Killing of Mylene De Leon-Scott

“Force always attracts men of low morality.” ALBERT EINSTEIN 

By Alex P. Vidal 

We don’t know what rules of engagement (if they are covered by the rules) did the American cops use when they responded to a commotion that resulted in the killing of Filipino-American Costco warehouse worker Mylene De Leon Scott on May 29 in Virginia, USA.
Either the life of the lawman who fired the shot or the lives of others present in crime scene were in danger that the situation warranted the use of excessive force, or the cops were unfit to deal with cases involving people with emotional and mental disability (Mrs. Scott had been suffering from nervous breakdown, according to a Canada-based relative).
Based on initial reports, it appears that the cop who shot and killed Scott may have panicked after efforts to calm her down with a taser failed. She was reportedly armed with a knife and scissor and was acting hysterically. 
The question that boggles the minds of many people is this: if the cop failed to neutralize the 38-year-old Scott with a taser, was it necessary to fire a gun five times and fatally hit the woman amok? Rules of Engagement are rules or directives to military forces (including individuals) that define the circumstances, conditions, degree, and manner in which force, or actions which might be construed as provocative, may be applied.

‘PROVOCATIVE’

If Scott’s actions were “provocative” was it necessary to kill her in order to stop her from committing a violent act? Rules of Engagement supposedly do not normally dictate how a result is to be achieved but will indicate what measures may be unacceptable. 
It is given that cops in the Unites States, or any other countries for that matter, are trained to overpower hostage takers or individuals who run berserk, with the use of lesser force like taser, bat, or physical contacts proportionate to violent acts. But not the capital punishment of death!
In the case of Scott, extra caution should have been observed since firstly, she was a woman; secondly, she wasn’t carrying a high-powered gun; and thirdly, she was not known to be a hardened-criminal. Responding deputy sheriffs don’t respond to a call for commotion alone. They arrive in crime scene as partners. They have back ups and armed with walkie-talkies, cuffs, bats and service firearms. A knife-wielding woman doesn’t have a chance versus two male cops in any confrontation.

INVESTIGATION

We just hope Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman will leave no stone unturned in the investigation now that the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC has asked US probers to focus on concerns by Fil-Ams that “law enforcement officials may have responded with disproportionate force” when they shot dead Scott. 
We just hope Chapman meant well when he said during the press conference that “It’s a very unfortunate situation for everybody. I just want to make sure our deputies are safe and everything gets investigated properly. Ultimately we’ve got to go through and interview all the witnesses … I don’t want to speculate on minuscule details at this time.” 
Meanwhile, in a statement posted at the official website of the Embassy, Philippines Ambassador Jose Cuisia Jr. extended “deepest sympathy to the family of Mylene De Leon Scott . . . who was shot dead by police officers responding to a reported disturbance inside the Costco Wholesale Store in Sterling, Virginia, on Wednesday, 29 May 2013.”

ASSISTANCE

Cuisia added: “The Embassy stands ready to extend its assistance to the family of Ms. Scott. We will continue to coordinate with police authorities in Loudoun County to secure more information on this case.”
The embassy said it shared “the concerns expressed by Ms. Scott’s family in the Philippines and the members of the Filipino-American Community that law enforcement officials may have responded with disproportionate force.”
The statement concluded: “We request authorities to conduct a thorough, impartial and expeditious investigation of the incident.”

 

EXCLUSIVE: Virginia cop used excessive force to kill Pinay worker?

