The following message was inspired from Mark Antony’s speech (from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar) and modified to make it apropos on the aftermath of the conviction of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona.
Friends, Filipinos, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Chief Justice Corona, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Corona. The noble Noynoy Aquino (through his spokesperson Abigail Valte)
Hath told you Corona was the public face of the things that ail the system:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Corona answer’d it.
Here, under leave of Noynoy and the rest (of the Yellow force)–
For Noynoy is an honorable man;
So are they all, all honorable men–
Come I to speak in Corona’s funeral.
He was our friend, faithful and just to us:
But Noynoy says he was the public face of the things that ail the system;
And Noynoy is an honorable man.
Corona’s leadership hath brought Hacienda Luisita back to its rightful owners — the peasant farmers
The social justice that has been deprived of the peasant farmers for more than 45 years by Noynoy’s family was dispensed under Corona’s leadership:
Did this in Corona seem what ails the system?
When the people cried against the administration’s toll fee rate hikes plan for NLEX, SLEX and the Skyway, the Court under Corona’s leadership initially issued a temporary restraining order against the implementation of the hikes giving the commuting public a temporary respite from financial burden. When the Court lifted the TRO, it struck down provisions in the administration’s plans which were prejudicial to public interest:
The injustice that ails the system would not care about the plight of the public yet it was not so under Corona’s leadership:
Yet Noynoy says he was the public face of the things that ail the system;
And Noynoy is an honorable man.
You all did see that in Burgos vs Macapagal-Arroyo and in Roxas vs Macapagal-Arroyo
The Court under Corona’s leadership rejected the Philippine National Police’s and the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ extraordinary diligence that the Rule of Amparo required, thereby allowing the Commission on Human Rights to pursue justice against abusive military personnel
The Court under Corona’s leadership went against the military personnel who were supposed to be part of Macapagal-Arroyo’s abusive regime: was this something that ails the system?
Yet Noynoy says Corona was the public face of the things that ail the system;
And, sure, he is an honorable man.
I speak not to disprove what Noynoy spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
There are people who appreciate Corona and the products under his leadership even at one point in their lives, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;
My heart is in the coffin there with Corona,
And I must pause till it come back to me.
So now let us ask the question, is Noynoy Aquino (through his spokeswoman Abigail Valte) correct to say that Corona is the public face of what ails the system?
Lope Robredillo offers a very good insight of why the system is so rotten to the core in the Philippines. For Mr. Robredillo, it seems that the feudal nature of Philippine politics where the rich, the privileged and the elite vie among themselves to capture power, retain them for themselves, and expand them, is to blame. Robredillo states:
| SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY! Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider! Learn more |
“To begin with, those who dominate national and even local politics belong to the privileged class–mostly big landlords, big businessmen, or their agents.”
If these privileged people run for office, one is tempted to say that it is not primarily to serve the majority, though political advertisements may argue the contrary. In reality, they run in order to capture political power. Why so? The reason is that it is the single most important power in the country. Political power enables them to control people, pass laws and make policies that are to their advantage, even legitimize their control, and dominate others. Even more significant, political power, as we shall mention shortly, can be converted to economic power. Hardly would they pass a bill that would be contrary to their interest, although it would be beneficial for the many. That is why, for instance, land reform program has not been successful–that clashes with the stake of the landed gentry. Anti-dynasty provision is found in the constitution, but one can be almost sure that until the second coming of Christ, no enabling law would be enacted.”
Noynoy Cojuanco Aquino certainly comes from the privileged class of mostly landlords and big businessmen. Former Senator Richard Gordon notes that the Aquinos and the Cojuancos has had 209 years of Public Service yet the country is still plagued with corruption and poverty. He notes:
“The Aquino family has been in public office for a total of 209 years for the last 112 years from Servillano Aquino, who was a Representative of Samar to the Malolos Congress in 1898, to Benigno Q. Aguino, Sr., who was a congressman, senator, and vice president during the Japanese occupation, to Benigno Aquino, Jr., to Corazon Aquino, Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, to Jesli A. Lapus, to Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco, to Agapito “Butz” Aquino, to Hermie Aquino, Gilbert Teodoro, Nikki Teodoro and Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.”
