THE TRILATERAL OVERTHROW OF MARCOS FOR GOLD

The following Q & A are extracted from “The Marcos Legacy Revisted – Raiders of the Lost Gold, by Erick A. San Juan,  published in 1998 in Makati City, Philippines.

 

This Q & A is with Erick A. San Juan a prominent civic leader, political activist (anti-Communist advocate), author, journalist & weekly contributor to newspapers & Philippine radio.

Q. From your direct knowledge, what events or conversations with certain personalities indicated foreign complicity in the EDSA Revolution and its connection to the Marcos gold? Who were the gainers and why?

A. During the latter stages of the Marcos regime, I came to be friends with James Brandon Foley* [Note: I am constrained to break my pledge to preserve the anonymity of my sources because without any attribution to an authoritative source, this revelation will be nothing but hearsay. My apologies. I sincerely hope he will understand, given the situation I am in and the position I have taken.] a political officer (another term for CIA agents at that time) of the U.S. Embassy. We used to go out and date several women, sometimes to discos, and the like. Our favorite hang-out was the Hyatt Regency. In between socials, Jim and I would engage in frequent brain-storming at his private apartment at the Seafront. On one particular night, he disclosed to me that there was a secret operation plan to oust Marcos, and that men like Jose Concepcion of RFM and the Ayalas were being used as conduits to access the smooth flow of funds to finally bring an end to the Marcos authoritarian government.

Jim likewise mentioned the involvement of Cardinal Jaime Sin, whose role was to draw a large crowd of supporters and sympathizers in the event that a blocking force was needed. Sin is an expert in the Antonio Gramsci-type of Marxism. This was confirmed by Dr. John Coleman in his expose ‘The Violation of the Christian Church,’ where he stated that Sin’s Radio Veritas ‘speaks out Communist propaganda in 13 languages all throughout Asia,’ using Liberation Theology to destroy the moral fiber of the large number of Catholics. Sin believes in the Marxist principle that ‘Religion is the opium of the masses.’ He exploited this tactic to the hilt and succeeded in what is now called ‘people power’ mass action. As acknowledged by Coleman, ‘Cardinal Sin of the Philippines worked diligently to overthrow the government of President Marcos. He was ably assisted by a former executive of the World Council of Churches, Jovito Salonga. Salonga was brought back to the Philippines under escort of the U.S. State Department.’ (CDC Report, October 1988)

In Coleman’s estimation, Salonga was to take Mrs. Aquino and this Protestant ‘will cut a deal with the Marxist New People’s Army (NPA).’ Although this did not materialize because of Salonga’s poor health, Coleman was still partly correct. Another fellow Protestant filled in his shoes (Fidel V. Ramos) and has quite successfully negotiated peace with the Communists!

Q. What events preceding Marcos’ announcement of the snap election proved that he was under American pressure? Why do you think he acceded to the ‘request?’

A. Everything really hinged on the Marcos gold bars. The Trilateral Commission, through its chairman David Rockefeller, and member George Schultz, were convinced that they had been conned by President Marcos. This being so, the Trilateralists did everything to pressure him, to destabilize his one-man rule, cut his source of funding, and even blackmail him (the Dovie Beams affair). A part of the globalists’ notorious activities were documented by David Smith of the U.S. based Newswatch magazine, in August 1987: ‘Representatives from Indonesia and the Philippines went to Jonathan May  (ex-World Bank head) and stated that agents from the Chase Manhattan Bank and other banks said they would ‘forgive’ the loans and interests if the following were met:

(1) Eliminate their National Currency;
(2) Dollar-denominate their new money system;
(3) Use a debit card system instead of a currency system;
(4) Give the bankers perpetual rights over all natural resources.

Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines refused to accept and was deposed very shortly thereafter.’

Marcos eventually gave in to the globalists’ proposal for a snap election, using veteran ‘ambush interview’ expert Ted Koppel of CBS. Clever as he was, Marcos did not reveal to the Americans that prior to his interview with Koppel, he had already conducted a secret survey of the electorate. Despite the adverse media hype launched against him, Marcos was confident of a re-election.

However, Jim Foley (who was later transferred to Algiers), disclosed that the real agenda was not the snap election; rather, it was to persuade Marcos to sign a document attesting to the fact that his gold bars and other precious metals deposited at Fort Knox and other depositories of the world would be under the guardianship of the Trilateral Commission, and a certain percentage would be given to the Philippine Government in the form of an investment loan from the World Bank.

The document was subsequently hand-carried by. U.S. Ambassador-at-Large Phillip Habib, which Marcos refused to sign. The Filipino head of state felt that the war loot (which was remolded into gold bars bearing the Central Bank seal) must be given to the Filipino people.

Q. How was the American’s influence exerted during the snap election? Was there American involvement in the walkout of the computer workers?

A. First, there was the barrage of disinformation launched by Newsweek, Time and other publications regarding the illicit love affairs of both Marcos and the First Lady (e.g., George Hamilton), the incurable ailment of the President, and the public confidence in Namfrel and distrust in the Comelec. Then came the walk-out of the computer workers at the PICC. These were all part of the U.S. scenario during the snap election.

Most of the computer workers were promised visas and immigrant status to the U.S. Some of them, I understand, took advantage of this rare opportunity.

Q. Did any of your contacts know about the outbreak of the mutiny at EDSA?

A. Both Jim Foley and Norbert Garrett, CIA Station Chief, U.S Embassy, predicted a bloody confrontation in the event that Marcos stubbornly decided to stay in Malacanang. The Presidents only saving grace was the signing of the document brought by Habib.

Q. Who were pressuring Marcos to give in and leave? Is there any, credible evidence that this happened?

A. The pressures came from both U.S. and Philippine sources. On the American side, there was Philip Habib. He was joined by U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, Stephen Bosworth, Richard Armitage, Michael Armacost, Rep. Stephen Solarz, Norbert Garrett (CIA Station Chief in Manila), and Joseph Mussomelli (Anti-Fraud Section, U.S. Embassy). Senator Paul Laxalt as you probably know, was the guy who spoke to Marcos on the phone and told him to ‘cut and cut cleanly.’ Lines to Washington were kept busy by calls coming in from Lawrence Eagleburger and Henry Kissinger. Later on, I was told that operating funds came in from Maurice ‘Hank’ Greenberg, through dollar grants from the C.V. Starr Foundation of New York. Greenberg is a powerful member of the B’nai B’rith. Others like Higdon, Brzezinski and Generals Pike and Allen of JUSMAG also formed part of the American initiative to oust Marcos.

On the Philippine side were assets like Joe Concepcion, Jobo Fernandez, Cesar Zalamea, Jaime Ongpin, and Alex Melchor. Journalists, likewise, were used for their media hype.

Q. Could you elaborate more on Habib’s role in the events that followed?

A. As I have earlier stated, Habib was sent by the Trilateralists to the Philippines to pressure Marcos into signing the document prepared in the U.S. It contained provisions of equal sharing of the gold bars among different countries (through their banker’s in the Commission), transshipped by Marcos to Fort Knox and other depositories under a top secret operation plan coded ‘Tuna Highway.’ Initially, Marcos was supported by the Commission to implement martial law in l972, and was even provided with a martial plan. Along with it came a minting plant, installed at the Central Bank premises by Thomas de la Rue Ltd. of London, and a smelting plant with which to convert the war booty into new gold bars. The plan was executed by trusted generals of Marcos who diverted some portions of the shipment to other destinations aside from Fort Knox. This was covered by a prescription period (November 1945 to November 1985) in accordance with international law. After this 40-year period, it was to be declared ‘finders keepers.’ Some countries who felt conned by these agreements pursued their claim at the International Court of Justice, to mature in 2005.

Had Marcos chosen to sign the document, he would have remained President for life. In the process, he would have received the distinction of being ‘the best President we ever had.’ In addition, the Philippines’ share could have paid our external debt of, at that time, $24 Billion, plus a comprehensive Marshall Plan for industrialization. (To date, our external debt has zoomed up to $47 Billion, according to the latest BSFI figures.) Instead, he chose the hard way, and very badly miscalculated. He wanted to regroup his forces in the North, but was flown to Hawaii instead.

Q. Were there contacts between the Military camps and the embassy and/or Washington during the four days at EDSA?

A. Definitely. It has always been standard operating procedure for our military officials to ‘keep the line open’ between them and the defense attaches of the U.S. Embassy. Most of out top ranking officers have been nurtured in U.S. military schools. Some were even granted immigrant status in the U.S. while serving the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Their families were granted entry to the exclusive clubs of the American government such as JUSMAG, Seafront, Clark Air Base, Subic Base, Camp John Hay, etc. There they could avail of clubhouse facilities, golf courses and other amenities.

After EDSA, most of the renegade Marcos generals migrated to the U.S. These are the ones who never resisted the Aquino-Ramos-Enrile-Sin forces.

Q. Why didn’t Marcos move during the first hours of the mutiny when there were very few people around the camps?

A. Marcos was sternly warned not to harm the people at EDSA, Otherwise, Malacanang would be targeted by the U.S. military sources. Thus, Marcos took the backseat and relied on the group of then Col. Rolando Abadilla to finish the job for him. You see, Abadilla’s elite force from the MISG (Military Intelligence and Security Group), together with a SWAT team, successfully penetrated Camp Crame, disguised as Ramos supporters. As soon as Marcos was confronted about this by his Chief-of-Staff, General Fabian Ver, the president simply advised the latter to relax, as Abadilla was in the process of arresting Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and his cousin, Fidel Ramos, whom the president underestimated as a gutless individual. Marcos never imagined that Abadilla would have a change of heart. Abadilla was the prime suspect as the chief operator of Ninoy’s death at the tarmac.

Q. How do you connect Cardinal Sin with the American plan?

A. Cory Aquino was instructed by Cardinal Sin to seek refuge in a Cebu convent. As the fireworks were about to start, Cory was to install her revolutionary government in Davao with the assistance of the RAM forces and her NFIA sympathizers. This alternate plan vas likewise designed by the CIA, with Col. Voltaire Gazmin given the role of securing Cory in Cebu.

This plan was totally discarded when Marcos peacefully left the Philippines, due to the insistence of Cardinal Sin, who was backed up all the way by the Vatican and the U.S. State Department. Cory ended up being the sole titular head.

Truth Be Told: Read All About It… And Be Enlightened

POLITICAL SCIENCE THESIS
by Mujeeb Bapobapo

May mga katanungan lang po ako sa aking mga kababayan. Kailangan ko po ang mga opinyon nyo dito kung eto ba ay totoo o gawa gawa lang. Yung mga nabasa ko kasi ay kabaligtaran sa mga itinuturo sa school, history book at mga pahayag sa TV or media. Eto po ay tungkol sa thesis ko na pinamagatang “Sino ba ang tunay na may malasakit sa bayan, Aquino ba o Marcos?” Nilagay ko po yung link ng ilan sa mga reference ko.

1. Ano po ba ang nagawa ni Ninoy para sa bayan upang gawin syang isang national hero? Ayon kasi sa aking mga nabasa madami syang ginawang pagtatraydor sa bayan katulad ng mga sumusunod:
• pagbunyag nya sa lihim na operation merdeke ni marcos na ang layunin ay mabawi ang sabah. Sa halip daw na tulungan ang ating bansa sa malaysia sya nakipagtulungan kapalit ng suporta ng malaysia sa pangarap nya maging presidente.
http://www.betterphils.blogspot.com/…/dfa-ninoy-aquino-betr…
http://deraktivist.blogspot.com/…/ninoy-aquino-traitor-or-h…
http://manilastandardtoday.com/…/is-treason-the-real-crime…/
• Malaki daw ang partisipasyon ni Ninoy sa pagkakabuo ng CPP-NPA at MNLF. Ayon sa aking nabasa yung hacienda luisita daw ang ginawang training grounds ng mga NPA. Yung MNLF naman nabuo matapos nyang ibunyag ang jabidah massacre at operation merdeke. Kinausap nya ang noon UP professor na si Nur Misuari na himokin ang mga muslim na magrebelde dahil sa nangyaring massacre. Kung totoo ito sya pala ang ugat ng mga kaguluhan ngayon sa ating bansa.http://www.jamesparmis.net/viral-why-is-aquino-so-afraid-o…/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1ECsW_6uEM
• Sya ang tinuturong mastermind sa plaza miranda bombing. Pati mga kaalyado nya sa liberal party pinasabog nya para si marcos mapagbintangan. Ayon sa libro na sinulat ni Jovito Salonga at Victor Corpuz hindi si marcos ang nagpasabog kundi mga NPA na kakampi ni Ninoy. http://news.google.com/newspapers…

2. Exempted po ba sa agrarian reform ang Hacienda Luisita dahil hanggang ngayon di pa napapamahagi sa mga magsasaka ang nasabing lupa. Madami ng karahasan ang nangyari na may kaugnayan dito tulad ng Mendiola massacre, Lupao massacre at Hacienda Luisita Massacre pero mukhang nilimot na ng panahon. Ni hindi man lang nababalita sa TV o mga pahayagan. Kakampi po ba ng mga aquino ang media? Bakit hangang ngayon di pa din natutupad yung pinangako ni Pnoy noong 2010 election na ipapamahagi nya ang hacienda luisita pag nanalo sya bilang pangulo? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUbYuRxdavc

3. Bakit pinakawalan sa kulungan ni Cory yung mga lider ng komunista katulad nila Joma Sison, Victor Corpuz at Bernabe Buscayno gayon sila yung dahilan nung kaguluhan kaya nagdeclare ng martial law? Bakit po nag endorsed si Pres. Cory ng bill sa senate proposing to drop the claim of Philippines sa Sabah. Kinausap nya din yung sultanate ng sulu to drop the claim. http://defenders-philippine-sovereignty.blogspot.com/…/why-…

4. Bakit di pinabuksan ni Pres. Cory yung Bataan Nuclear Power Plant samantalang tapos na construction nito at ready to operate na. Pasado na din sa safety test at 3x safer compare to Chernobyl & Fukushima nuclear plant. Malaki sana ang matitipid natin sa singil sa kuryente at pag angkat ng langis. Madami din siguro na magiinvest sa Pilipinas dahil mababa electric consumption lalo na yung mga manufacturing, factories and industries na malaki mag konsumo ng kuryente. Yung utang na bansa natin pagalis ni marcos ay $28bilyon at yung construction cost naman ng project na ito ay $6.5bilyon so halos 1/4 ng utang ng bansa natin napunta lang sa wala. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtV1B85IY9g.
Bakit di pinagpatuloy ni cory yung mga projects ni marcos katulad ng flood control sa metro manila. Hindi sana binabaha ang capital region kung saan madaming taong namamatay, nawawalan ng tirahan at bilyong bilyong pera ang nasasayang.