By Alex P. Vidal

A 38-year-old Fil-Am woman shot dead by a cop at the Costco in Sterling, Virginia, USA on May 29 could be a victim of “excessive force.”
This was the suspicion aired by the victim’s female relative who requested anonymity but wants a thorough investigation on the incident that happened at around 3 o’clock in the afternoon inside the big department store.
“She was not a violent person,” bewailed the female relative, who is based in Surrey, British Columbia. “I talked to her yesterday (May 28) and she was okay and normal. I think there was no need to shoot and kill her. Excessive force was not necessary since she was a woman and was suffering from nervous breakdown.”
The victim, Mhai De Leon-Scott, was shot dead during a confrontation with cops who responded to a commotion, it was reported.
The relative said Scott hailed from Angat, Bulacan and had two female children. Her husband is a military man assigned in Ohio.
“She used to work at Victoria Secret and was giving food sample inside the Costco when the incident happened,” she added.
Loudoun Times quoted Liz Mills, spokesperson for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, who confirmed that Scott, 38, of Sterling, was shot by a deputy while wielding a knife while inside the store.
The deputy who shot Scott fired multiple rounds during the incident, Mills said.
Here’s the original story from Loudon Times:
With one woman dead and a deputy injured, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office is now investigating the circumstances surrounding an incident at the Sterling Costco.
At approximately 3 p.m. May 29, two deputies arrived at Price Cascades Plaza near the intersection of Route 7 and Cascades Parkway. Emergency services had received a call saying a woman, a Customer Services Demonstration provider, was creating a disturbance at the Costco. According to law enforcement, she had pulled a knife in the store and was acting erratically.
When confronted by deputies, the unnamed woman began approaching them while still holding the knife. An attempt to restrain the woman using a taser was ineffective, possibly being caught in a pocket of clothing instead of making contact with her skin. One of the deputies opened fire after it became apparent that the taser didn’t work.
The woman with the knife was killed by police fire. Her identity has not been released, pending family notification.
“It’s a very unfortunate situation for everybody. I just want to make sure our deputies are safe and everything gets investigated properly,” said Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman at a press conference following the shooting. “Ultimately we’ve got to go through and interview all the witnesses … I don’t want to speculate on minuscule details at this time.”
One of the deputies was injured in the leg during the shooting, possibly by a ricochet. This injury was not life threatening.
Witnesses described at least five shots being fired.
Robert Krause of Ashburn was at the front of the store when the conflict occurred, “This kind of thing doesn’t normally happen here. I didn’t want to be a hero so I got out of there. Half the store was running out too.”

 

Vice Ganda and sex values

“Love between man and man is impossible because there must not be sexual intercourse and friendship between man and woman is impossible because there must be sexual intercourse.” JAMES JOYCE

By Alex P. Vidal

The recent rape joke contrived by TV comedian Vice Ganda on respected journalist Jessica Soho was utterly malicious and done in bad taste. It showed that the gay host was bereft of sex values and orientation that weighed down his qualification to handle sensitive issues in public on pretext of fun and entertainment.
We are trying to correct and educate Vice Ganda here not because he is gay, but because of his cheap obloquy and disrespect for victims of rape, not to mention being tactless and his propensity to pander on highly sensitive matters for public gawking.
Vice Ganda’s portrayal of Soho as a gang rape victim and her taking potshots at Soho’s weight was a brutal calumny and direct insult to women with weight issues and victims of rape in general.
Some twenty years ago the word “homosexual” conjured up images of sad, neurotic deviants. Vice Ganda should be thankful to the open spirit of the last decades which helped improve our knowledge, and a clear picture of homosexuals today would show a great many men and women who live by their own values and whose emotional expressions are not limited by traditional sex roles. Far from being sick, gays like Vice Ganda often function better than nongays.

VIEW

Mark Freedman, founder of the Association of Gay Psychologists and a former staff psychologist at the Northeast Community Mental Health Center in San Francisco, California, has said that “traditionally, psychiatrists have based their view of homosexuality either on armchair speculation or on the analysis of homosexuals who enter therapy–a highly unrepresentative sample.”
It wasn’t until 1957, in fact, that psychologist Evelyn Hooker of UCLA published the first really sound research on the personal adjustment of gay men. Hooker compared homosexuals and heterosexuals who were not in therapy after dividing them up into pairs of comparable age, intelligence and schooling and then giving them a battery of personality tests. Experienced clincial psychologists then rated each person’s test results without knowing the man’s sexual orientation.
Hooker drew several tentative conclusions from her study. First, the clinical entity of “disease” called homosexuality does not exist. The forms of homosexual experience are as varied as the forms of heterosexual experience. Second, homosexuality may well be a deviation that is within the normal range of human behavior. And third, particular forms of sexual desires and expression may play a less important role in personality structure than many psychiatrists assume.