If this is the case, why then is there still corruption and poverty in our country? How is Tarlac? This is a fair question to ask.”
Looking at Gordon’s point, it further illuminates Robredillo’s statement that:
“Power and privileged, however, are difficult to give up. It is within their inherent logic to perpetuate. Which is why, politics is dominated by the same families election after election. After the man is through with his term, the wife succeeds him, or his son. In some municipalities, it happens that once one finishes 3 consecutive terms, all of 9 years, as mayor, he runs for vice mayor in the hope that in the next election, he will run again for the post he was no longer qualified to hold. Political dynasty has its own logic for being.”
Noynoy’s mother, the late President Corazon Cojuanco Aquino, issued Proclamation 131 and Executive Order 229 to re-define the agrarian reform program which involved stock distribution option to circumvent compliance to the land reform act of transferring the Hacienda to the farmers. Wasn’t that clearly a move to the benefit of the Cojuanco-Aquino family rather than the benefit of the farmers? When Noynoy was Deputy House Speaker in Congress, the time when he was a strong ally of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway project added the San Miguel/Luisita interchange thereby financially benefitting Noynoy’s family. Wasn’t this a sign of political power and influence yielding economic gain for a privileged family?
Another culprit that Robredillo pointed out was political turncoatism among the politicians. Robredillo avers that:
“Precisely because they represent almost no one else save their families and interests, it becomes logical why in Philippine politics, political parties are in practice devoid of meaning. In theory, parties are means through which ideology, vision and programs for running the government are made. In reality, parties are convenient structure that candidates use to capture power. One switches party affiliation as family or personal interest demands. Turncoatism is as easy as changing shoes.”
It is interesting to note that Noynoy was very much a part of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s coalition during the first half of her reign. In fact, Noynoy and the rest of his Yellow horde supported the 2001 powergrab of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from the duly elected President Joseph Ejercito Estrada. Jesusa Bernardo points out that:
“Noynoy’s little-spoken but nonetheless criminal deeds against the people did not end with the 2001 EDSA coup. During the 2004 elections, Noynoy allowed, or perhaps helped facilitate the electoral cheating committed against Fernando Poe Jr. in the conspiracy to fraudulently declare Arroyo as the winner of the presidential race. Noynoy as Tarlac congressman did nothing as stalwarts of his Liberal Party and others railroaded the congressional canvassing by refusing to open the contested COCs (certificates of canvass). As Daily Tribune’s Ninez Cacho-Olivares notes, Noynoy Aquino “kept his mouth shut even in the face of massive electoral cheating,” thus effectively preventing the Filipino public from knowing the real 2004 President-elect.
…
The only time Filipinos got to know that Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ) really won in the 2004 polls was when the Hello Garci wiretapped tapes came out, which primarily showed that Arroyo engaged in conversations with elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano in connection with operations surrounding the May 11, 2004 polls. However, even when the Aquinos already learned about the tapes, Noynoy did not immediately withdraw support from the Illegitimate “President.” In fact, he even voted AGAINST the airing of the tapes during the fifth Congressional hearing on the “Hello Garci” issue on June 30, 2005, the first anniversary of the surreptitious wee-hour-of-the-morning congressional proclamation of Arroyo as “President-elect.”
…
Noynoy even praised Arroyo’s televised July 2, 2005 I am sorry” speech, claiming it’s a “good start” for the controversial administration. Cory, for her part, even warned against resorting to extra-constitutional means to remove Arroyo, even as they themselves had four years earlier ousted Estrada and installed the Illegitimate in her place.
…
The sequence of events that his defense implies also constitutes falsehood: Noynoy Aquino actually withdrew support for Gloria only in July 8, 2005–six days AFTER he voted against the airing of the Hello Garci tapes. (As to why the Aquinos ultimately dropped Arroyo, GMA-7’s Stephanie Dychiu seems to point to the not-exactly favorable report of Task Force Luisita that came out that same month).”
Indeed, in the Philippines, it seems that politics is not anchored on principles and ideology but the demands of family and personal interest.