5. Bakit hangang ngayon sinasabi pa din ng mga tao na nagnakaw si marcos sa bayan eh diba po pinanalo na nila ito sa manila regional trial court at international court sa amerika known as “trial of the century (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uZl4h2fLuk)”? Di birong manalo dito kung wala kang sapat na mga dokumento na magpapatunay na hindi sila nagnakaw specially hindi basta ordinaryong tao ang kalaban nila dito kundi gobyerno ng Pilipinas. Lumabas sa paglilitis na madami na syang mga gold bars bago pa sya naging presidente. Eto ay ibinayad sa kanyang serbisyo as a lawyer ng Tallano family. Para sa kaalaman nyo ang Tallano family ang mayari ng buong Pilipinas. Gusto kung malaman kung ang mga marcos ba’y talagang nagnakaw o sila ang ninanakawan ng gobyerno?

6. Bakit hindi na pinabukasan ni cory ang kaso sa pagpatay kay ninoy nung sya ay nakaupo na bilang presidente. Madami mga mambabatas noon at magpahanggang ngayon ang gustong pabuksan muli ang kaso kasi hindi pa malinaw sa publiko kung sino talaga ang nagpapatay. Yung mga sundalong sangkot dito na nakulong na mahigit 2 dekada ang tinuturong master mind ay si Danding na kapatid ng asawa ni Ninoy na si Cory.

7. Bakit puro negative at masyadong exagerated ang mga binabalita tungkol sa martial law? Bakit hangang ngayon nakalagay pa din ito sa ating salingang batas kung wala naman itong magandang maidudulot sa ating bayan? Sinasabi ng media na kaya daw nag declare ng marshall law c marcos ay para mapalawig ang kanyang panunungkulan bilang presidente. Marahil ang personal interes nya na yan ay isa na sa kanyang dahilan pero lingid sa kaalaman ng mga karamihan na ang pangunahing dahilan ay ang paglaganap ng kumunista sa ating bansa na noon ay kinakatawan ng mga CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples Army) at sinusuportahan naman ng China. Nahuli ng gobyerno ang MV Karagatan na isang barko na puno na mga armas galing china (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNlJoXfAH3c). Madaming ginagawang pangbobomba ang mga rebelde kasama na yung plaza miranda bombing. Ang Cuba ay naging isang komunismong bansa ng magtagumpay ang rebeldeng grupo nina Fidel Castro at Che Guevarra na pabagsakin ang gobyerno ni Batista. Nagsimula sila sa maliit na grupo pero mabilis lumaki dahil sa madami silang nakumbinse mga magsasaka na umanib sa grupo nila kaya naging madali nilang nasakop ang buong Cuba. Matalino si Marcos, di nya hinayaan na matulad tayo sa Cuba, nagdeklara sya ng martial law para maiwasan ang pangliligaw sa taong bayan ng mga NPA na sumapi sa kanila. Hinuhuli ng mga sundalo noon ang sino man nakikipagtulungan sa CPP-NPA para mapigilan ang paglaki ng rebeldeng grupo. Malamang kung hindi nag martial law mabilis na lumaganap ang komunismo sa ating bansa kagaya ng nangyari sa Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, North Korea at Cuba. Baka magkaroon tayo ng madugong civil war at kung sakaling magtagumpay yung mga rebelde tiyak na communist country na tayo ngayon gaya ng North Korea. Noong panahon wala pang masyadong alam ang mga tao sa batas komunista kaya madaming nakikisimpatya sa mga rebelde pati na mga pari, pero ngayon makikita mo na malaking pagkakaiba ng communist at democratic country. Noon sa Vietnam, North Korea at Cambodia pagnalaman ka na nakikisimpatya ka sa komunista pinapatay nila agad, pero dito sa pinas yung meyembro ng komunista na pasimuno sa mga rally or activista pag hinuli ng mga sundalo natin noon human right violation kaagad. Pinapatay ng mga NPA o mga kumunista ang ating mga sundalo tapos paggumanti ang ating gobyerno human rights violation ang sasabihin ng media. Sa tingin ko nung panahong yon kailangan talaga natin ng konting disiplina at sakripisyo para mapangalagaan ang ating demokrasya laban sa mga komunista. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkS7yn2Cr88

8. Bakit palaging sinisisi ang utang ng bansa kay marcos samantala makikita naman ang mga halagang ito sa mga pinatayo nyang projects na hangang sa ngayon pinakikinabangan ng mga pilipino. Kahit mga bigtym na mga negosyante ay baon din sa utang pero napapalago nila yung inutang nila. Ganun din sa pagpapatakbo ng bansa kung pinag patuloy sana ni cory yung mga projects ni marcos eh mabilis natin mababayaran yung utang natin at baka tumubo pa tayo. Katulad ng Bataan Nuclear Plant na $6.5bilyon ang cost, yung santa barbara project at yung mga bongbong missiles na balak sana imass produce at ibenta sa iba’t ibang bansa para kumita bansa natin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcUXqjn3y0g&app=desktop. Nasayang lang ang pera ng bayan sa mga proyektong ito. At ang masaklap pa yung mga basic needs ng taong bayan tulad ng meralco, pldt at philippine airlines pinamigay lang at yung iba pinagbili ng gobyerno. Lahat ng geothermal power plant ng bansa natin beneta ni Paul Aquino sa Lopez family sa mababang halaga. Siya noon ay nasa department of energy pero pakatapos nya mabenta yung mga power plants nagresign sya at lumipat at naging president pa ng kumpanyang pinagbentahan nya. http://www.nedmacario.us/…/cory-aquino-the-lopezes-betraye…/

9. Totoo po ba yung Last Will & Testament ni marcos na pinamana nya halos lahat ng pera nya sa mga pilipino? Yung limang account na halos thousand quadrillion dollars kada isa ang naka deposit.http://www.bubblews.com/…/2853654-did-you-know-about-marcos… May mga ilang whistle blower ng world bank na nagpapatunay na kay marcos yung account na may code name na spiritual wonder boy. At dahil dito may mga nagsasabi na ang pilipinas ang pinakamayamang bansa sa buong mundo. http://islam-kareem.blogspot.com/…/philippines-richest-coun…

Comparison
a) Noong time ni marcos walang contractual employee pero nung pagupo ni cory ipinasa yung bill para magkaroon ng contractual employee. Nakakaawa kasi yung mga construction workers at yung mga nagtatrabaho sa mga malls na hindi man lang nareregular.
b) Si marcos din ang gumawa ng batas para magkaroon tayo ng 13th month pay. Dahil sa malaking pagmamalasakit nya sa mga mangagawang pilipino madaming nagalit sa kanya na mga negosyante. (http://www.laborlaw.usc-law.org/lawsbank/13th-mopay.htm).
c) Si marcos din ang gumawa ng barangay system ng ating bansa under Presidential Decree 557 para makalahok ang bawat mamamayan saan man sulok ng ating bansa sa mga programa ng gobyerno.
d) Bawal sa panahon ni marcos yung child labor pero ngayon walang pakialam ang gobyerno natin. Noon may libreng gatas na KLIM, tinapay na Nutribun at Trigo or Bulgur na pinamimigay araw araw sa mga public schools para malabanan ang malnutrisyon sa bansa natin.
e) Noong world war 2 si marcos ay nakipaglaban sa mananakop na hapon at napasama sya sa bataan death march samantalang si Benigno Aquino Sr. na ama ni Ninoy ay nakipagtulungan sa mga hapon laban sa mga pilipino kaya ikinulong ng US military sa Japan matapos ang digmaan.
f) Madaming naipatayong mga Hospital at State Colleges/University si Marcos. Noon libre lang ang pagpapagamot at pagaaral ng mga mahihirap. Ngayon mataas na din ang tuition fees sa mga public schools at karamihan sa mga public hospital ginawa ng private. http://bulatlat.com/…/campaign-against-privatization-of-pu…/
g) Based from the National Statistics Office. Marcos (1965-1986) total budget for 20 yrs = Php486,273,000,000. Cory (1986-1991) total budget for 6 yrs = Php1,077,895,000,000. Ramos (1992-1997) total budget for 6 yrs = Php2,237,907,000,000. Marahil nagtataka kayo kung bakit mas malaki ang budget ng kay Cory at Ramos na 6 years lang ang termino. Eto po ay dahil sa pagbenta nila ng mga pagaari ng gobyerno katulad ng mga Power Plants, PAL, Petron, PLDT, MWSS, LWUA, PNOC , BNPP uranium at nuclear reactor, Meralco, Tv stations, NAPOCOR, LRT, SLEX, NLEX
h) Noon nageexport tayo ng bigas (Masagana 99). Tayo nagturo sa vietnam at iba pang asian countries sa pagtatanim ng bigas. Pero ngayon sa Vietnam na tayo bumibili ng bigas.

Si Lee Kuan Yew ng Singapore tinuring din isang diktador. Madami ang di sang ayon sa pamamalakad noon ni LKY dahil sa sobrang higpit. Nung bitayin si Flor Contemplacion nag rally pa ang mga kababayan natin. Mas mahigpit pa sya kumpara kay Marcos. Ang pagkakaiba lang nila si Marcos pinagbibintangan nagnakaw sa bayan pero lahat naman ng kaso nya kabilang na yung trial of the century na ginawa pa sa USA naipanalo ni Imelda.

Sino ba talaga ang totoong may malasakit? Si marcos ba talaga ay masama o kagaya din sya ni Abraham Lincoln na noong panahon nya ay itinuring syang diktador ng mamamayang amerikano at sya ang sinisisi sa pagsiklab ng civil war. Noong inassassinate sya itinuring pang bayani yung pumatay sa kanya pero nagdaan ang ilang panahon narealize ng mga amerikano na kung hindi dahil kay lincoln malamang walang tinatawag na united states ngayon. Kaya nabaliktad ang sitwasyon si lincoln ang itinuturing na isa sa pinakamagaling na presidente at may pinakamalaking monumento sa US. Na kung hindi dahil sa kanya walang bansang united states ngayon. Ganyan din sa atin, panahon na lang ang makapagsasabi kung sino talaga ang lider na bayani at lider na traydor. Madalas ang sumusulat ng kasaysayan ay ang mga nagtagumpay, pagnagtagumpay ka sa pakikipaglaban tawag sayo ay bayani pero pagnatalo ka tawag sayo rebelde or traydor.
Eto ay ilan lang po sa aking mga natuklasan na hindi nakasaad sa ating kasaysayan kaya ang inyong opinion ay malaking maitutulong sa pagreresearch ko na to para sa thesis namin sa political science. Simula kasi pagkabata ko hero talaga tingin ko sa mga Aquino pero ngayon nagdududa na ako kung tama ba talaga ang mga nakasulat sa mga history text book sa elementarya at high school. Nasa facebook wall ko po naka post lahat ng mga reference ko.

Conclusion
Madami nagsasabi na bias daw ang aking thesis dahil yung good side lang ni Marcos at bad side ni Aquino ang mga binangit ko. Hindi ko na po kailangan bangitin dito yung kabaliktaran dahil grade-3 pa lang tinuturo na sa school na masama si Marcos at mabuti si Aquino. At gustohin ko man, ay wala talaga akong maisip na nagawang proyekto ni Aquino na nakabuti sa bayan. Tila mas madami pa nga siguro ang ginawa nyang nakasama sa bansa natin katulad ng mga sumusunod:
• Pagbago ni Cory sa Philippines constitution na kung saan nililimitahan nito ang mga foreign investor na magmayari ng mahigit 40% sa isang negosyo. Dahil dito daang daang kompanya sa bansa natin ang nagsara at madami ang nawalan ng trabaho. Natakot ang karamihan sa mga foreign investor dahil hindi sila pwedeng maging majority share holder sa isang kompanya, dapat palagi may ka sosyong Filipino na syang magmamayari ng mahigit 60% ng kumpanya. Sa ngayon tayo na lang sa silangan Asya ang may ganitong policy na pumipigil sa pagpasok ng mga investors na maglilikha ng madaming trabaho sa bansa natin. Sa Singapore nga, pwedeng mag mayari ang mga foreign investor up to 100% kaya sobra sobra para sa bansa nila ang mga job vacancies na pati tayong mga Filipino ay nakikinabang dito.
• Pagbago ni Cory sa Philippines constitution na kung saan inaalis ang Sabah sa territoryo ng pilipinas.
• Pagsasabatas ng contractual employee na nagpapahirap hangang ngayon sa ating mga kababayan na magkaroon na regular na trabaho.
• Pagsasabatas ng VAT or value added tax na lalong nagpamahal sa presyo ng mga produkto dito sa bansa natin.
• Pagbigay ng ibang kompanya pagaari ng gobyerno sa mga kaalyado sa pulitika katulad ng Meralco at ABS CBN.
• Pagbenta sa mababang halaga ng mga kompanya pagaari ng gobyerno sa mga kamaganak katulad ng PLDT, Petron, PNOC, Nawasa at PAL na pinakamalaking airline noon sa asya.

Tanging ang mga negosyante lang ang lubos na nakinabang sa mga batas na ito ni Cory kaya nais ko din talagang malaman kung ano nga ba ang mga nagawang proyekto ni Aquino na nakatulong sa ating mga kababayan. Kung sa pagiging bias lang po, wala na sigurong papantay sa dilaw na gobyerno at media natin na puro kasamaan lang ni Marcos ang binabalita, di man lang binabalita yung tungkol sa Mendiola massacre, Lupao massacre at Hacienda Luisita massacre. Pinalitan pa nila lahat ng text books sa school at pinagbawal lahat ng babasahin na nagbabangit ng kabutihang nagawa ni Marcos at baluktot na pamamalakad ni Cory katulad ng aklat na “Greed & Betrayal” na pinagbawal sa National Bookstore. Eto ba ang tinatawag nilang malalayang pamamahayag na kung saan ang kaalyado sa pulitika ay pilit na pinagtatakpan at ang kalaban ay patuloy na sinisiraan. Pasalamat tayo sa makabagong teknolohiya tulad ng facebook o internet at unti-unti nating natutuklasan ang katotohanan. Pero walang ibang higit na makapaglalahad ng tunay nating kasaysayan kundi ang mga nakasaksi sa mga pangyayari noon. Itanong po natin sa ating mga lolo at lola kung ano nga ba ang buhay noong panahon ni Marcos at panahon ni Cory.