GOSSIP

Vice Ganda, whatever his educational attainment and training and whether he is into showbiz or business of gossip, should learn about sexuality education, which is a lifelong process of acquiring information and forming attitudes, beliefs, and values about identity, relationships, and intimacy.
Sexuality education is more than teaching people about anatomy and the physiology of reproduction. It includes an understanding of sexuality in the broadest context–sexual development, reproductive health, interpersonal relationships, affection and intimacy, body image, and sex and gender roles.
We parents are the primary sexuality educators of our children. Infants and toddlers receive this education when parents talk to them, dress them, show affection, play with them, and teach them the names of the parts of their bodies. As children grow, they continue to receive messages about appropriate behaviors and values as they develop relationships within their family and the social environment.
Children learn about sexuality through their observations and relationships with parents, friends, teachers, and neighbors; television, music, books, advertisements, and toys teach them about sexual issues.

PROCESS

It is important, however, that the process of sexual learning within the family be supplemented by planned learning opportunities in churches and synagogues, community and youth agencies, and schools.
Vice Ganda may not be the only person who needs sexual values. As with most human values, sexual values have passed through periods of crests (times of liberalization) and troughs (times of conservatism or extreme reaction). According to experts David L. Bender and Bruno Leone, sexual values underwent significant change throughout most of the Western world in the sixties and seventies.
“Rigid sexual standards of the 1950s were replaced by what many viewed as unbridled permissiveness. As recently as forty years ago, certain values were given: sex should be confined to marriage, prostitution was unquestionably a crime, pornography was a moral blight and homosexuality, a depravity,” they wrote. “However, studies revealed that during the sixties and seventies many people were defecting from these traditional values.”

 

Ai Ai, Nancy, Jinky, Grace, Kris next contenders for president?

“Clever and attractive women do not want to vote; they are willing to let men govern as long as they govern men.” George Bernard Shaw

By Alex P. Vidal

Comedian Ai Ai delas Alas would have dislodged Grace Poe from the No. 1 spot had she ran in the senate and her marital troubles started to go viral in Youtube before the May 13 midterm elections.
It’s easy to capture the people’s–or the electorate’s– imagination in a country where soap opera is part and parcel of daily existence. Showbiz characters–villains, comedians, or lead actresses and actors–are shoo-ins in any elections owing to their edge in name recall and popularity in an electoral system beset by loopholes and glitches (that’s why it’s imperative that there should be a charter change to correct these defects).
When Ai Ai shed tears before national TV, the bakya crowd that constitutes the majority in any electoral exercise, cried with her. A damsel in distress; a “dedicated” wife who lost a husband after a short-lived honeymoon; a popular and award-winning actress who became instant underdog after a break-up, after a much-ballyhooed albeit brief liaison with a non-showbiz partner ended in tailspin.
A crying lady in the Philippines always generates instant sympathy and empathy regardless of the cause of her misery. Tears are the most effective weapon to ensnare emotional support and collect widespread attention.

MELODRAMA

The night Ai Ai unloaded her marital woes in a melodramatic fashion, her popularity as well as the rating of the TV network that televised her predicament reportedly soared in Metro Manila alone. A groundswell of support poured for the “baba ng bayan” or “national chin.” Those support could translate into votes if Ai Ai was running for any public office and the episode occurred weeks before the elections.
Ai Ai’s partner, Kris Aquino, could be our next vice president or even president! The possibility of Senators-elect Nancy Binay, Grace Poe and Jinky Pacquiao, who is now vice governor, shooting for the higher positions in 2016 up isn’t far-fetched. The fact that they are now in the big league after securing their mandates already makes them strong contenders in a would-be battle of women celebrities in as far as future national elections are concerned.
It’s not hard to describe a woman, her desires and motives. In his poem, Robert A. Johnson, author of” She: Understanding Feminine Psychology,” describes her in her most vulnerable and strongest positions:

SHE

She wants with whole heart to escape from the fear. Her hands hide her face, but can’t hide the tears. On the outside she’s sure that no one else knows. Inside, her heart is in conflict with her soul.
She could call out for help, but what will she say? That he’s under a lot of pressure and he relieves it this way? He apologized again, but that’s rather cliche’. Her bruises will heal, but there are more on the way. She tries to comprehend, there’s no way she could know. Something inside says she deserves every blow.
‘He’s just misunderstood’ is what she persists. She sees good in him that doesn’t exist. And try as she may, she just cant understand. Why she loves so hard with her heart, and he, with his hands. Looking back, she cant recall ever feeling so sad.
The days when the good times outweighed the bad. Now there are cuts over the scars that cover bruises in layers. And scuffs on her knees…..but those are from prayers.

 

INTELLIGENT PINOYS AND INSECURE COLONIZERS

“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.” BERTRAND RUSSELL

By Alex P. Vidal

Søren Kierkegaard was right when he cautioned that we must understand life backward and live it forward.
Before we die, we must be able to to know the truth and understand the roots of our sufferings, what precipitated our ignorance and why many of us are ashamed of our culture and why we are wallowing in insecurity and lack of pride as a nation.
The murder of Ferdinand Magellan by Lapu-Lapu sealed our fate.
Although Magellan’s death delayed the Spanish colonization of the Philippines by more than 40 years, what happened next became a horror which had unleashed irreparable damage and wrought unimaginable havoc on our psyche until today in the computer age.
Desperate to enslave the Filipinos after efforts to conquer them by force had failed, the Spaniards shifted to Plan B: they instituted an organization which would disable the development of our critical thinking, an IQ reducation program aimed at making the natives dumb.
And they succeeded!

COMMISSION

According to Dr. Carlos Alfonso Santos, this program was called the National IQ Reduction Commission (NIQRC) founded in 1521 “by a bunch of starving Spanish conquistadores in Limasawa.”
“The conquest was not doing well,” wrote Santos. “They were hopelessly lost (they were really looking for Malacca) and Lapu-Lapu had just killed Magellan. The Spaniards realized that if they wanted to claim the land, they would have to make the natives dumber. So they began a number of IQ reduction programs, all coordinated by the NIQRC.”
The most successful initiative at the time, according to Santos, was taken by the Catholic Church. “The fraile (Spanish word for “horny cretin”) pretended to preach the Gospel, but actually aimed to impose blind obedience and servitude.”
“Every Sunday, homilies throughout the archipelago essentially revolved around one theme: You are dirty, uneducated, learning impaired idiots who need white men to manage your affairs.”
Santos revealed that when the Americans bought the Philippines three centuries later, they asked the Spaniards what the secret was to holding on to a colony for so long. A former governor general reportedly answered: “It’s simple: keep them stupid.”
“The Americans took this advice to heart and did their utmost in keeping our IQs low. Instead of using the Church, however, they established the public school system,” Santos narrated.

EDUCATION

“Practically every government ministry was eventually turned over to a Filipino–except the Department of Education. With a condescending smile and a great deal of false charm, the Americans taught English and Math and the Boogie, but left critical thinking out on purpose.”
The Americans reportedly were afraid that if anyone actually started thinking, “we would realize that it was just a little bit weird that the United States, itself a former colony that had to wage a bloody revolution to win its freedom, was now taking the rights to self-determination away from another people.”
After World War II, the Americans left when they reportedly realized it was too expensive to fix a war-torn country and kept Guam for posterity sake.
In the history of Western thought, according to Dr. Mortimer Adler, freedom has a number of distinct meanings:
A man is said to be free when external circumstances permit him to act as he wishes for his own good.
A man is said to be free when he has acquired enough virtue or wisdom to be able willingly to do as he ought, to comply with the moral law, or to live in accordance with an ideal befitting human nature.
All men are said to be free because they are endowed by nature with power of free choice–the power to decide for themselves what they shall do or become.