Another major culprit that Robredillo points out is patronage politics. A perfect example of how patronage politics is employed is through the dangling of the pork barrel by the executive to congress. Robredillo states:
“The executive does everything in its power to place the legislative under its influence. As we shall see below, this is done by patronage politics. One glaring example is how the executive dangles the pork barrel. Sure enough, if the judiciary and the legislative are weakened, the politician-executive has nothing to fear–all he wants, he gets. He can always hope that the law or its interpretation can bend. If the law sets limits on one’s term, for instance, somebody can be trusted to initiate a move to change the law. With branches of the government under one’s influence, one can always make the educated guess that impeachment complaints against him can never prosper.
…
But many critics think that most notorious is the pork barrel, rebaptized in 2000 as Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). The head of the executive department has of course the biggest share, but those of the senators and congressmen are not paltry. With pork barrel, one has great opportunities to beef up his wealth. Some observers say that almost half of the appropriated funds for projects ends up in the pocket of corrupt politicians in cahoots with businessmen. Hence, even if he does not receive his salary–and some flaunt to make sure that people know they do not–the corrupt official can still dip his finger into his PDAF. No wonder, many infrastructures are substandard, and are easily ruined. On the other hand, despite the corruption involved, people are still grateful to them for being allowed to work in the project. Politicians have their cake, and are able to eat it, too.”
If one recalls, Congressman Toby Tiangco in his testimony at the Impeachment Trial of Corona narrated how the administration tried to pressure Members of the House of Representatives to support impeachment moves against former Ombudsman Gutierrez and Chief Justice Corona. The policy is plain and simple. Give what the administration wants- you receive your pork barrel. Refuse the administration’s whims — you either get zero pork barrel or your pork barrel gets delayed.
While Renato Corona may have come from a well-to-do family, he was not as blue-blooded as the Philippine oligarchs such as the Cojuancos, the Lopezes, the Roxases and the Aranetas. He focused his entire career in the Law and not in politics. He was not a haciendero nor was he a turncoat against anyone he worked for and worked with. His principles stood firm and consistent regardless of where the political wind blew and regardless of his and his family’s interest. Instead of succumbing to the pressures exerted by the executive for the judiciary to toe the Palace line when the Department of Budget and Management tried to disregard the Supreme Court’s fiscal autonomy as guaranteed by the Constitution, Corona fought against the Executive’s move to protect the Court from the similar type of patronage politics that plague the legislative branch through pork barrel dangling.
So now we go back to the question: Is Noynoy Aquino (through his spokeswoman Abigail Valte) correct to say that Corona is the public face of what ails the system? Doesn’t the public face of what ails the system resemble a 50 year old balding haciendero dictator more than Renato Corona does? The general Filipino public does not think so for they still believe that Noynoy is an honorable man.
Heaven help the Philippines.
Calling a spade, a spade…
the only left solution to correct the Philippine system is war. After war everything will reset and these stupid media will be no more
What we need is justice and reform. We are having it after he was convicted for corruption. And no war but peace like what we are doing with NPA and MILF
WRONG, Vincenzo Arellano 2.0!! War, gore and violence are the absolute needs for reform, revolution and REAL change. Peace is utterly useless. There is no such thing as reform without violence. There is no revolution without terror. Look at the Russian Revolution and you will see that it made real changes, not your “EDSA ‘Revolution'”.
Peace by dangling plenty of money in front of the rebels, letting them take it and just ignoring them when they kill our soldiers? Mas malaking pera pa napupunta sa mga rebels kaysa budget ng sapatos ng mga sundalo natin. Bulag ka ba?
Civil war!!
No CJ will ever again go against an Executive Order
We’re screwed
No CJ will ever go again to protect Gloria.
And there is a CJ that will be PNoy’s lackey. 😛
Fishball dear, you still seem to be stuck in the past huh – seriously, what is it with you and your seemingly perpetual Gloriaphobia?
He’s Pnoy’s bitch.
He just doesn’t realize that Pnoy is ramming his arse while telling him the stuff he’s supposed to repeat.
The politicians reflect the character of the society they came from, and this society is a good example, no? Many people had guessed that Noynoy would probably be on the road to becoming the very dictator that his father’s enemy was. And look how things are unfolding, indeed!
I guess Noynoy has survived due to the following piece of advice:
Think of how you handle someone’s agenda? Come up with a better one.
He survived because of his anti corruption drive and that’s why he is a president.