1. Base sa aking pananaliksik at pagaanalisa eto po ang masasabi ko tungkol sa Martial Law sa ating bansa. Majority po ng mga mambabatas natin noong 1972 ay pabor sa pagdedeklara ng Martial Law. Sila ang nagkunbinse kay Pangulong Marcos na ipatupad ang batas na ito dahil sa talamak na kaguluhan sa panahong iyon at tanging ang pangulo lamang ang may kapangyarihan ipatupad ito. Laganap ang pagpapalawak ng komunismo sa panahong yon na lumikha ng madaming civil war sa ibat ibang panig ng mundo. Madami ang napaniwala ng media na si Aquino daw ang nagpalaya sa ating bansa sa martial law. 1965-1986 nanungkulan si Marcos bilang pangulo at sa loob ng 8 taon (1972-1981), napasailalim sa martial law ang ating bansa. 1981 pa lang wala ng martial law so bakit sinasabi ng media na utang natin ang ating kalayaan sa matial law sa mga Aquino. Matapos mahuli at makulong ang mga lider ng CPP-NPA na sina Joma Sison, Bernabe Buscayno, Victor Corpuz at Ninoy Aquino, napilay na ang rebelyon ng mga komunista kaya inalis na ni Marcos ang Martial Law. Nung bata pa ako akala ko kaya madami sumasapi sa NPA ay dahil sa inaapi sila ng gobyerno, yun din kasi yung mga pinapalabas noon sa mga pelikula tungkol sa NPA na inaapi sila. Ng lumawak na ang kaalaman ko tungkol sa komunismo masasabi ko na hindi ito tungkol sa poverty or oppression, ito ay isang idealismo tulad ng Marxism, Leninism at Maoism. Napigilan ng martila law ang paglaki ng bilang ng mga NPA, nahirapan sila mag recruit ng mga myembro dahil sa mahigpit na pagbabantay ng mga sundalo. Hinuhuli lahat na pinaghihinalaan nakikipagtulungan sa rebelde at ito yung sinasabi nilang human rights violation. Kung ang isang bansa ay nasa gyera o state of rebellion, sa palagay nyo nararapat bang pabayaan lang ng gobyerno ang mga aktibista at media na pumapanig o nagbibigay ng simpatya sa mga rebelde? Kaya pinasara ang ilan sa mga TV stations noon ay dahil puro pambabatikos sa gobyerno ang binabalita nila na lalong nakapanghihikayat sa mga mamamayan na sumapi sa mga komunista o NPA. Kung hindi pinatigil ng gobyerno ang ganitong mga aktibidad, dadami ang sasapi sa NPA at magkakaroon tayo ng madugong civil war. Buti nga dito sa atin hinuhuli lang, sa Korea, Vietnam at Cambodia noon pinapatay agad nila ang mga nakikisimpatya sa kalaban. Pasalamat tayo at hindi hinayaan ni Marcos na magkaroon dito sa ating bansa ng isang tulad ni Polpot, Ho Chi Minh at Kim II-sung na milyong milyon tao ang mga pinatay. Sa Singapore nga meron silang Anti-Lee Kuan Yew Law na di ka pwede magsalita ng masama laban sa kanya pero dito sa bansa natin, kahit nasa state of rebellion na nga or martial law, gusto pa nila magrally at magpahayag laban sa gobyerno.

Suriin natin mabuti kung ano nga ba ang mga nangyari noon bago nagdeklara ng martial law.

•October 21, 1966, TIME MAGAZINE: Greater Manila Area: a notorious haven for criminality.
•late 1960’s, nabuo ang Muslim Independence Movement.
•1970’s, Nagkaron ng secessionist movement sa Mindanao.
•Ito ay pinangunahan ni nur misuari ng MNLF. Sila ay nakipagdigma upang magkaroon sila ng sariling estado (BANGSAMORO STATE) na kabibilangan ng mga isla ng Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi at Palawan.
•1969-1970, naging talamak ang pangingidnap at pagpatay ng NPA; nagumpisa din ang radicalization ng mga estudyante at nagsagawa ng kaliwat kanang protesta laban sa Gobyerno.
•January 1970, Binomba ang Joint US Military Advisory Group Headquarters sa Quezon City.
•January 30 1970, may 50,000 mangagawa at mga estudyanteng aktibista (na naimpluwesyahan na ng ideolohiyang komunismo) ang lumusob sa malakanyang ,at sinunog ang ilang bahagi ng medical bldg. Gamit nila ang isang Fire truck na kanilang pilit na kinuha upang madaling makapasok. Ayon sa NPA agents, ang misyon ay patayin ang Pangulong Marcos.
•October 1970, may mga kaso ng karahasan ang naitala sa ilang campus sa maynila. May pagsabog din ng mga pillboxes na naganap sa ilang paaralan.
•December 1970, pinasabog ang dalawang Catholic school at dalawang government buildings sa Calbayog City.
•December 11 1970, Lansang vs. Garcia, L-33964,napatunayan sa Supreme Court na ang mga karahasang nagaganap sa bansa ay kagagawan ng mga Komunista na nais agawin ang pamamahala sa bansa.
•December 29 1970, sinalakay ng NPA Commander nasi Victor Corpuz ang Armoury ng PMA.
•June 1971, Binomba ang Constitutional convention hall
•August 21 1971, Binomba ang liberal party sa Plaza Miranda ; ayon kay dating senador Jovito Salonga, Jun Alcover (dating NPA officer) at victor corpus( dating NPA commander), si JOMA SISON ang may pakana. Ang isa sa kanilang lider na si Ninoy ay wala sa malaking political event na ito ng kanyang partido.
•1971, May mga pinasabog na Oil firms sa maynila. Pinasabugan din ang main pipe ng NAWASA, Meralco substation sa Q.C, congress building, comelec building, Meralco main office premises sa ortigas at doctors pharmaceuticalsinc building sa Caloocan.
•February 1972, Pinasabugan ang U.S embassy
•March 1972, Pinasabugan ang Greater Manila Terminal Food Market
•March 15 1972 Binomba ang Arca building
•May 30 1972: Binomba ang Vietnamese embassy
•April 23 1972 Binomba ang Filipinas Orient Airways board room sa Domestic Road, Pasay City
•April 1972, Pinasabugan ulit ang U.S embassy
•June 23 1972, Binomba ang Court of Industrial Relations
•June 24 1972, Binomba ang Philippine Trust Company branch office sa Cubao, Quezon City
•July 3 1972, Binomba ang Philamlife building sa United Nations Avenue
•July 18 1972 , Bigong pagpapasabog sa kongreso
•July 27 1972 Binomba ang Tabacalera Cigar & Cigarette Factory Compound at Marquez de Comilas, Manila
•July 1972 napigilan ng militar ang barko galing china “MV KARAGATAN” na magsusupply sana ng mga armas sa NPA na hiningi ni Joma Sison kay communist chairman maotse tung.
•August 15 1972 Binomba ang PLDT exchange office sa East Avenue at ang Philippine Sugar Institute building sa North Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City
•August 17 1972, Binomba ang Department of Social Welfare building
•August 19 1972, Binomba ang water main sa Aurora Boulevard at Madison Avenue, Quezon City
•August 30,1972, Bigong pagpapasabog sa Department of foreign Affairs
•August 30 1972, Binomba ulit ang Philamlife building
•September 5 1972, Binomba ang Joe’s Department Store sa Carriedo
•September 8 1972, Binomba ang Manila city hall
•September 12 1972, Binomba ang watermains sa SanJuan at Rizal
•September 14 1972, Binomba ang San Miguel building sa Makati
•September 18, 1972, Binomba ang Quezon City Hall

Hindi pa ba sapat ang mga pangyayaring ito para magdeklara ng martial law? Eh si Gloria nga nag rally lang o EDSA-3 nag deklara agad ng state of rebellion/martial law. Ganun din noong nangyari ang ampatuan massacre nag deklara agad sya ng martial law sa Maguindanao.

Kumalat ang komunismo sa ibat ibang panig ng mundo kabilang ang Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Cuba, Africa, Afghanistan at maging sa Asia katulad sa mga bansang Laos, Korea, China, Cambodia, Indonesia,Thailand, Malaysia at Vietnam. 75 MILLION na tao ang namatay dahil sa paglaganap ng Komunismo sa Asia lang. Death toll ayon sa The Black Book of Communism na isinulat ng mga European academics (65 million sa China, 3.5 million sa Korea, 2.4 million sa Cambodia at 1.8 million sa Vietnam, 500 thousand sa Indonesia). Ang sumuporta lang naman kay Joma Sison/NPA sa pagpapalaganap ng komunismo sa Pilipinas ay si MAO ZEDONG, ang pinakamaraming pinapatay sa kasaysayan (49-78 million deaths).

Ayon sa official MNLF website, si Ninoy ay isa sa nag organisa para mabuo ang CPP-NPA at MNLF. Halos sabay nilang binuo ang dalawang grupo na ito noong 1968 para manggulo sa luzon at mindanao. Ang layunin nila ay para mahati ang pwersa ng mga sundalo sa central luzon. Pero matalino si marcos alam nya na madaling mahihikayat ng mga rebelde ang mga magsasaka at mga ordinaryong mamamayan kung walang magbabantay ng mga sundalo magdamag. Kaya nag deklara sya ng martial law, may curfew pag gabi at madami nakabantay na sundalo sa ibat ibang sulok ng bansa natin. Karamihan sa sinasabing mga biktima ng human rights violation ay hindi kagagawan ng militar. Ang madalas na may gawa nito ay ang mga komunista mismo para ibintang sa mga sundalo. Kinukuha nila yung mga uniporme ng mga napatay nilang sundalo at gagawa sila ng pangaabuso sa mga mamamayan na suot ang uniporme para isipin ng taong bayan na sundalo ang may kagagawan. Madami nalinlang ang mga komunista dahil na din sa suporta ng media, kagaya ng nangyari sa plaza miranda bombing na ibinintang kay marcos. Ang interview kina padre Balweg at Victor corpuz na dating mga lider ng mga komunista ang magpapatunay dito. Nakakalungkot lang talagang isipin na yung mga sundalo natin na nag sakripisyo at nag buwis ng buhay para protektahan tayo sa mga komunista ay sila pa ang pinasama ng media at yung mga NPA tuloy ang pinagmukhang mabuti. Yung mga lider noon ng NPA na pasimuno noon ng kaguluhan ay may malalaki ng katungkulan ngayon sa gobyerno. Tila nabaliktad yata ang takbo ng ating kasaysayan dahil sa kagagawan ng media at mayayamang capitalista.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYNJyKA9gao

2. Noon madaming pagaaring negosyo ang gobyerno ng bansa natin katulad ng mga Power Plants, Meralco, NAPOCOR, PLDT, PNOC, Petron, NAWASA, MWSS, LWUA, TV stations, PNR, LRT, SLEX, NLEX, BNPP at Philippine Airlines na noon ay pinakamalaking airlines sa Asia. Sa mga income generating projects na katulad nito nanggagaling ang halos lahat ng panggastos ng gobyerno noon at kahit gaano pa kalaki ang utangin natin sa World Bank ay tiyak mababayaran natin dahil may sariling income ito. Pero ngayon ultimo mga public schools at hospitals ay isinasapribado na. Parang inutil na ang ating gobyerno na umaasa na lang sa TAX ng taong bayan. Di pa nakuntento gumawa pa ng batas na VAT na nagpamahal sa mga produkto at nasundan pa ito ng EVAT na lalong nagpahirap sa mga mamamayan. Parang si Juan Tamad na nakahiga at naghihintay na lang malaglag ang bayabas sa bibig nya. Isipin nyo na lang yung mga sumasahod ng 20k pataas ay parehas lang kay Henry Sy ang percentage ng income TAX na binabayaran. Ang masama pa, ang TAX na pinagpawisan ng ating mga kababayan ay kukurakotin lang ng mga pulitiko.

3. Halos lahat ng mga pumpublikong hospital at eskwelahan ay si Marcos ang nagpagawa ni wala man lang naipatayo yung mga sumunod na presidente natin. Noon wala kang babayarang tuition fee sa mga public schools at may ipinamimigay pang nutribun, trigo at gatas sa mga magaaral kaya kahit wala kang baon ay ayus lang. Pero di man lang natin nagawang pasalamatan ang taong naging daan para makapagtapos ang karamihan sa ating mga kababayan ng pagaaral bagkus ang isinukli pa natin ay pangaalipusta at panghahamak sa kanyang pagkatao. Ang media natin ang nagpasama kay pangulong Marcos at yung mga rebeldeng NPA pa tuloy ang pinalabas nila na mga bayani ng ating bansa dahil sila ang lumaban sa martial law. Kabaliktaran ang mga pinapahayag nila dahil wala sana martial law kung walang NPA. Isipin mo 10,000 human rights victim daw na halos lahat ay myembro ng komunismo. Isa pa yung ininterview sa TV na si Dr. Leloy Claudio na pinapalabas na si Marcos daw ang pangunahing recuiter ng NPA. Sukdulan na ang pangloloko ng media sa mga mamamayang pilipino. Ang mga Marcos kasi ang tunay na majority share holders ng ABS CBN at GMA kaya pilit nilang pinapasama dahil natatakot silang mabawi ito ng mga Marcos pag nakabalik ito sa Malacañang.