‘INVISIBLE FORCE’

Meanwhile, Santos said the Philippines’ new leaders retained the NIQRC and is now “a major albeit invisible force.”
“They had to find another way of keeping us stupid though. Sunday Mass was no longer effective since no one went to church anymore and those who did invariably fell asleep after the entrance hymn.
“The public school system, on the other hand, was too expensive. If the government had to build schools, pay teachers and buy books, there would be hardly enough funds to set aside for graft and corruption which eats up 50 percent of the budget.
“So under the auspices of the elected officials of the newly independent Philippine Republic, the folks over at the NIQRC received a new mandate: set up a cost-effective IQ reduction program. They, of course, outdid themselves and cooked up the best scheme yet: the soap opera.”
Santos said, “it is a scientifically proven fact that soap opera decrease an average human’s IQ by half a point per episode. The characters and story lines are so flat and utterly lacking in depth that the viewer’s IQ almost invariably drops.”
It’s never too late actually to unshackle our minds from the bondage of this age-old system. We all watch TV and today’s sophisticated cable network offers a smorgasbord of programs. The choice is ours.

 

‘My family has suffered so much’

By Alex P. Vidal

A former GMA TV-6 talent and disc jockey has appealed to police authorities to “please tell the truth and nothing but the truth” saying his family “has suffered so much” from the negative publicity generated by his arrest last month on alleged possession of marijuana at a checkpoint outside a posh subdivision in La Paz district.
Berdie Vargas, 47, of Brgy. Taft North, Mandurriao district, who was arrested in a checkpoint mounted by the Iloilo City Public Safety at around 12 midnight in the morning while riding on motorcycle, insisted he was innocent and was only a victim of frame-up.
“I was a victim of frame up,” he protested. “The marijuana was either planted by the police or any other unscrupulous personalities so that the rival of mayoralty candidate Rommel Ynion can come up with an issue and tarnish his image in the electorate.”

BAIL

Vargas, who posted a P150,000 bail for his temporary freedom, helped campaign for Ynion, who was badly clobbered by reelectionist Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog by a margin of about 70,000 in the recent elections.
“I want to clear my good name and that of my family,” Vargas appealed.
He produced copies of dug test conducted by the police during the incident where they yielded negative results.
Cops flagged him down for not wearing a motorcycle helmet and failure to present his drivers’ license and registration papers.
Reports said the cop who inspected Vargas’ motorcycle spotted an item taped under the body cover of the motorcycle. Closer scrutiny of the item led to the discovery of alleged dried marijuana leaves weighing 3.8 grams.

USER

“I am not a drug user,” insisted Vargas. “The 3.8 grams the police alleged to have recovered from the motorbike was duct taped on the front hood of the motorcycle. In plain view, who in his right mind would tape a dangerous drug of such a small quantity on the hood of the bike, and pass through a check point?”
Vargas said he became associated with Ynion after he was hired as marketing manager of the politician’s newspaper.
“I’m always happy when I see people succeed. It has always been my attitude in life. I have my ups and downs but I never resorted to anything illegal. I have a clean record with the companies that I worked before. I was not terminated from GMA as some of my detractors were trying to insinuate,” he concluded.
Police denied they planted the marijuana found in Vargas’ possession.