Nope. He was president because of his last name, nothing else. So where are his so-called accomplishments? His anti-corruption drive is much as a trivial matter and we can never progress if such thinking exists.
His accomplishment is a drop in GDP by 4 percent and a rise in unemployment by 10 percent.
He should win a Nobel prize in Aquinomics.
@Nutzi Fishball
If you believe with fanatic zeal that he and his KKKK cronies are totally honest then you are living in a cuckoo clock world.
Pnoy will be toppled soon. He will not finish his term. Count on it. The process has started
another good read from GRP! kudos!
Will BS Aquino amend the constitution or violate it again?
http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120601com2.html
He promised that no changes will be made to the constitution and will stick with it.
Yet he continues to defy it to get what he wants, just like what he did to Corona.
Hypocrisy much?
Then our country might be stuck with an acting Chief Justice, unless…
“he will want the high court to rule on this issue and grant him the power to have an acting CJ convene the JBC and start its selection of applicants to the high court post”
…which would be one of the greatest irony because…
“He who bitched about the unconstitutionality of his predecessor’s appointment of Corona and to this day, maintains that he was a midnight appointee, is now also going to be appointing a CJ unconstitutionally.”
So, where to?
The informal dictator BS Aquino is an honorable man? Are his followers trying hard to muzzle media and legitimate dissent? Damage control is in the works…
http://www.news.manilastandardtoday.com/2012/06/01/privacy-bill-not-intended-to-gag-media/
The guy got to where he is by pole vaulting over his mother’s corpse. Not sure by whose’s standards that is honorable. Recommended movie Power starring Richard Gere. 1985.
honour:
trustworthy
integrity
loyalty
honesty
law-abiding
keeping promises
setting standards of excellence
not only does p-noy fail but so do most of the corrupt criminals in congress and it underscores why putting foxes in charge of the chicken coop will always end badly.
the concept of honor is completely alien in the country
That is exactly why people try to redefine dignity and pride with Pacquiao and 1/2 Mexican teenager who has never been to Philippines. Not sure what any of that proves but people sure put a lot of stock into it.
The truth hurts that you have crab mentality against Filipinos who makes us proud around the world.
And you are clinging to a ‘Pinoy Pride’ which it doesn’t exist. No wonder why we are a basketcase.
Smoke that opium, Vincenzo 2.0. Smoke that opium that Filipinos usually love to smoke all day. And that opium is your nationalism. That nationalism which is the opium of the state. Will nationalism protect you from poverty? Obviously, no, as those who could care less about that opium called nationalism are those who are able to progress for themselves.
@Nutzi Fishball
The truth eludes your mind because you are blinded by your fanatic zeal. The informal dictatorship, the deceit, manipulation and the evil examples done are below the horizon of your yellow line of sight. Proud? Of Whom? BS Aquino? then let me here you say Sieg Heil!
Filipinos… who are American and Mexican, actually.
No Fish ball , I know you are Kris Aquino incognito defending your Kiuya. Go troll for another married man.
“This Country is what it is because our citizens are what they are.” – Plato
Is the economy really improving under the improved society of the informal dictator?
http://www.opinion.manilastandardtoday.com/2012/06/01/poised-for-takeoff/
an honorable son would have sought justice for his father rather than siding with the culprit. that is the height of shame.
In the west most politicians, especially the better ones, have served their dues, demonstrated a track record of commitment and achievement, and possibly most significant have acquired an inherent set of political ideologies, knowledge and policies.
Here you can go from reading the news or simply being a family member to a political figure without knowing the difference between left and right, and right and wrong. And in the case of pacquaio, and others, never even turn up for work!
Political parties means girls and drink and are made up of turncoats and DOM’s
If you elect monkeys then the result is an ungainly and unruly zoo where the objective is solely self-interest.
do we not have any aspiring leaders of thought and principles. a sad reflection when there are no role-models of honor or integrity
Your statements was good but the people have spoken, they want a president which is incorruptible and kind and that is Noynoy. And he is doing his promise
Then the Philippines will fall, Vincenzo 2.0. You chose an incorruptible over a competent? Sheesh, Putin is a lot better than your Noynoy. Noynoy cannot possibly even do half of the things Putin ever did…
Perception and reality are two different things. I’d like to remind you of that.