4. Noong naging presidente si Cory pinapalitan nya lahat ng mga text books sa school at ipinagbawal nya sa mga bookstores at libary ang mga aklat o babasahin na nagbabangit ng mga kabutihang nagawa ni Marcos o masamang nagawa ng mga Cojuangco at Aquino katulad ng librong Greed & Betrayal, mga testimonial at aklat nila Victor Corpuz, Salavador Laurel, Kit Tatad , Jovito Salonga at madami pang iba. Noong 1986, lahat ng TV stations at mga pahayagan ay muling hinawakan ng mga mayayamang negosyante nasagasaan ni Marcos ng buwagin nya ang oligarkiya sa bansa natin. Lahat ng klaseng paninira sa mga Marcos ay ginawa nila at yung mga mamamahayag na nagbabalita ng totoo ay pinapatahimik nila kaya mula noon magpasahangang ngayon puro negative ang balita tungkol sa mga Marcos at puro papuri naman sa mga Aquino. Napakamakapangyarihan ng pamilyang Aquino, Cojuanco at Lopez na napapasunod nila halos lahat ng mga negosyante sa bansa natin. Ang mga oligarch na to ang tunay na nagpapatakbo sa bansa natin dahil kayang kaya nilang paglaruan at papaniwalain ang taong bayan sa kanilang mga kasinungalingan. Kayang kaya nilang pagtakpan ang mga kapalpakan at katiwalian ng kanilang mga kakampi katulad na lang ng mga karahasan nagawa nila sa mga walang kalaban laban magsasaka na minassaccre nila sa Mendiola, Lupao at Hacienda Luisita. Hindi man lang ito nababalita samantalang ang tungkol sa martial law ay halos araw araw. Di nga yata alam ng mga kabataan ngayon na sa panunungkulan ni Cory nagkaroon ng anim na sunod sunod na madugong coup d’etat. Ayaw ba nila malaman ang dahilan kung bakit nagkaroon ng coup d’etat? Nagtayo pa ang mga kamaganak ni Cory ng SWS at Pulse Asia survey para mapagtakpan ang kapalpakan ng pamamalakad nila sa pamamagitan ng kunyari mataas na approval rating. Magaling din sila umembento ng mga balita para pagtakpan ang kanilang kawalangyaan katulad ng pagbigay ni Cory ng libre sa mga Lopez ng ABS CBN at Meralco na noon ay pagaari ng gobyerno. Gumawa pa sila ng pelikulang pinamagatng “Eskapo” para papaniwalain ang taong bayan na napwersa sila na ibenta sa gobyerno ang Meralco. Pero nung 2002 linabas ni Enrile sa senado ang mga ebidensya na sila ang humingi ng pabor kay Marcos na bilhin ang naluluging kompanya nila kaya naman mahahalata nyo na sa halos 40 yrs nilang hinawakan to ay bigla na lang binenta kay MVP at Ramon Ang, para di sila masira sa publiko. Isang patunay na napakamakapangyarihan ng Oligarkiya sa bansa natin ay kahit presidente kaya nilang pabagsakin di lang si Marcos, pati si Erap sila din ang sumira. Tulad ni Marcos na matalik din kaibigan si Enrile at pinsan si Ramos ay nagawang ligawan ng mga Oligarch para kalabanin sya. Ganun din ang sinapit ni Erap mismong matalik nyang kaibigan ang kinasangkapan din ng mga oligarch para pabagsakin sya. Ni wala man lang na sapat na ebidensya ay nagawang pababain sa pwesto si Erap sa pamamagitan ng rule of mob na inudyukan ng media. Pati si GMA ay pinagkaisahan din ng mga oligarch ng hindi na nila kayang makontrol. Nang subukan mang himasok ng gobyerno noon sa kaso ng Hacienda Luisita massaccre biglang lumabas ang Hello Garci issue at natabonan na ang massaccre case. Si Marcos lang ang nakagawang mabuwag ang oligarkiya sa bansa natin kaya naman abot abot ang pangyuyurak nila sa pagkatao ni Marcos magpasahangang ngayon. Sasabihin pa nila tumataas daw ang GDP ng bansa natin pero di man lang binangit kung paano ang distribusyon nito. 35% ng GDP ay napupunta sa gobyerno sa pamamagitan ng TAX, EVAT at mga public fees, yung 25% napupunta sa mga oligarchs katulad nila Henry Sy, Ayala, Tan, Lopez at Cojuanco, yung 10% sa mga mayayaman, 20% sa middle class at yung 10% ay sa mga mahihirap. Isipin nyo 90% of 110 million total population ng Pilipinas ay binubuo ng middle class at mga mahihirap tapos bale 30% lang ng GDP ang share nila, samantalang yung mga oligarch wala pang 50 thousand ang estimated numbers ay 25% ang share sa GDP. Wag po sana tayo magpalinlang sa mga binabalita nila dahil tanging ang mga oligarchs at mga mayayaman lang ang lubos na nakikinabang.https://www.facebook.com/PhilippinesShockingHistory/posts/1696546033898233:0?hc_location=ufi

Ang pinakamalaking tanong ay kung paano napawalang sala si Marcos sa international court at sa 900+ na kasong isinampa sa kanya ng gobyerno. Di birong manalo dito kung wala kang sapat na mga dokumento na magpapatunay na hindi sila nagnakaw lalo na hindi basta ordinaryong tao ang kalaban nila dito kundi gobyerno ng Pilipinas. Tiyak na alam ito ng media pero bakit ayaw nilang ibalita? Ayaw ba nilang malaman ng mga mamamayang pilipino kung paano idenepensa ng mga Marcos ang kaso? Ayaw ba nilang malaman ng taong bayan na wala naman talagang silang ninakaw at sila pa mismo ang ninanakawan ng gobyerno. Ibabalita pa kunwari ng media na may mga narecover na pera samantalang wala naman napanalong kaso ang gobyerno at sapilitan lang nilang kinukuha ang mga pagaari ng marcos o kung hindi man inaareglo na lang ng 75% mapupunta sa gobyerno kapalit ng pag unfreeze ng ilang bank account nila. 30 years na tayong ginagago ng media at gobyerno, patuloy lang sila sa pagsampa ng kaso para manatiling naka freeze ang mga properties ng mga marcos at patuloy silang husgahan ng mga mamamayang pilipino. Kung napanalo nila lahat ng kaso nararapat lang na ibalik sa kanila ng gobyerno ang lahat ng mga ariarian na kinuha sa kanila kabilang na ang mga alahas at paintings.

Paano nila nasabing nagnakaw si marcos ng bilyong bilyong dolyar kung wala namang ganung kalaking pera ang bansa natin noon? Ang total government budget ng pinas noong 1965-1986 (for 20 years) ay $24 billion lang. Ang utang ng bansa natin noong 1986 ay $28 billion. Sa kabuohan, meron $52 billion na pera ang pinas sa loob ng 20 years na pamumuno ni marcos (reference: Philippine Yearbook Summary of Government Expenditures). Kung pagsasamasamahin natin ang construction cost ng lahat na project na pinagawa ni marcos ay aabot ito ng $100 billion. Paano pa nila pagnanakawan ang gobyerno kung mas malaki pa ang halaga ng mga proyektong napagawa nila kaysa sa pinagsamang gov’t budget at utang ng pinas. Kaya ang dapat na tanong ay kung saan kumuha ng pandagdag na pera si marcos para mapagawa nya lahat ng proyekto nya. Nakalista po sa baba ang ilan sa mga proyekto ni Marcos, pakitulungan nyo sana ako lagyan ng presyo isa isa para maipakita natin sa kanila ang breakdown ng project cost. Pakilagay lang yung cost at year project started-ended at ako na po bahala magapply ng 1986 inflation rate at purchasing power pararity. Ganito kasi yun, ex. yung utang daw ng pinas nung bago pa sya naging presidente ay $360 million lng pero pagbaba sa pwesto ni marcos bale $28 billion na utang ng pinas. Yung $360 million ang value nya sa 1986 ay almost $2.5 billion na so lalabas ang inutang lang ni marcos ay $25.5 billion lang.
http://www.nytimes.com/…/marcos-verdict-marcos-cleared-all-…
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/world/asia/11phils.html…&
http://www.cbc.ca/…/imelda-marcos-acquitted-after-17-year-t…

Ang kabuohang utang ng bansa natin sa ngayon ay 6.4 trillion pesos na. Bakit di binabalita ang utang ni Pnoy? Simula ng manungkulan sya bilang presidente hanggang sa ngayon ang halaga ng inutang nya ay umabot na ng 4.16 trillion pesos. Ang inutang ni Marcos ay nasa 1.3 trillion pesos lang ang halaga ngayon pag inapplayan ng inflation rate at purchasing power pararity. Halos 1/3 lang ito ng utang ni Pnoy pero ang dami nyang napagawang proyekto. Anu ba ang mga pinagmamalaking proyekto ni Pnoy? Yung dalawang fighter jets na nabili natin from korea ay balewala yun sa dami ng fighter jets,hellicopter,tanks, battleship at destroyer na nabili ni Marcos noon na puro top of the line pa. Sa modernization pa lang noon ng Phililpines Arm Forces ay katumbas na ng mahigit 1/4 ng halagang inutang ni Marcos. At yung Bataan Nuclear Power Plant naman ay katumbas din ng 1/4 na utang ni Marcos. Yung inutang kaya ni Pnoy saan kaya napunta. At yung Yolanda donation fund nasaan na? Sino sa tingin nyo ang totoong magnanakaw sa kanila? Ito ang link ng utang ni Pnoy. http://www.philstar.com/…/noy-worsened-poverty-debt-burden-…

Matatandaan na minsan humingi ng tulong si Imelda sa Philippines senate para mapatupad ang last will and testament ni pangulong marcos na maipamahagi ang kayamanan nila di lang sa mga mamamayang pilipino pati din sa buong mundo. Pero imbes na tulungan ng senado pina freeze pa nila ang lahat ng ariarian ng mga marcos. Kung totoo man yung last will and testament ni FEM eh di sana naghihirap ang bansa natin ngayon.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj9Ln4bSios

Sapilitan dinala ang mga Marcos sa Hawai ng mga Amerikano dahil siguro sa maturity ng World War -2 treasures. Ang orihinal na world agreement noong 1946, tungkol sa mga yaman na nakuha ng mga Nazi at Hapon na itinago sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo ay sa loob ng 30 years pagwalang nag claim nun ay mapupunta ang mga kayamanan sa taong nakahanap nun. Dapat noong 1976 pa, kung talagang si Marcos ang nakakuha ng yamashita treasure ay mapapasa kanya na yun pero dinagdagan ng 10 years pa ang nasabing kasunduan kaya magiging 1986 na ang maturity nun. At sa di inaasahang pangyayari nagkaroon ng EDSA-1 na sinasabi nga ni BBM na american inspired ang rally na yun. Maniningil na sana si Marcos ng interes sa lahat ng pautang nya sa iba’t ibang bansa kung di nangyari yun. At kung hindi hinahadlangan ng gobyerno natin ay matagal na natin nabawi ito sa mga bansang tinulungan ng mga gold ni Marcos ma na mapatatag ang kanilang mga central banks. Isipin nyo ang bansa natin ang tumulong pero nang dahil sa pulitika tayo ang naghihirap ngayon.

Humihingi ako ng tulong sa mga kababayan ko na alamin kung totoo talaga ang Marcos last will & testament dahil kung ito ay totoo ay wala sanang naghihirap na filipino sa ngayon. 5-10 billion dollars lang ang estimated na ill-gotten wealth pero sa pinapakita mga dokumento ni Imelda na ginamit nya sa trial of the century ay nasa trillion dollars ang pera nila. Bakit di tulungan ng gobyerno na mabawi ng mga marcos ang perang ito na nakadeposit sa ibat ibang bansa at maipamahagi sa mamamayang filipino. Ang ibang bansa tuloy ang nakikinabang dito at ang bansa natin ay patuloy na naghihirap.
https://www.facebook.com/343898559146814/videos/454541118082557/

Panahon ni marcos ng unang pinakilala sa bansa natin ang isdang TILAPIA. Pinadami nya ito sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay livelihood sa mga mamamayan sa iba’t ibang sulok ng bansa. Binigyan nya ng libreng similya ng tilapia at tinulungan nya ang mga taga probinsya na gumawa ng mga fish ponds para mabilis na maparami ito. Sa panahon ni marcos madaming tinayo na mga aquatic research center at isa sa pinakamalaking naitulong nito ay ang pagkakatuklas ng matagumpay na pagpaparami ng mga BANGUS noong 1970 at noong 1980 nakapag breed tayo ng bangus sa mga sea cages. Ang dalawang klaseng isda na ito ay nagbibigay ng napakalaking tulong sa kabuhayan ng bawat pilipino magpasahangang ngayon. Bukod dyan may mga libreng binhi ng mga pananim din na pinamimigay ang gobyerno sa mga mamamayan para mapalago ang agrikultura. Meron din mga alagang baka at kalabaw na binibigay ang gobyerno noon sa mga taga probinsya. Ang mga alagang hayop na ito ay pinapaikot sa bawat pamilya, pagnanganak na ang baka o kalabaw maiiwan sa nagalagang pamilya ang anak at yung inahing baka o kalabaw ay ipapaalaga naman sa ibang pamilya para lahat ng mamamayan makinabang. Maliban dito madami din mga livelihood program ang gobyerno noon na kahit nasa bahay ka lang ay pwede kang kumita. Magawa sana natin pasalamatan kahit papano si Marcos na syang gumawa ng paraan para magkaroon tayo ng sapat na supply ng pagkain at trabaho. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1256881327662609&set=p.1256881327662609&type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/FerdinandEMarcosBestPhilippinePresident/photos/a.332673453469330.73397.331489700254372/1073991032670898/?type=3&theater

Si Marcos din ang may pinakamaraming nagawang batas na hanggang ngayon ay pinakikinabangan pa natin. Kung puro kasamaan lang pala ang ginawa nya tulad ng sinasabi ng media, bakit ang halos walong libong mga batas pa din na ginawa ni Marcos ang sinusunod natin. Bakit magpasahangang ngayon ang master development plan pa din ni Marcos ang sinusundan ng gobyerno katulad ng LRT2, MRT, Express Way. Yung NCR flood control ni Marcos ay balang araw gagawin din yan ng gobyerno. Huli na kasi kung kumilos ang gobyerno natin ngayon, di tulad ni Marcos 50 years ahead ang planning kaya magpasahanggang ngayon napapakinabangan pa natin ang kanyang mga proyekto. Narito ang link ng ilan sa mga batas na ginawa nyahttps://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=585639661600583&id=526965450801338

Bakit ayaw na ayaw ni Cory pauwiin sa Pilipinas si Marcos samantalang nagpupumilit itong makauwi noong nabubuhay pa siya para sagutin lahat ng akusasyon sa kanya. Kahit nang mamatay ang nanay ni Marcos nagmakaawa sya kay Cory na makauwi para makadalo man lamang sa libing ay hindi pa din sya pinayagan nito.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yE18_ulf2Q

Madami akong na interview mga matatanda na naabotan ang panahon ng pangulong marcos. Halos 90% sa kanila ay nagsasabi na tahimik at maganda noon. Kaya naisip ko na magkaroon sana tayo ng online survey tungkol sa karanasan ng mga lolo’t lola natin noong panahon ni Marcos para malaman natin kung totoo talaga ang puro masasamang binabalita palagi ng media tungkol kay pangulong Marcos. Humihingi ako ng tulong sa malalaking facebook pages na umpisahan ang online survey na ito.