 

Drilon has nothing to do with win of candidates

“We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.” RONALD REAGAN

By Alex P. Vidal

Even without Senator Frank Drilon, Iloilo bets under the Liberal Party (LP) who won in the recent midterm elections would still win.
Gov. Arthur Defensor, Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, the congressmen in the city and five congressional districts, and their respective candidates in the provincial board, municipal mayors, city and municipal councilors won because of their own merits and resources, not because Drilon showed up in their campaign rallies. Not because Drilon raised their hands.
Even in the second district of Iloilo, known Drilon lackey Arcadio Gorriceta won as congressman because people there were already fed up with the Syjucos, not because of Drilon’s charisma as what his drumbeaters in media were trying to emphasize.
Drilon had also backed some candidates in the past versus Augusto Syjuco and his wife, Judy, and they were all massacred one after the other. It so happened that Gorriceta is Drilon’s ally from way back during the post EDSA revolution. And Syjuco appeared to have lost his magic touch to people of the second district because of his alleged arrogance and involvement in massive irregularities.

FIGURE

Although he is a key figure in the administration party, Drilon’s presence in the stage during the Iloilo campaign sorties was incidental, nay necessary. He was obliged by the ruling party to help buttress the chances of local bets being an Ilonggo. As a high-ranking LP bigwig, his attendance in the rally was mandatory, not voluntary.
Drilon has no magic to brag about. He doesn’t have the Cory Magic or Noynoy Magic. In fact, his endorsement all by his lonesome self– without any connection from any political party–could be a kiss of death. If not for Pres. Noynoy and the LP, many local bets would detest being seen with Drilon during the campaign period.
Drilon was never an inspiration to most local candidates. As a leader of national stature, he is known more to Ilonggos as somebody who runs from a good fight. A few years back when his term as senator expired and he was rumored to be eyeing the mayoral post of Iloilo City, he chickened out when survey results showed he had no chance against then Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. who dared him to a one-on-one slugfest for city hall’s top post.

RESCUE

Drilon also never lifted a finger to rescue his embattled political supporter, then Gov. Niel D. Tupas Sr., who was nearly ousted in a Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) blitzkrieg that transformed capitol into a police garrison when the Gloria administration sent battalions of assault cops to force Tupas out of office in 2007.
Drilon also dismayed a lot of Ilonggos when he intentionally boycotted the June 13, 2007 inauguration of the Iloilo international airport in Cabatuan, Iloilo because he did not want to meet eyeball-to-eyeball Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Justice Gonzalez, among other prominent characters in the administration. The event was graced by no less than Japanese Ambassador Ryuichiro Yamaza, among other luminaries.
Earlier, Drilon said he missed the important affair because he was “busy building up and strengthening the Liberal Party all over the country.”
But, mea culpa, in a press conference a week after the event, he made a lapsus linguae when he hissed in a press conference that he was absent in the inauguration because he “didn’t want to put people in uncomfortable situation.”

 

Danger of ‘honeymoon’

“Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

By Alex P. Vidal

We always maintain that it is not healthy for democracy if the government’s executive and legislative branches are always in honeymoon stage.
More danger lurks if they end up as lovers.
Rubber stamp legislatures have been used to circumvent the law and tolerate excesses and abuses committed by heads of executive branch. Presidents, governors, mayors, village chiefs (barangay kapitanes) already wield awesome power. If the legislative branch is under their beck and call, democracy will agonize; check and balance will go down in skid row.
It’s not healthy for democracy if some newly elected senators will proclaim to high heavens that they owe their victory to President Noynoy Aquino who feverishly campaigned for the ruling Liberal Party bets before the May 13 midterm elections.
City, provincial and municipal councilors who attribute their victory heavily on the backing of their standard bearers for governor and mayor are also guilty of waltzing with the executive branch at the expense of the principle of inter-independence.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Baron De Montesquieu, a central figure during the Age of Enlightenment, had warned that when the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, “there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may arise lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws to execute them in a tyrannical manner.”
There is no liberty if the power of judging be not separated from the legislative and executive powers. “Were it joined with the legislature, the life and liberty of the subject would be exposed to arbitrary control; for the judge would be then the legislator,” warned the French social commentator and political thinker. “Were it joined to the executive power, the judge might behave with all the violence of an oppressor.”
The advocate of the theory of separation of powers had warned further that “there would be an end of everything were the same man or the same body, whether of the nobles or of the people, to exercise those three powers, that of enacting the laws, that of executing the public resolutions, and that of judging the crimes or differences of individuals.”
Most kingdoms of Europe enjoy a moderate government because the prince who is invested with the two first powers leaves the third to his subjects. In Turkey, where these three powers are united in the sultan’s person, the subjects groan under the weight of the most frightful oppression, Montesquieu said. In the republics of Italy, where these three powers are united, there is less liberty than in our monarchies. “Hence,” he added, “their government is obliged to have recourse to as violent methods for its support as even that of the Turks; witness the state inquisitors, and the lion’s mouth into which every informer may at all hours throw his written accusations.”

