arroyo and her cohorts. Worse, accepting the fruits of Arroyo’s crimes.

Many Catholics have already given up on the CBCP when it comes to giving them guidance at this time when democratic institutions are degraded to protect Arroyo’s hold on power.
Lagdameo and the four bishops seriously doubt there will be an election in 2010 despite Arroyo’s pledge there would be one.

Cruz said their sources say "Elections in 2010 is a big dream. In short, elections in 2010 up to this time that I’m talking, is a moral impossibility."

He asked the media to be on the alert when Congress opens on Nov. 10. "Charter change will be an open, public and well funded move in the Lower House. Whether it will triumph in the Senate is still debatable. But then I repeat, no more camouflage, no more double-talk, no more indirect insinuations. Charter change will be an honest-to-goodness agenda for Congress," he said.
Arroyo’s Cha-cha, Cruz said, will be through a constitutional assembly. "The moment it passes the Lower House, and the moment it passes Senate and there is a plebiscite, then it is done, because the local governments are all at the command of Malacañang."

Cruz said the charter change that Arroyo is crusading "is not for patriotic reasons."
"It is intended principally, basically and fundamentally to extend the term of office of the incumbent. I hope to God and I pray very dearly that I am wrong but that is what I know," he said.

Lagdameo: Corruption—a social and moral cancer
By Melo M. Acuña, CBCP News

MANILA, October 28, 2008—Jaro (Iloilo) Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo SAID more people has felt poorer and impoverished over the past few years.

Speaking before national and international media, religious men and women from various congregations Tuesday morning, the prelate said "twenty million hungry Filipinos will disagree with the often repeated government slogan "Ramdam ang Kaunlaran." He said the people’s own experience prove "Ramdam ang Kahirapan, Ramdam ang gutom."

He underscored the fact the biggest culprit and major cause of the country’s poverty and hunger is "the abuse and misuse of public or private institutions." The prelate quoting Asian Development Bank defined corruption as "the abuse and misuse of public or private office to unlawfully enrich oneself and those close to him, or induce others to do the same."

He said ordinary citizens have "watched how corruption has become endemic, massive, systemic and rampant in our politics." He said the faces and symptoms of corruption are overprized projects, multi-billion scams of various kinds, election manipulations, anomalous transactions, bribery of both high and low, unsolved murders of media practitioners.

He described corruption as "a social and moral cancer." Referring to corruption’s consequences, the prelate said in political elections corruptions damages political legitimacy, integrity and competence as it "impedes economic development, worsens income inequity and poverty and endangers public order and safety."

He said Transparency International tagged the country as the 11th most corrupt among 102 countries. "If we are not horrified, disgusted, exasperated and enraged by these realities, can we still say we love our country?" the prelate asked.

Archbishop Lagdameo said he agrees with columnist Conrado De Quiros who noted people identify themselves "so easily with the victims of pickpockets or snatchers and throw these small-time thieves to (almost) forever languish in prison.

"But when it comes to big-time crooks and public officials stealing billions upon billions of the people’s money, it takes forever to prove their crime," he further observed.

Archbishop Lagdameo said "there is much embarrassing hesitation and false respect to start mounting a campaign to show that corruption is the worst form of crime, because it kills the common good, it kills the poor, it kills the country" and "violates God’s commandments "Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not kill."

He cited the CBCP Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine Politics (September 16, 1997) which said "Philippine politics—the way it is practiced—has been most hurtful of us as a people. It is possibly the biggest bane in our life as a nation and the most pernicious obstacle to our achieving of full human development."

He said the CBCP statement entitled "Let Integrity Flow Like a Stream" released July 7, 2003 said "In the strongest term we condemn graft and corruption as an offense against society and sin against God. God will certainly hold the perpetrators accountable. To combat this evil we also proposed the formation of citizens’ councils to promote public awareness, to monitor the use of public funds, and to initiate charges against guilty officials."

He recalled the CBCP pastoral statement entitled Restoring Trust released July 10, 2005 said "Moral accountability calls for radical reforms in various agencies of government to make them more responsive to the requirements of integrity as well as the needs of the poor."

The CBCP’s latest statement entitled "Seeking the Truth, Restoring Integrity" released last February 26, 2008 said "We strongly condemn the continuing culture of corruption from the top to the bottom of our social and political order."

The Jaro prelate said "In response to the global economic crisis and the pitiful state of our country, the time to rebuild our country economically, socially, politically is now." He said it is important to begin radical reforms, moral regeneration soonest and "to conquer complacency and apathy and to prove that we have matured from our political disappointments is now." He added "The time to prepare a new government is now."

In closing he asked "who will pick up the broken, shattered pieces of our country, hurting from poverty and occupation, to make it whole again?" He said "our liberation may yet serendipitously happen."

Archbishop Lagdameo quoting Apolinario Mabini said "Upang maitindig natin ang bantayog n gating lipunan, kailangang radikal nating baguhin hindi lamang ang ating mga institusyon, kundi maging ang ating pag-iisip at pamumuhay." (Melo M. Acuña)