Yung mga totoong bayani natin na tunay na nagmahal at nagmalasakit sa bayan ay parepareho lang ang sinapit nila. Si Andres Bonifacio, Gregorio Del Pilar at Antonio Luna ay pareparehong trinaydor ng kapwa nating pilipino. Si Andres Bonifacio ay pinapatay ni Aguinaldo para sa sarili nyang ambisyon. Siniraan nya ang supremo ng katipunan na padalus dalus at di nagiisip sa pakikipaglaban para mapagtakpan nya ang kanyang kasakiman. Ganun din ang ginawa nya kay Antonio Luna pinapatay nya din ito para magawa nyang ibenta ang bayan natin sa mga Amerikano. Ganito na lang ba tayong mga pilipino? Hahayaan na lang natin na ang mga totoong traydor sa ating bayan ang pinaparangalan at yung mga totoong bayani ay patuloy nilang siraan. Hanggang kailan tayo magpapaloko sa sakim na oligarkiya? Naniniwala ako hindi pa huli ang lahat kaya magtulong tulong tayo na tuklasin ang katotohanan para maitama natin ang ating kasaysayan.

Yung mga bumabatikos sa thesis ko dahil lang sa ang ilan sa mga reference ko ay galing daw sa blog ay eto po ang dahilan. Walang sinuman sa mga mamamayahag natin ngayon ang may lakas ng loob na lantarang magbabalita ng totoong pagkatao ng mga Aquino. Walang TV stations or Newspaper na susuporta sa mga tulad ko naghahangad ng katotohanan kaya sa pamamagitan na lang ng BLOG nila inilalahad ang totoong mga pangyayari. Buti nga meron ng internet at facebook ngayon, dahil eto lang ang hindi hawak o kontrolado ng mga oligarch kaya unti unti ng lumalabas ang katotohanan. Pakiusap ko lang sana sa lahat ng magcocoment ng negative na basahin at intindihin mabuti muna ang nakasulat dito sa thesis ko kasi halos lahat ng negative comment nyo ay nandito na din ang sagot. Hinahamon ko ang sambayanang pilipino na patunayan nyo na mali ang laman ng thesis ko kung di kayo sang ayon dito. Yung mga sangayon sa akin paki share nyo na lang o kaya paki publish nyo o gawan ng libro.

MARCOS ACHIEVEMENTS

MARCOS COMPLETED POWER PLANTS IN 20 YEARS
1. Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, completed 1983.
2. Leyte Geothermal Power Plant, completed 1977.
3. Makiling-Banahaw Geothermal Power Plant, completed 1979.
4. Tiwi Geothermal Power Plant, completed 1980.
5. Angat Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed 1967.
6. Kalayaan Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed 1982.
7. Magat A Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed 1984.
8. Magat B Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed 1984.
9. Pantabangan Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed 1977.
10. Agus 2 Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed 1979.
11. Agus 4 Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed 1985.
12. Agus 5 Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed 1985.
13. Agus 7 Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed 1982.
14. Pulangi Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed 1985.
15. Agus 6 Hydro Electric Power plant, recommissioned in 1977.
16. Masiway Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed 1980.
17. Main Magat Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed 1983.
18. Calaca Coal Power PlantCompleted in 1984.
19. Cebu Thermal Power Plant completed in 1981.
20. Palinpinon 1 Southern Negros Geothermal production Field completed in 1983.
Note: Diesel Plants are not mentioned.
⬆️
VS
⬇️
CORY, RAMOS, ESTRADA, GLORIA and NOYNOY III in 26 YEARS
1. ZERO
Note: Every new power plant built During their time were all privately Owned ( mostly by Lopezes, AboitIz, Aquino And Cojuanco Family) and is now owners of some Power Plants completed during Marcos.

MARCOS COMPLETED BRIDGE PROJECTS IN 20 YEARS
1. Biliran Bridge150 meters long of Leyte, completed 1975.
2. Buntun Bridge 1369 meters long of Tuguegarao-Solana, Cagayan, completed 1974.
3. Candaba Viaduct Pulilan 5000 meters long of Bulacan-San Simon, Pampanga, completed 1976.
4. Mactan-Mandaue Bridge 864 meters long of Lapu-Lapu-Mandaue, Cebu 1972.
5. Magapit Suspension Bridge 449 meters long of Lal-lo, Cagayan completed 1978.
6. Mawo Bridge 280 meters long Victoria, Northern Samar completed 1970.
7. Patapat Viaduct 1300 meters long Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte completed 1986.
9. San Juanico Bridge 2060 meters long Tacloban, Leyte-Santa Rita, Samar Completed 1973.
Note: Not to mention the unnamed hundreds of bridges under 100 meters long.
TOTAL LENGTH = 11472 meters long.
⬆️
VS.
⬇️
CORY, RAMOS, ESTRADA, GLORIA and NOYNOY III COMBINED COMPLETED BRIDGES in 26 YEARS
1. Agas- agas Bridge, Southern Leyte 350 meters long completed 2006.
2. Agat Bued Bridge, La Union 500 meters long completed 2010.
3. Bamban Bridge, Pampanga 174 meters long completed 1998.
4. Cansaga Bay Bridge, Cebu 640 meters long completed 2010.
5. Jones Bridge, Isabela 350 meters long completed 2008.
6. Macapagal Bridge, Agusan del Norte 907 meters long completed 2007.
7. Magat Bridge, Isabela 926 meters long completed 1991.
8. Marcelo Fernan Bridge, Cebu 1237 meters long 1999.
9. Narciso Ramos Bridge, Pangasinan 1442 meters long completed 1997.
10. Old Amburayan Bridge, Ilocos Sur 535meters long completed 2010.
11. Pantal Bridge, Pangasinan 380 meters long completed 2008.
TOTAL LENGTH = 7441 meters

MARCOS ESTABLISHED/FOUNDED STATE CLOLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES IN 20 YEARS
1. Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University in La Union founded.
2. Mariano Marcos State University in Ilocos Norte founded in 1978.
3. Kalinga-Apayao State College in Tabuk Kalinga founded in 1970.
4. Abra State Institute of Science and Technology in Abra founded in 1983.
5. Pangasinan State University founded in 1979.
6. University of Northern Philippines founded in 1965.
7. Philippine State College of Aeronautics founded in 1969.
8. Cagayan State University established in 1978.
9. Quirino State University established 1976.
10. Isabela State University established 1978.
11. Pampanga Agricultural College established 1974.
12. Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology-Calapan City established 1966.
13. Occidental Mindoro State College established 1966.
14. Palawan State University established 1965.
15. Bicol University established 1969.
16. Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges established 1983.
17. Rizal Technological University established 1969.
18. Technological University of the Philippines established 1971.
19. apiz State University 1980.
20. Guimaras State College 1968.
21. Northern Negros State College of Science and Technology established 1971.
22. West Visayas State University became established as university in January 1986.
23. Leyte Normal University 1976.
24. SLSU- (Southern Leyte State University)- Sogod 1969.
25. SLSU- Hinunangan 1975.
26. SLSU- Tomas Oppus Feb. 1, 1986.
27. SLSU- Bontoc 1983.
28. SLSU- San Juan 1983.
29. Basilan State College 1984.
30. Western Mindanao State University became a university in 1978 followed with building the satellite campuses in..
WMSU-Alicia campus, Zamboanga del Sur
WMSU-Aurora campus, Zamboanga del Sur
WMSU Curuan, Zamboanga City
WMSU-Diplahan, Zamboanga Sibugay
WMSU-Imelda, Zamboanga Sibugay
WMSU-Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay
WMSU-Mabuhay, Zamboanga Sibugay
WMSU-Malangas, Zamboanga Sibugay
WMSU-Molave, Zamboanga del Sur
WMSU-Naga, Zamboanga Sibugay
WMSUOlutanga, Zamboanga Sibugay
WMSU-Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur
WMSU-Pitogo, Zamboanga del Sur
WMSU-San Ramon, Zamboanga City
WMSU-Siay, Zamboanga Sibugay
WMSU-Tungawan, Zamboanga Sibugay
31. Central Mindanao University established1965.
32. Misamis Oriental State College of Agriculture and Technology established 1983.
33. Northwestern Mindanao State College of Science and Technology estbalished 1971.
34. Davao del Norte School of Fisheries established 1969 ( now known as Davao del Norte State College).
35. Mati Community College (MCC) founded in 1972 ( now known as Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology).
36. Malita Agri-Business and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology founded 1966 now known as.
37. Southern Philippines Agri-Business and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology.
38. University of Southeastern Philippines established 1978.
39. Cotabato Foundation College of Science and Technology established 1967.
40. Cotabato City State Polytechnic College established 1983.
41. Mindanao state university- Iligan city founded 1968.
42. Mindanao state university- Gensan city founded 1971.
43. Surigao del Sur State University founded 1982.
44. Surigao Del Norte School of Arts and Trades (Founded in 1969) now known as Surigao State College of Technology.
45. Sulu State College founded in 1982.
46. Tawi-Tawi Regional Agricultural College founded in 1975.
47. Adiong Memorial Polytechnic State College founded in 1970’s.
47. (that i have found so far) out of 108 state universities and college are established and accomplished projects of FERDINAND E MARCOS. He also improved and re equipped the remaining colleges/ Universities that were established/ founded before 1965.

SOME OF MARCOS ESTABLISHED HIGH SCHOOLS
1) Amlan Municipal High School was established 1972
2) Amparo High School was established in 1979
3) Aplaya National High School was established 1969
4) Balayan National High School (BNHS) established 1985
5) Balibago National High School established 1970
6) Bayugan National Comprehensive
High School established 1980
7) Buenavista National High School established 1972
Dalupaon National High School established 1972
9) Don Emilio Macias Memorial National
High School established 1982
10) Dona Francisca Lacsamana de Ortega Memorial
National High School established 1972
11) Dr. Juan G. Nolasco High School established 1966
12) Eastern Samar National Comprehensive
High School established 1969
13) Francisco P. Felix Memorial National High School
(FPFMNHS) established 1973
14) Gen. T. de Leon National High School establsihed 1969
15) Ismael Mathay, Sr. High School, formerly called
the GSIS Village High School established 1971
16) Jose Borromeo Legaspi Memorial National
High School established 1981
17) Kaong National High School 1974
18) Lawang Bato National High School established 1967
19) Liloy National High School established 1974
20) Mag-aba National High School established 1977
21) Mandaluyong High School established 1977
22) Navotas National High School established 1983
23) Parañaque National High School (Main Campus)
(Formerly known as Parañaque Municipal
High School) established 1969
24) Pasay City North High School established in 1969
25) Pedro E. Diaz High School established 1977
26) Philippine High School for the Arts established 1977
27) Pinagtongulan National High School established 1967
28) Punta National High School established 1971
29) San Juan National High School established 1968
30) San Mateo National High School established 1985
31) San Pablo City National High School established 1969
32) San Pedro Relocation Center National
High School established 1970
33) San Ramon National High School established 1967
34)Tabon M. Estrella National High
School established 1981
35) Makati Polytechnic Community College-
Technical High School founded in 1972
36) Tomas Cabili National High school Iligan city 1971
37) Dasmarinas National high School 1971

⬆️
VS
⬇️
CORY, RAMOS, ESTRADA, GLORIA and NOYNOY III COMBINED
Established/Founded State Colleges/Universities in 26 years.
1. ZERO-

Note:
– the remaining of 108 State Colleges/Universities are built and founded before 1965. They though renamed few Colleges and Universities and Refounded them after 1986.
-National Manpower and Youth Council (NMYC) founded 1976. Now changed to TESDA to discredit Marcos.

MARCOS PROJECTS ACCOMPLISHED AND NOT JUST PROMISED
-Manila International Airport (NAIA)
-LRT-1 (1st in Southeast Asia)
-Heart Center of the Philippines
-Kidney Center
-Nayong Filipino
-Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
-Coconut Palace
-PICC
-Philippines Lung Center
-Film Center
-Golden Mosque for Muslims
-Folks Arts Theatre
-SLEX and NLEX (1st in Southeast Asia)
-San Juanico Bridge
-13th Month Pay
-Presidential Decree 1596 Proclaiming Philippines owns Spratly Islands, Panatag/Ayungin Shoal and Paracell
– The manila Planetarium
-calauit safari farm palawan
-MTRCB,
-NEDA,
-PDIC,
-PGH
-Children hospital
-Defense Self-Reliant rocket launchers
-AFP modernization
-war planes 35 F8-crusaders
-37 f-5 jets
-OV-10 bronco
-Sta Barbara 1st rocket P.H
-Blue diamond 1st JET team fighter P.H
-No.1 exporter of Rice and Sugar in the world
-Drugs are not rampant and drinking alcohol on the side of the roads is prohibited
-No Foreigners to Buy Real Estate in Philippines
-The only president that does not make use of a cheat sheet When giving a speech here and abroad

Ito naman ang mga kalsada na pinagawa ni Marcos na hangang ngayon ay pinakikinabangan nating lahat. Ang Pan- Philippine or Maharlika Highway ay pinagawa nya para pagdugtungin ang mga probinsya sa Luzon, Visayas at Mindanao.

Length: 3,517 km (2,185 mi)
North end: Laoag City, Ilocos Norte
South end: Zamboanga City

Route
Laoag City – Tuguegarao
Cagayan Valley Road: Cagayan – Isabela – Nueva Vizcaya – Nueva Ecija – Bulacan
Doña Remedios Trinidad Road: Baliuag – Pulilan
MacArthur Highway: Guiguinto – Valenzuela – Caloocan
Rizal Avenue: Caloocan – Manila
Ronquillo and Bustos Streets: Plaza Carriedo
Plaza Sta. Cruz
Padre Burgos Street
Taft Avenue: Manila – Pasay
Redemptorist Road: Pasay – Parañaque
E. Quirino Avenue: Parañaque – Las Piñas
Alabang-Zapote Road
National Highway: Muntinlupa – Calamba
Calamba – Batangas – Laguna – Quezon – Camarines Norte – Camarines Sur – Albay – Sorsogon
Ferry from Matnog to Allen, Northern Samar
Northern Samar – Samar – Leyte – Southern Leyte
Ferry from Liloan, Southern Leyte to Surigao City
Surigao del Norte – Agusan del Norte – Agusan del Sur – Compostela Valley – Davao del Norte – Davao City – Davao del Sur – Sarangani – South Cotabato – Sultan Kudarat – Maguindanao – Cotabato – Lanao del Sur – Lanao del Norte – Zamboanga del Sur – Zamboanga City

I. Food sufficiency
A. Green Revolution
Production of rice was increased
through promoting the cultivation of IR-8 hybrid rice.
In 1968 the Philippines became self-sufficient in rice,
the first time in history since the American period.
It also exported rice worth US$7 million.