SUBJECTS

“What a situation must the poor subjects be in, under those republics!” thundered Montesquieu. “The same body of magistrates are possessed, as executors of the laws, of the whole power they have given themselves in quality of legislators. They may plunder the state by their general determination, and they have likewise the judiciary power in their hands, every private citizen may be ruined by their particular decisions.”
He warned that “the whole power is here united in one body; and though there is no external pomp that indicates a despotic sway, yet the people feel the effects of it every moment.”
“Hence it is that many of the princes of Europe, whose aim has been leveled at arbitrary power, have constantly set out uniting in their own persons all the branches of magistracy, and all the great offices of the state.”

 

Like torture chambers

“Activity in politics also produces eager competition and sharp rivalry.” John George Nicolay

By Alex P. Vidal

Candidates who wound up in the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th places in both the senatorial and city council elections must have spent sleepless nights and mental anxiety after the May 13 midterm elections. If they weren’t strong, they could end up in the emergency room.
Aside from the physical, mental, and emotional fatigue they went through during the campaign sorties, the last nail on their coffin was to land in the 13th, 14th and 15 spots and missed victory by the skin of the teeth.
Such was the misfortune that befell on former senators Dick Gordon, Migs Zubiri and Jackie Enrile, who landed in the 13th, 14th, and 15th places, respectively. They may have developed what doctors called as frequent nighttime hot flashes which may be a factor in insomnia.
Their situation — or their mood– probably can be compared to that of a “bagong gising” (newly awakened) that should not be subjected to joke. There is a popular Tagalog saying that “Mag biro ka sa lasing, huwag lang sa bagong gising” (You can mess up with a drunk man but not with a newly awakened man).

****

Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor’s struggle to overcome the strong competition showed by his rival, Rep. Ferjenel Biron, can be called as Pyrrhic victory. He admitted himself that the recent midterm elections were “the hardest” in all his past electoral battles in the sense that technically, the unofficial campaign started in October 2012.
Because of his limited resources, he said, he was hard-pressed to maintain a colossal campaign “especially that I could not use government money to pay for campaign ads in radio, TV and newspaper.”
If Defensor did not run under the much-vaunted Liberal Party, his margin over the much-prepared and logistically superior Brion would have been minimal. Biron could not parry the powerful Tupas-Defensor-Garin coalition which conspired to ensure he would miss the train to the capitol.
“Pyrrhic victory” is a phrase named after Greek King Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose army suffered irreplaceable casualties in defeating the Romans at Heraclea in 280 BC and Asculum in 279 BC during the Pyrrhic War.
After securing the victory, King Pyrrhus was reported to have quip, “Another such victory and we are lost!”
It’s a victory with such a devastating cost that it carries the implication that another such victory will ultimately lead to defeat. Someone who wins a Pyrrhic victory has been victorious in some way; however, the heavy toll negates any sense of achievement or profit.