If the person who “believes” has a limited/narrow view, the he will rely on his perception as reality. Problem is, some develop their perceptions based on what is fed to them, and they take it as fact blindly without looking at the big picture.
And as for the “promise”, well, he is already backing off with regards to his accounts. Yet he clearly stated during the trial that if the impeached CJ had nothing to hide, he should sign the waiver. In his case now, he promised in his campaign and now is backing off that promise.
So up until now, no waiver has been signed by PNOY. So get facts straight at least.
Cheers!
That’s hypocrisy, Fishball. If he’s incorruptible, then what do you call on his idiocy, his blatant defiance of the rule of law and even his bribery? Good governance.
My friends in GRP: LOOK AT HIM! LOOK AT HIM AND LAUGH!
*points Fishball*
*Flips the bird at Fishball*
Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
He sure did it on August 23, 2010.
@Nutzi Fishball
The people have spoken? A yellow minority mixed with reds/socialists, civil society groupies, political opportunists, anarchists, KKKK cronies, the gullible and the ignorant represent the entire sovereign Filipino people? You are truly living in a cuckoo clock world when viewed through your yellow eyes. The informal dictatorship is incorruptible? After all that he did in even buying media? What about the mansions and condominiums of his KKKK cronies? No investigation. It is all about impunity and the complete absence of accountability. That makes the crocodile hunter a crocodile. Get it?
Translation: stupid masa like me have spoken. I am so proud that our president is listening to the stupid masa!!
Now we can see that the constitution can be bent through the whim of the Palace. I read somewhere thats whats scary to think of. Once you bend the rule of law nothing much can be hoped for by the people. And to think that he couldn’t sign a waiver to disclose his SALN? I thought that he made that promise himself. It is a law he made and bent the same way this impeachment trial was manipulated.
now that the cojuangco-aquinos are going back to the SC on a ‘technicality’ please dont use p-noy and honor in the same sentence.
the little sh#t is at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to decency, integrity, and honesty.
campaign – 102 promises
legacy – 102 lies
bank waiver being the most recent. no conscience- no shame – no contribution to the country, just protection of the landlords.
despicable in every sense.
grp writers shouldnt presume to speak for the entire filipino people. just express your own opinions. dont preach that you know whats good for us its a dealbreaker hehehe
and all who disagree with the ariters automatically become yellow hahay
i think the point is exactly that they dont speak for the entire filipino nation.
they want more to question and think for themselves not absorb propaganda or remain in wowowee mode.
at least have your own thoughts and opinions and to feel free to express them.
communism hasnt taken over – yet
Look at the group sub title “we beg to differ” enuff said
It seems that you’re close-minded. Am I right?
I don’t know what you’ve been reading, but GRP never claimed to represent the entire Filipino citizenry/people. If they are forced to represent something though, I’m sure they will represent the Filipinos capable of rational and critical thinking.
Unfortunately you are not part of this group. 😛
“The gentleman understands rightousness, the petty man only understands self-interest.” – Confucius
It’s from the play: “Julius Caesar” written by William Shakespeare, the great English writer. I liken more to the tragedy, of : “Prince Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark”…written also by William Shakespeare. Prince Hamlet murdered his Uncle the King, and married the Queen, his aunt. Yet, every night “blood” appears on the hands of the Queen, who was always cleaning her hands…but, the “blood” remains…it cannot be washed out, by any cleaning…and Hamlet is bothered by the Ghost of the murdered King…”something is rotten in Denmark.”…states in the Hamlet play. “something is rotten in the Philippines”…we say..
“Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in
its promises, for never intending to go
beyond promise, it costs nothing”
Edmund Burke
visiting the uk as it celebrates the diamond jubilee of someone who embodies integrity and service p-noy can only reflect how far removed he is from such ethics.
and despite all the pleadings of DFA not one reputable university was prepared to give him an honary degree. work for it little man was their general message.
P-noy’s impotence and failure in the bedroom is a mirror image of his character and failure in life.
A bitter and angry old man who is is still hiding behind mummy, or mummy substitutes.
A psychological mess.
Ohhh! That hurts much! LoL.
Insecurity on the loose