B. Blue Revolution
Marine species like prawn, mullet, milkfish,
and golden tilapia were being produced
and distributed to farmers at a minimum cost.
Today, milkfish and prawns contribute
substantially to foreign exchange income.

C. Liberalized Credit
More than one thousand rural banks
spread all over the country
resulting to the accessibility of credit
to finance purchase of agricultural inputs,
hired labor, and harvesting expenses
at very low interest rate.
During 1981-1985, credit was available
without interest and collateral arrangements.
Some of the credit programs were the ff:

1. Biyayang Dagat (credit support for fishermen)
2. Bakahang Barangay –supported fattening
of 40,000 head of cattle in farmer backyards
3. Masaganang Maisan, Maisagana,
and Expanded Yellow Corn Program
–supported 1.4 Million farmers
through P4.7 Billion loans from 1975-1985
4. Gulayan sa Kalusugan and Pagkain ng Bayan Programs
–provided grants and loans of P12.4 Million
to encourage backyard and communal production
of vegetables and improve nutrition of Filipino households
5. Kilusang Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran (KKK)—
supported 25,000 entrepreneurial projects
through P1.8 Billion and helping 500,000 beneficiaries

D. Decontrol Program
Price control polices were implemented on rice and corn
to provide greater incentive to farmers to produce more.
Deregulation of trading in commodities like sugar
and coconut and agricultural inputs like fertilizer
were done for more efficient marketing and trading arrangements.

II. Education Reform
Access to free education widened during the Marcos Administration.
The biggest portion of the budget
was allotted for Educational Programs (P58.7 Billion in 20 years).

The literacy rate climbed
from 72% in 1965 to 93% in 1985
and almost 100% in Metro Manila on the same year.

III. Agrarian Reform
Tenant’s Emancipation Act of 1972
or PD 27 was implemented without bloodshed.
This was the first Land Reform Code our country.
Since it was implemented until December 1985,
1.2 million farmers benefited,
either they became the owner or leaseholder
in more than 1.3 million hectares of rice and corn lands.

IV. Primary Health Care
The Primary Health Care (PHC) Program made medical care
accessible to millions of Filipinos in the remotest barrios of the country.
This program was even awarded by United Nations
as the most effective and most responsive health program among the third world countries.
With PHC life expectancy increased from 53.7 years in 1965 to 65 years in 1985.
Infant mortality rate also declined from 73 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1965 to 58 in 1984.

V. Housing for the masses
Bagong Lipunan Improvement of Sites and Services (BLISS)
Housing project had expanded the government’s housing program
for the low-income group.

Massive slum upgrading projects have improved
to 14,000 lots in 1985 from 2,500 in 1976.
The Tondo foreshore, for instance,
is one of the biggest and most miserable slum colonies in Asia
was transformed into a decent community.

A total of 230,000 housing units were constructed from 1975-1985.
The laws on socialized housing were conceptualized
by President Marcos through a series of legal issuances
from the funding, the lending, mortgaging and to the collection of the loans.
These are governed by the Home Mutual Development Fund (Pag-Ibig Fund),
the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB)
and the National Home Mortgage Finance which remain intact up to the present

VI. Energy Self-Reliance
Indigenous energy sources were developed like hydro, geothermal,
dendrothermal, coal, biogas and biomass.

The country became the first in Asia
to use dendrothermal and in five years
we became number two, next to US, in geothermal utilization.
The extensive energy resource research and exploration
and development resulted to reduction of oil imports from 100% in 1965 to 40% in 1985
and in the same year, more than 1,400 towns and cities were fully energized.

VII. Export Development
During 1985 textile and textile products like garments and embroideries,
furniture and rattan products, marine products like prawns and milkfish,
raw silk, shoes, dehydrated and fresh fruits
were exported aside from the traditional export products like coconut,
sugar, logs, lumber and veneer.
The maritime industry was also dominated
by Filipinos wherein 50,000 seamen
were employed by various world shipping companies.

VIII. Labor Reform
The Labor code was promulgated which expanded
the concerns of the Magna Carta of Labor
to extend greater protection to labor,
promote employment, and human resource development.

The minimum wages of the workers were boosted
through the guaranteed 13th month pay and cost of living allowances.
Employment potentials of Filipinos were enhanced through skills training.
During that time, there were 896,000 out-of-school youths
and unemployed graduated from various training centers all over the country.

IX. Unprecedented Infrastructure Growth
The country’s road network had improved from 55,778 kilometers in 1965
to 77,950 in five years (1970),
and eventually reached 161,000 kilometers in 1985.
Construction of irrigation facilities was also done
that made 1.5 million hectares of land irrigated
and increased the farmer’s harvest and income.

In addition, nationwide telecommunication systems—
telephone systems, telex exchange too centers,
and interprovincial toll stations were also built.

X. Political Reform
The structure of government established by President Marcos
remains substantially the same except the change of name,
inclusive of superficial features in laws,
to give a semblance of change from that of President Marcos regime.

The only significant department that was abolished
after the departure of President Marcos was
the Department of Ministry of Human Settlements under Imelda Romualdez Marcos.
It was dismantled but the functions were distributed to different offices.

XII. Fiscal Reform
Government finances were stabilized
by higher revenue collections
and loans from treasury bonds,
foreign lending institutions and foreign governments.

XI. Peace and Order
In 1966, more than 100 important smugglers were arrested;
in three years 1966-68 they arrested a total of 5,000.
Military men involved in smuggling were forced to retire.
Peace and order significantly improved in most provinces
however situations in Manila and some provinces continued to deteriorate
until the imposition of martial law in 1972.
What ever happened to these?
Did the suceeding administration just forego these just because it had Marcos’ signature?
These,though made in the 1970’s address problems that we are facing today.
Had these not been abolished and maintained for the last 30 or so years, things may be so much different.
And the list goes on and on and on… Although Marcos was branded as dictator, corrupt, human rights violator still truth shall prevail..

click the link for Marcos other projectshttps://www.facebook.com/media/set/…

Mujeeb Bapobapo thesis PDF VERSION
https://drive.google.com/…/0B4G1ja7A8fDyUzdHN1UwUW5kLVk/view

Not Getting Mad at, But Getting Even With, Tita Cory

[Note: The following is a repost from an article written by Bobby Reyes]

“On March 30, 1995, I wrote a “confidential letter” to the Board of Trustees of the Pearl S. Buck Foundation. Hereunder is my letter in its entirety, warts and all. For all the frustrations that I had as a “Sorry Crusader,” the said letter made me feel vindicated. I never got mad at the person of President Aquino. But my letter got me even with Tita Cory”.

PROLOGUE

I was a member of Dr. Doy Laurel’s UNIDO (political party) during the February 1986 presidential “snap” election. Our party founder and president was the running mate of then presidential candidate Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. All of us called her “Tita Cory.” I asked the permission of Dr. Laurel to join the “Cory Aquino for President Movement (CAPM),” which was organized by Don Chino Roces. So, I joined the CAPM and was reporting directly to Don Chino. We won the election but it took the so-called “EDSA (Uno) Revolution” for Tita Cory to be proclaimed as the duly-elected President of the Philippines. As alas, as I wrote in my 1993 political novel, “One Day in the Life of a Filipino Sonovabitch,” many Cory Crusaders became the “Sorry Crusaders.” We became so sorry for helping elect a leader who performed worse than her predecessor.

On March 30, 1995, I wrote a “confidential letter” to the Board of Trustees of the Pearl S. Buck Foundation. Hereunder is my letter in its entirety, warts and all. For all the frustrations that I had as a “Sorry Crusader,” the said letter made me feel vindicated. I never got mad at the person of President Aquino. But my letter got me even with Tita Cory.

This is the first time that the said letter is published. Copies of it were sent to several national leaders of the Philippines and quite a few Filipino diplomats and tourism officials. After more-than 12 years, this writer has decided to publish it as part of the articles in the “Philippine Presidency” section of the www.mabuhayradio.com. After all, it is now the intention of this writer to eventually become one of the country’s leading “Philippine Presidents'” historians.

QUOTE.
The Board of Trustees
The Pearl S. Buck Foundation
P. O. Box 181
Perkasie, Pennsylvania 18944

Gentlemen and Ladies,

This is about the Pearl S. Buck Woman’s Award that you plan to give to former President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino. We understand that you have scheduled the awarding on June 5, 1995, at the United Nations in New York City.

We most respectfully request you to withhold the giving of the award. For Mrs. Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino to qualify for the award, she must first address the Filipino people and the Overseas Filipinos the following issues that we raised from 1992 up to the present:

1.0 Why did she approve in January 1992 the sale of 67% of the stocks of the Philippine Air Lines (PAL) to an investment group headed by one of her Tanjuatco, and three Cojuangco, nephews? We argued that the sale resulted in a $300-million, or more, loss to the Filipino people. The Philippine government, through the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), owned the shares. And worse, her nephews did not have the money to pay for the airline stocks. They borrowed the money that they used to pay the GSIS from three Philippine government-owned banks, using the PAL stocks as collateral. Please find attached, as Annex One, a copy of my expose called, “The PAL Scandal,” for your perusal and evaluation.

1.1 I have publicly stated that if they found my publication libelous, Mrs. Aquino and her nephews could sue me for libel in Los Angeles, California. Up to now, they have not filed any libel suit. On the other hand, reliable reports have reached me in California that I should not go back because the kin of Mrs. Aquino would “bury me alive” once I land in Manila.

1.2 As part of “The PAL Scandal,” I reported later that it was Mrs. Aquino who authorized in 1992 the sale of the PAL Building in San Francisco, California. It resulted, according to the column of the late journalist, Louie Beltran, into a $6-million loss to the national airline. She did not charge Mr. Beltran with libel on this issue about the PAL Building. She, however, filed a libel case against Mr. Beltran and his publisher, Maximo V. Soliven, when the late columnist wrote that Mrs. Aquino “hid under her bed during a coup d’etat attempt at the presidential palace in Manila.”

2.0 Why did she permit, during her first month in office, the transfer of the 38 companies that Marcos’s brother-in-law, Kokoy Romualdez, owned? The 38 firms were transferred to her brother-in-law, Ricardo “Baby” Lopa. The assets of the Marcoses, the Romualdezes and their cronies were supposed to have been sequestered by the new Aquino administration. But Kokoy Romualdez’s 38 companies, which were worth billions of pesos, were not turned over to the Presidential Commission on Good Government. I narrated the illegal and immoral transfer of the ill-gotten wealth in my political novel, One Day in the Life of a Filipino Sonovabitch. Please find with this letter a copy of the book, as Annex Two. My book describes the details of Baby Lopa’s caper in Chapter XVI.

2.1 The same case happened in the matter of the Philippine Long Distance Company. Instead of sequestering the company for the Philippine government as it was then controlled by the Marcos cronies, she returned the billion-dollar company to her Cojuangco nephews. She claimed that her nephews were illegally eased out by Mr. Marcos. The truth was that the Marcos cronies, whether their moneys were ill-gotten or not, paid the Cojuangcos the prevailing market-stock prices during the sale of equity that happened between them at the time when Marcos was still president.

2.2 I dared, again for the nth time, when my book was launched in December 1993, for Mrs. Cory Cojuangco-Aquino or any of her relatives to file a libel case in the United States, where the book was published. Up to now, not even a demand letter from any lawyer has reached me. We consider their silence a golden admission of guilt.

3.0 Why did she approve the re-negotiation of the loans that her predecessor obtained from Japan? The administration of Mrs. Aquino agreed that the loans would be paid in Japanese yen, rather than in U.S. currency that former President Ferdinand E. Marcos negotiated. Please find a copy of our September 2, 1994, letter to Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama that brought the matter to his attention. The self-explanatory letter is submitted as Annex Three. The error of Mrs. Aquino and her financial advisers has, so far, resulted in a $5-billion (spelled with a “B”), minimum, increase in the loan principal. It added insults to the financial injury that the poor people of the Philippines now shoulder as a result of the currency-exchange difference.

4.0 Why did she tolerate, during her tenure, destitute Filipino women from leaving the country to become maids, bar hostesses, mail-order brides and prostitutes in different foreign countries? For a write-up on the plight of the Filipino women, please read Annex Four. It is called, “Frasier’s Joke on Filipino Brides-for-sale Turns into a ‘Slaughter in Seattle.'” Statistics would show that more impoverished women left the Philippines for foreign destinations during the six-year term of Mrs. Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino than during the 20-year reign of President Marcos. Yet Mrs. Aquino’s much-vaunted publicists painted her the Filipino version of “Joan of Arc” and Marcos as the personification of evil.

4.1 During her administration, Mrs. Aquino did not bother to protest to the Japanese government the abuse of Filipino women in Japan. She did not ask the Japanese for the redress of the wartime and modern-day Filipino “comfort women’s” grievances. Please refer, for more particulars, to the letter to Prime Minister Murayama (Annex Three).

4.2 Mrs. Aquino was so indifferent to the plight of the Filipino women who were working abroad. Please refer to my open letter to Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos. Submitted as Annex Five is the open letter called, “The Filipino ‘Wonder Woman’ Could Have Saved Flora Contemplacion in 1991.” (Editor’s Notes: Excerpts of the said letter were published too in this online publication; to read them, please go to this linkhttp://www.mabuhayradio.com/content/view/444/51/ .)

4.3 On Mrs. Aquino’s track record on Filipino women alone, it is incomprehensible why she would win the “Pearl S. Buck Woman’s Award?” In fact, the award to Mrs. Aquino is an insult to the Filipino womanhood. It is like awarding Judas the Nobel Prize for Economics, if the award was available then, for selling Christ for 30 pieces of silver. Would you call Judas’ transaction an award-winning entrepreneur’s act?

5.0 There are other instances of abuse that Mrs. Aquino and her Cojuangco kin had perpetrated. I could practically write about them, ad infinitum. Please just read my political novel. You will read some of the facts about the Aquino administration. An example is the continued defiance of Mrs. Aquino’s clan of the Land Reform Code. They refuse to divide their Luisita Hacienda among the tenants. The irony was that the Congress enacted the Land Reform law during the administration of Mrs. Aquino.