****

Abel and Cain. The election in Guimaras province can be compared to a dispute between the Biblical Cain and Abel. Who is Cain and who is Abel between Rep. JC Rhaman Nava and the vanquished Gov. Felipe Nava only the people of the island province know.
It appears that supporters of Governor Nava (UNA) if not the governor himself are pinning the blame on the older Congressman Nava (LP) for the governor’s shocking defeat to Buenavista town Mayor Samuel Gumarin (LP) who scored the dramatic upset that saw the defeat for the first time of a Nava candidate.
According to the Book of Genesis, two sons of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel quarreled that resulted in the murder of Abel. Cain was a crop farmer while his younger brother Abel was a shepherd. Cain was the first human born and the first murderer, and Abel was the first human to die. Cain committed the first murder by killing his brother. Exegeses of Genesis 4 by ancient and modern commentators have typically assumed that the motive was jealousy.
Jealousy could not be the main reason for the cold war between the Nava brothers because it was the older Nava who actually gave his younger brother a baptism of fire in politics when the older Nava engineered his younger brother’s victory for governor in 2008 when the older Nava vacated the post to run for congressman.

 

Merciless political triumvirate

“Being the first to cross the finish line makes you a winner in only one phase of life. It’s what you do after you cross the line that really counts.” RALPH BOSTON

By Alex P. Vidal

The combined Defensor-Tupas-Garin Liberal Party coalition forces in the province of Iloilo proved too much for those not included in the powerful Malacanang-inspired bandwagon that recently reigned terror in the provincial political landscape.
The Liberal Party Express was merciless in its coup de grace here as it registered a shocking sweep that toppled some of the strongest names in local politics even before these big names in the opposition could win in major battles.
Among those casualties were the patriarch and matriarch of the dreaded Flores dynasty in the first district, who were wiped out in one of the bloodiest political executions in the history of the province. It was like a French Revolution where both the king and queen were guillotined.
Former police general Gerardo Flores (UNA) failed to regain his mayoral post in Miag-ao town losing to Dr. Macario Napulan (LP), while his wife, Juliet (UNA), also a former mayor, was badly mangled by the younger Richard Garin (LP) with a margin of about 40,000 votes in the congressional contest. Both Flores husband and wife have failed to win a congressional seat in their many attempts and their tormentors all came from one clan– the Garins.

SYJUCO

Another prominent casualty was former TESDA chief and congressman Augusto “Boboy” Syjuco (UNA), whose long dominance in the second district finally was put to a screeching halt by Frank Drilon sidekick Arcadio Gorriceta (LP), former mayor of Pavia town. Makati-raised Syjuco, who seemed indestructible since taking the district by storm with a shellacking of local favorite Jomarie Gerochi in 1998, fell with a thud as he finished last in a three-cornered duel.
Dr. Ferjenel Biron (UNA), demigod of the fast-rising Biron dynasty, followed suit as he absorbed his second and probably most bitter political setback since winning the congressional seat in the fourth district a decade ago, losing the Iloilo gubernatorial race to reelectionist Arthur Defensor (LP) also by a big margin.
Biron’s father, Hernan Sr., however is still mayor of Barotac Nuevo town while his brother, Jun, could be the next congressman in the fourth district at the expense of former Governor Niel Tupas, Sr.

SUPLICO

The debacle was also most particularly painful for former fifth district congressman and vice governor Rolex Suplico, Biron’s running mate, who is still smarting from one electoral setback to another since declaring his emancipation from the Tupas clan, his relatives and original political benefactors.
The defeat to his first cousin, Boboy Tupas, could bring Suplico’s political career to ground zero. Suplico used to be one of the most colorful and promising solons in the country sharing the same popularity with now Sen. Chiz Escudero and former senator Miguel Zubiri, his former colleagues in the House of Representatives.
Now that Defensor has been assured of his second term, the Garins will now probably shoot next for the gubernatorial post to be vacated by Defensor as part of the concession. The Garins did not want Defensor’s present throne to change hand this early as they were aware they could not take capitol, the only empire that they haven’t captured, once the Birons are already there.
President Noynoy’s Liberal Party also showed it’s full force in Iloilo City when all its candidates from congressman to mayor, vice mayor and 12 city councilors completed the sweep, a first in the history of Iloilo City.