The American people never tolerate injustice, greed and the abuse of power. Americans will condemn your choice for the 1995 Pearl S. Buck Woman’s Award once they get to know the truth about Mrs. Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino and her clique. Americans never like to see acts of injustice committed against the impoverished people of the Philippines, where a majority earns less than an American dollar a day.

We most respectfully urge you not to give the award to Mrs. Aquino until she complies with the demands stated in this letter. Mrs. Aquino’s record is slowly, albeit surely, becoming a socioeconomic and political minefield.

If you proceed with the award ceremony in New York on June 5, 1995, please expect a public demonstration, coast to coast, against your decision. If you and Mrs. Aquino are callous enough, then you all end up in the dustbin of history as some of the coldest, heartless, insensitive, apathetic and soulless creatures the world has known.

I have labeled this letter “Confidential.” This means that I will not leak the letter to the public, yet. For I do not want to embarrass your foundation nor put Mrs. Aquino to more public ridicule. Her reputation, after all, is already soiled. If within five working days after receipt of this letter, you do not confirm the cancellation of the award to Mrs. Aquino, we will go public. This means that when we do come out in the open, it will be a total mainstream media offensive. You can ask people, especially Filipino diplomats, in New York and Los Angeles, to confirm that we fight long and hard. We engineered several media campaigns in the past year. We took credit for the poor television ratings of the 1994 Miss Universe broadcast in the United States. We forced a mainstream television station in Los Angeles to delete, for its nation-wide broadcasts, the phrase, “Suspect was an Asian, possibly Filipino” that was used to describe the killer of Manhattan Beach Police Officer Martin Gantz. If we come to clash, please expect a boycott of your office in Perkasie and your activities anywhere in the United States.

Many Filipino Americans like our advocacy and our idealism. So please spare yourselves brutal, costly media and public relations wars. You can devote your resources to better uses, such as helping the Amerasian children, rather than become the American defenders of Mrs. Aquino. Likewise, on our part, the resources we will expend fighting you can be put to use helping your foundation. We have aided efforts to help the Amerasian children in the Philippines. Mrs. Aquino’s position is indefensible. It’s like fighting for a lost cause. It’s like trying to become a stowaway on the SS Titanic. You know, it’s hard to beat an army of Dons Quixote that eats controversial causes for breakfast. We do not think that too many bureaucrats can match our zeal and dedication to causes we believe in. We bet that not even one member of your Board of Trustees will put his or her life on the line for the sake of corrupt leaders like Mrs. Aquino. On the other hand, we have been risking our lives for Philippine and American causes. We also have put our wallets into our mouths.

We finally want to tell you why are activists. Please find a copy of our report called, “Connie Chung Now Knows the Plight of the American Veterans of Filipino Ancestry.” It is submitted as Annex Six. In it, we said that we live Ms. Jessica Mitford’s motto, “‘You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty.’ . . .I said that if I could put to shame the corrupt bureaucrats, then my writings would have mattered. If my writings could publicize the wrongdoers, then my efforts would not have been in vain. Indeed, I feel great if my writings can make the Filipinos, and Overseas Filipinos, look good and their oppressors look bad.” Thank you for the attention.

Defiantly yours,

BOBBY M. REYES
Conscience of the Filipino Nation

UNQUOTE

Epilogue. According to Ernesto (Apo Ernie) Gange, a Filipino-American member then of the Pearl S. Buck Foundation’s Board of Trustees, the Board nearly panicked and wanted in fact to cancel the awarding ceremony. But several Filipino diplomats and tourism officers in New York City appealed to me to cancel our planned picketing of the ceremony at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. The Filipino officials told me that I had made my point(s) and it was to the best interest of the country to just ignore former President Aquino. They said that historians would just deal with her record as President of the Philippines. Apo Ernie Gange is now the chairman of the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations (NaFFAA). Even if I happen to be the number-one critic of the NaFFAA national headquarters for its failure of observe the ATIC slogan that I coined, Apo Ernie and I maintain cordial and business-like relations. By the way, ATIC is the acronym for accountability, transparency, integrity and credibility.

Source: mabuhayradio.com

Why is Aquino so afraid of Marcos?

[An article by Francisco “Kit” S. Tatad, a Filipino journalist and politician best known for having served as Minister of Public Information under President Ferdinand Marcos from 1969 to 1980, and for serving as a Senator of the Philippines from 1992 to 2001.]

This article was originally published in The Manila Times, February 28, 2016

Aquino’s afflictions
Undying hatred of the “Marcos past,” unreasoning fear of a “Marcos-friendly future,” and total rejection of any suggestion from any source that Filipinos had begun to rethink the real value of Martial Law and Ferdinand Marcos’ real standing among Philippine Presidents are among the saddest afflictions of President B. S. Aquino 3rd.

These were aggressively on display on the 30th anniversary of the February 25, 1986 EDSA ‘revolt,’ when Aquino relaunched his late parents’ lifelong campaign against the late President Marcos. Completely anathema to Aquino was The New York Times’ observation that Filipinos had become nostalgic about the “golden age” of Marcos, when the Philippines and their President were highly respected everywhere. Aquino frothed in the mouth upon reading this.

Ninoy’s politics
Since the late ‘60s, the discrediting and destruction of Marcos had been the main object of the late former Senator Benigno Aquino Jr.’s politics. As senator, his uninterrupted polemics was against Marcos. He authored only one law—the Study Now, Pay Later law, which the late former Senator Raul Roco, during his own campaign, claimed to have drafted as Ninoy’s chief of staff—but he delivered endless anti-Marcos speeches.

In one such speech he blew the cover behind Marcos’ national security project for Sabah, the Philippine territory, which had been incorporated into Malaysia against our formal protest. This ironically made Ninoy a “hero” and Marcos a “knave” especially to the Malaysians, the British and so many naive and unthinking Filipinos, who had no appreciation of the paramount national interest involved. To this day we suffer the consequences of that highly irresponsible and “treasonous” act.

Aquino went beyond mere speeches.

Communist broker
In 1969, he brokered the meeting between Amado Guerrero (aka Jose Maria Sison), leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and Bernabe Buscayno, aka Commander Dante of the New People’s Army (NPA), which forged the ties that launched the Communist rebellion against the government. When the Communists came knocking at the gates of Malacañang, Marcos decided to fight back by declaring Martial Law in 1972. The oligarchy, which counted on the Aquinos, condemned Marcos for proclaiming martial law, but not the Communists who had threatened to overthrow the government and provoked a constitutional response from Marcos. This continues to this day.

Plaza Miranda bombing
In 1971, Aquino accused Marcos of having ordered the bombing of the Liberal Party political rally at Plaza Miranda, where all the top party leaders were on stage except for himself, the party secretary-general, who was mysteriously out of reach during the attack. He surfaced later, dressed in a military uniform, apparently ready to oust Marcos and take over, if any of the LP leaders had been killed. The toll was high, but none among his top colleagues were killed.

Years later, the Communists confessed to the crime, but former Senate President Jovito Salonga, one of the most seriously injured bombing victims, said, “Ninoy had something to do with it.” But Aquino never apologized, nor was condemned for it. As Marcos’ most important martial law prisoner, he was sentenced to death by a military tribunal, but allowed to leave for the US for a heart surgery. He returned three years later only to be gunned down at the international airport that now bears his name.

Marcos warning
Marcos, through his Defense Secretary, Juan Ponce Enrile, had tried to dissuade him from coming home, citing a reported security threat, which the government was apparently still trying to ascertain. This went unheeded, and he returned. The rest is history. Marcos was blamed instantly for the murder, and members of the aviation security command were accused and convicted of the crime. But the grieving widow, who became revolutionary president after ousting Marcos, never bothered to find out the real brains behind it. Neither did her son PNoy, who became President in 2010. Mother and son simply encouraged the public to believe, without any basis, that Marcos was responsible.

Cory’s politics
Cory spent her six and a half years in office trying to wipe out anything and everything that bore Marcos’ mark. She discarded the government’s full-scale industrialization program; scrapped the Department of Energy, the all-but completed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant and the entire national energy program; exempted her own family-held Hacienda Luisita from land reform; left all of Imelda Marcos’ cultural projects to the elements; expunged “Isang Bansa, Isang Diwa” from the national consciousness; handpicked 50 individuals to write a new Constitution because she could not trust the Filipinos to elect those who should do it; barred the Marcoses from returning to the country to answer charges against them, but instead asked the US to prosecute them for some of these crimes; spent over a trillion pesos in six and a half years to build a few flyovers in Metro Manila, as against the P600 billion or so Marcos had spent to build all the infrastructure in the country in 20 years; barred Marcos from being buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani where even dogs and scoundrels lie.

PNoy does one better
Now PNoy has done his deceased parents one better, by savaging not only Marcos pere but also Marcos fils. He has warned the nation against the “dangers” of making Sen. Ferdinand (Bonging) Marcos Jr. the next Vice President of the Philippines. As though the vice presidency, which has no known official duties or responsibilities, had become more important than the presidency, and in charge of running the government. Or that, finally guilt-stricken about his hopelessly inept and heartless six years in office, Aquino has reached the conclusion that no son of a former President should ever be allowed to go near it.

To Aquino and his claque, trying to prevent Bongbong from becoming Vice President has now become as important as, if not more important than, trying to prevent Vice President Jejomar C. Binay from becoming the President. The plot against Binay continues, even after it has begun to produce the most embarrassing results. But it has, interestingly enough, also spun a subplot against Mar Roxas, the very candidate who is supposed to benefit from the original plot.

If Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa and his “Samar Group” had their way, Aquino would have dumped Roxas by now for his poor survey ratings. He would have openly supported Sen. Grace Poe Llamanzares, the constitutionally ineligible foundling, whom he is trying to help before the Supreme Court where her disqualification by the Commission on Elections is under review. Upon my petition and those of three other petitioners, the Comelec has disqualified her and cancelled her Certificate of Candidacy for misrepresenting herself as a natural-born citizen and a resident of the country for the last 10 years.

Still, Aquino has not shown the same aversion to and fear of Binay as he has vis-a-vis Marcos. Why is this? Is it because he knows that even with the PCOS (precinct count optical scan) machine—now renamed VCM (voting counting machine)—under his control, he may not be able to stop the surge in favor of Marcos, without courting serious trouble? As the only Ilocano candidate for Vice President, Bongbong has rekindled the spirit of the “Solid North,” which has already produced three Presidents—Elpidio Quirino, Ramon Magsaysay and Marcos, and which has traditionally contributed the cream of its youth to our armed forces.

What millennials say
Among the millennials, the crank propaganda effort to recreate “the horrors” of Martial Law appears to have failed. A friend who was detained during martial law tells me of his conversation with his young daughter, who is an unabashed Bongbong supporter. “Did you know I was a Martial Law victim?” he asked his daughter. “You told me so,” she said. “Why then are you supporting Bongbong, whose father was the author of Martial Law?” he said. “Well, I know nothing about his pop. But we’re talking of Bongbong, and he is cool.”

And that, he said, was the end of their conversation.

Is any millennial saying, Aquino is cool?

Unblemished
Of the five senators running for VP, Bongbong alone has not been tarred for receiving P50 million or more from Malacañang to convict and remove Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona during his Senate impeachment trial. Next only to Senate President Franklin Drilon, who received P100 million, Francis Escudero received the biggest chunk of P98 million, while Alan Peter Cayetano, Antonio Trillanes 4th, and Greg Honasan received not more than P50 million each. This was an unspeakable crime, which should have immediately disqualified them from public office. Aquino knows this could not be said of Marcos.

The long view
But one more thing needs to be said, Although Bongbong may not have in him Aquino’s vindictive streak, and as Vice President, he may take no active interest in jailing Aquino for his crimes, his own presidency could just be a matter of time, and when his time comes, he could have the nation’s political history purged of all the bogus and revisionist claims that have made heroes out of opportunists, traitors, villains and scoundrels during the two Aquino regimes. The Aquinos, whose treason began with PNoy’s grandfather’s collaboration with the Japanese during the last Pacific war, would finally be exposed for what they are, and brought down from their outrageous pedestal.

Permanently, we trust.

I saw history in the making (5)

[An article by Emil P. Jurado, in his column titled “To the Point” in The Standard, April 6, 2016.]

THE principal beneficiary of Edsa 1 was President Cory Aquino, although she was never there. In fact, she only made it as far as the corner of Ortigas and Edsa before hiding at the Pink Sisters’ Convent in Quezon City during those turbulent days. She was made president after Marcos and his family were taken into a helicopter to Clark, and then to Honolulu, Hawaii.

Those were the days when the RAM (Reform the Armed Forces Movement) tried to topple the revolutionary government of Cory Aquino nine times. It was also a time when no less than 300 corporations, where the First Couple was suspected to have interest,  were sequestered by rapacious “fiscal agents” appointed by the Presidential Commission on Good Government headed by the late Senate President Jovito Salonga. It was also a time when President Cory appointed heads of local governments.

In 1987, President Cory named her own delegates to a Constitutional Convention to amend the 1935 and 1973 Constitutions. The result was a charter that was reactionary to the 17 years of the Marcos regime, 14 years of which were under Martial Law.

Cory tried to erase everything that reminded the people of Marcos and Imelda, mothballing the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant in Bataan that could have prevented the “dark ages” after her regime. At that time, residents of Luzon,  principally in Metro Manila, suffered 10 to 12 hours of blackouts every day.

Just to show the communist insurgents that she was their friend, Mrs. Aquino granted amnesty to all of them. They surfaced as left-leaning party-list candidates for Congress under the Cory Constitution.

Santa Banana, Cory even sent the late Butch Aquino and former Senate President Nene Pimentel to Egypt to ferry Nur Misuari back home. This eventually led to the resurgence of the separatist Muslim movement, led by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which broke away from the MNLF. My gulay, those were the years of recrimination and vindictiveness. These seem to be trademarks of the Aquino presidencies.

There was an attempt to recover the alleged hidden wealth of the Marcoses in an operation called “Operation Big Bird,” conceived by investment banker Michael de Guzman and then-Brig. Gen. Jose Almonte. Some $7 billion were identified in some Swiss banks and in other hidden wealth havens, but the operation was aborted by Salonga and Solicitor General Sedfrey Ordoñez because they were afraid that the recovered wealth would be stolen. This had no basis in fact and the late Vice President Salvador Laurel called it the “biggest failure” of Mrs. Aquino.

Space constraints prevent me from citing more instances of Cory’s failure, which disappointed the large segment of the nation that expected much from her.

When President Fidel V. Ramos came to power, he had to use emergency powers to end the blackouts by securing electric barges from abroad.

If Ramos must be remembered for his presidency, he was instrumental in the privatization of the American-owned PLDT, the privatization of Philippine National Bank and the government-controlled Philippine Airlines, the entry of foreign banks and foreign insurance corporations, the  privatization of Nawasa and Meralco and the mass transit system. Ramos was also instrumental in the Jakarta Peace Agreement of 1996 with Nur Misuari’s MNLF.

I recall that during the campaign period of Ramos, I was a member of the so-called “Wednesday Club,” with Rosemarie “Baby” Arenas as the congenial hostess. My fellow regulars were former Chief Justice Art Panganiban, Tony Carpio, Joe Almonte, Pancho Villaraza,  Avelino “Nonong” Cruz and others I can no longer remember.

Soon after Ramos became President, this “Wednesday Club” became some kind of a power club outside Malacañang. Santa Banana, would you believe that soon after Ramos became president, he asked me to become his press secretary? I declined, and I pointed to veteran newsman Rod Reyes. It was the second time I was offered that position. The first time was during the Marcos regime and the third time was during the presidency of Joseph Estrada.

I also recall that during the state visit of Ramos to Moscow, I had an idea of make the business delegation (of which I was a member) relevant. The group would accompany Ramos and other presidents after him to attract foreign investments. Ramos caught on the idea and called it “Team Philippines,” which has been renamed Philippine Inc. now headed by Tonyboy Cojuangco as chairman and Tony Lopa as president. Both are cousins of President Aquino.

After Edsa 1, there was a falling out between President Ramos and Senator Juan Ponce Enrile. I must now say I was instrumental in having the two meet at Mandarin Hotel to smooth things out. Now, they are the best of friends.

When my former Ateneo High School student, Estrada, became President in 1998, he also asked me to be press secretary. Again, I declined.  My gulay, I cannot imagine myself in government kowtowing to the whims and caprices of a president. But I was glad that my former student, whom I taught while he was still in his short pants, became chief executive.

To some extent, I contributed to the victory of Erap against then-Speaker Joe de Venecia. Jointly also with my former student, Reli German, a former classmate of Erap, we compiled all the Erap jokes in one book called “Eraption.”  It became an instant hit.

Estrada’s presidency, however, lasted only for two and a half years. He was impeached and tried. The Sandiganbayan Special Court later convicted him of plunder, but he was pardoned by his successor, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Estrada was vindicated when his wife, Loi Estrada, and his sons JV and Jinggoy also became senators. Erap himself became mayor of Manila and is now running for reelection.

When President Gloria came to power, I recall being approached by former presidential legal counsel Nonong Cruz, who later on became secretary of national defense, that Gloria wanted to see me. When I had that one-on-one meeting with Gloria, she asked me if I could also support her. I told her that when I thought she was doing right, I would, but when I consider her doing wrong, I would not. That was good enough for her.

Among all the presidents I have known, Gloria was the most hardworking of them all. I knew for a fact that members of her Cabinet would not go to sleep until after past midnight because she would call them in wee hours. When I asked her how she could visit three places nationwide in one day, she told me:  “time management.”

When the so-called Hyatt 10 broke away, triggered by the “Hello Garci” call of Gloria, I supported her. All the Hyatt 10 wanted was to remain in power with a president they could manipulate. Fortunately, De Castro declined the offer. Well, they are still in power under BS Aquino. I think they are opportunists and hypocrites.

In 2010 when BS Aquino was catapulted to power, vindictiveness ruled the land. Aquino used Gloria as the poster child for his “Daang Matuwid” and his “Kung Walang Corrupt, Walang Mahirap” slogans. Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona was made the same.

Arroyo was accused of plunder and economic sabotage and has spent almost three years under hospital detention. Corona, on the other hand, was impeached, convicted and ousted for not stating in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities Net Worth his peso and dollar accounts. This is not an impeachable offense—but that’s BS Aquino for you.

Having walked the corridors of power since the early fifties, I would consider BS Aquino the worst President, and his administration the worst one.  It has the highest number of incompetent and insensitive officials. Aquino  refuses to fire them despite everything. I can name them—Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, Naia general manager Jose Angel Honrado, an Aquino relative, Proceso Alcala, and Butch Abad.

BS Aquino’s abuse and misuse of people’s money is already history. His mishandling of, ultimate liability and culpability for the Mamasapano massacre is the ultimate testament to his incompetence, lack of compassion and insensitivity to the plight of the poor.

Daang Matuwid, which Mar Roxas intones nationwide in his campaign for the presidency, is hypocritical. It applies only to Aquino’s  political enemies, but not to his KKK—“kaklase, kabarilan and kapartido.”

Now, we have starving farmers killed by the police when BS Aquino could just have had the National Food Authority Warehouse opened for them. Both Cory and BS Aquino are known for shooting innocent protesters—the Mendiola massacre, the Hacienda Luisita massacre, and now the Kidapawan massacre.

My gulay, have we not had enough of the Aquinos?

I saw history in the making (4)

[An article by Emil P. Jurado, in his column titled “To the Point” in The Standard, April 5, 2016.]

MARTIAL Law. At midnight on Sept. 21, 1972, Proclamation No. 1081 was issued by President Ferdinand Marcos, closing all media outlets—print, radio and television. Well-known critics of Marcos and the administration were also rounded up.

Later in the morning of Sept. 22, I was told by my boss, Roberto Benedicto, to go to Malacañang because Marcos was ready to announce the justification of Martial Law. With Channel 9’s television crew, and with Babe Romualdez as the anchor, we prepared for the President’s announcement. Then Press Secretary Kit Tatad would introduce it.

Marcos justified Martial Law under the 1935 Constitution when an invasion or rebellion threatened the security of the state. He said that the state was faced with two cases of rebellion, one from the communist force that was already at Balara, beside the University of the Philippines, and another one, the separatist/independence movement in Mindanao by Nur Misuari’s Moro National Liberation Front.

The Supreme Court later on ruled that Proclamation 1081 was needed in the face of a real and imminent rebellion from two fronts, given that at that time, there were only 48,000 members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. I must say that Proclamation 1081 was well planned because there was no effective resistance except for the siege of the Iglesia ni Kristo compound in Quezon City.

After a day or two, I got word that I was named by Marcos as one of the three members of the Media Advisory Council that would implement PD 1081 in media. I was president of the Manila Overseas Press Club at that time. This meant that the MAC would be in charge of censoring media. The council was headed then by Tibo Mijares of the Daily Express owned by Benedicto, the only publication that continued to be published despite Martial Law. The other member, Ray Pedroche, was in charge of radio and television.

Knowing how the foreign press works, I told the council that we should stop censorship of foreign media since that would lead to a lot of speculation and condemnation of Marcos and Martial Law. Soon enough, Mijares told us that “with the approval of the President, this or that media outlet would be reopened. He became a one-man MAC with the authority of President Marcos.”

I resigned because the MAC had become a money-raising tool for some people.

Back as public affairs manager of KBS (Kanlaon Broadcasting System) operating Channel 2, Mabuhay Broadcasting GTV-4 (government television station), RPN-Channel 9 and IBC-Channel 13, I thought of an idea on how to get radio and television out of the ambit of Martial Law. Channel 7 was also operating then but under Bob Stewart, with limited programs and foreign films. ABS-CBN and the Manila Times Channel 5 were closed.

I called representatives of radio and television to a meeting at the office of the late Emil Tuazon and Andrei Khan, and with the permission of then-Minister of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile, the administrator of Martial Law, we organized the KBP or the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas to be a self-policing body. I was its first president.

Sure, there were abuses, atrocities and human rights violations during Martial Law. As they say, absolute power corrupts absolutely. There were also instances of plunder by people in power, especially by the well-known cronies. But Martial Law also had its brighter side.

The communist insurgency backbone was broken; the separatist/independence movement was also broken with the self-exile to Egypt by Misuari; the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao came into being after the Tripoli Peace Agreement was signed; massive infrastructure was started with the North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway, the Marcos Highway to Baguio, the Philippine Japanese Highway to Mindanao, and the construction of LRT 1.

Lest I am accused of minimizing the abuses committed during Martial Law, I am not. I’m just citing facts. At least, during Martial Law, policemen and soldiers did not shoot and kill innocent civilians who were only asking for rice because they were starving. During the incumbency of Cory Aquino, it was Mendiola Massacre and the Hacienda Luisita Massacre. Now, under BS Aquino, it’s the Kidapawan Massacre.

When Ninoy Aquino was assassinated at the international airport tarmac, the economy was on the verge of collapse. That compelled then-Trade Minister Roberto Ongpin to create what was known as the Binondo Central Bank where some eight well-known Chinese foreign exchange traders were forced to trade as Ongpin saw fit.  Ongpin said they would be arrested and put in stockade if they didn’t follow orders. He also dictated, day to day, the rate of the peso vis-a-vis the dollar. Ongpin brought the exchange rate from P28 to P11.

I am particularly proud of Ongpin’s achievement since he was the one that saved the economy from collapse. He was my student at Ateneo High School.

Some Marcos-haters who were not yet born or were just babies at that time do not know that it was Imelda who sent the late Ninoy Aquino to Houston, Texas to have an urgent heart operation, and even continued to subsidize the Aquino family in Boston where the Aquino family was in exile.

People of this generation also do not realize that it was Imelda who brought forth the renaissance in Philippine arts and culture. It was she who oversaw the construction of five-star hotels in Makati and Manila, as well as the Philippine International Convention Center, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Philippine Trade and Film Center, and the World Trade Center.

The Marcos years also did some good for the country. And I believe that history will judge the Marcos years fairly despite some sectors, including BS Aquino, trying to spook people about having Senator Bongbong Marcos as vice president. They say that Martial Law would be resurrected. My gulay, I suggest BS Aquino look at the 1987 Constitution which his late mother had framed. He would see that Martial Law is now a near-impossible scenario.

Besides, wasn’t BS Aquino’s late grandfather, Benigno S. Aquino Sr., in charge of the dreaded “Makapili” during the Japanese Occupation rule for over three years?  The “Makapili” were instrumental in the killing of alleged guerrilla fighters and their relatives. They were portrayed with bayongs over their heads, pointing to the Japanese whom to kill.

BS Aquino’s late grandfather was charged with treason when liberation came. He was sent to prison but soon, all Japanese collaborators were given amnesty.

Filipinos did not take this episode of history against Ninoy, Cory Aquino and even PNoy. Now, BS Aquino is resurrecting Martial Law against Bongbong, who is running only as vice president. BS Aquino is truly a hypocrite.

Speaking of the late Senator Ninoy Aquino, I recall his exposé in the Senate that Marcos had some 400 Jabidah Muslims killed in Corregidor. That led foreign media to go all out against Marcos, saying that  he was a fake hero of World War II. I  am still wondering if that exposé had basis in fact.

I do not want to write about the so-called People Power Revolution of 1986 when Enrile-Ramos-Honasan and the Reform the Armed Forces Movement caused the exile of Marcos. This chapter has been written and even distorted in so many ways.  For one thing, it was not truly a People Power Revolution because only the middle class of society, nuns, priests, and students were there. It was only in Metro Manila.

Thanks to Marcos, he went to exile instead of following the request of the late Chief of Staff Fabian Ver to bomb the breakaway group. Marcos did not want blood on his hands. But I honestly believe that even without the people who went to Edsa to support the breakaway group, the coup could have succeeded anyway, having the support of 85 percent of the Armed Forces of the Philippines—the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.

Unfortunately, Edsa 1 benefitted only the Aquinos, not the nation as a whole. The people are still confronting the problems that Edsa 1 sought to eradicate—poverty, graft and corruption, government incompetence, its lack of compassion and sensitivity to the people’s needs. Worst of all, the hypocrisy!

The last episode of this series will dwell on the post-Edsa 1 presidents­—Corazon Aquino, Fidel  Ramos, Joseph Estrada,  Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and now BS Aquino.

 

I saw history in the making (3)

[An article by Emil P. Jurado, in his column titled “To the Point” in The Standard, March 31, 2016.]

Harry S. Stonehill. He was an American GI, a sergeant of the US Liberation Forces in 1945 who decided to stay in the Philippines. He was a man of vision and dedication, who was the first one who brought American Christmas cards here and made a small fortune out of them. He did not end there. He married a Filipino mestiza from Cebu.

After going around the country, at the North in Ilocandia, he saw the need for Ilocanos to have a cash crop. Thus, he went back to the US and brought the idea of Ilocandia planting Virginia leaf and barley leaf for cigaret manufacturing. He put up his own cigaret plant—the “Old Gold.” Lucio Tan was his chemist.

Stonehill’s idea caught on, and after a few years, Ilocanos up North were planting nothing else but Virginia leaf tobacco. In Pangasinan and Cagayan Valley, it was barley leaf.

Santa Banana, Stonehill was even made “Son of Ilocandia” by politicians that made him a sensation. Soon, he also began a reclamation project in Manila Bay with the help of big businessmen. He even went into property development. He was the toast of the town.

Eventually, Stonehill’s ventures into big business became his undoing. He created enemies in government and in business. His biggest mistake was that at cocktail parties and even among businessmen, he often boasted that he had congressmen and senators, even newsmen, in “his pocket.”

This led the Department of Justice under then Justice Secretary Jose Diokno to have the National Bureau of Investigation look into the background and business interest of Stonehill.

Word went around, however, that it was the American Tobacco Monopoly with the help of the Central Intelligence Agency that brought down Stonehill from his pedestal. Soon enough, Stonehill was charged with economic sabotage. This led to his deportation. However, there were those who said that Stonehill was also a victim of the crab mentality of the Filipinos.

I knew Stonehill on a personal basis. I admired and respected him. Thus, when after years in exile and through the efforts of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin, he was allowed to come back, I met him again. He said to me: “You know Emil, I had wanted to die in the Philippines, a country I had learned to love.”

Stonehill’s reclamation project in Manila Bay changed the landscape of Roxas Boulevard. These are now where Sofitel Hotel, PICC, Philippine Trade Center, Cultural Center of the Philippines, World Trade Center, and the Pagcor Entertainment City of Solaire, and City of Dreams now stand.

Another development during the Macapagal administration in 1963, if I’m not mistaken, was the devaluation of the Philippine peso which stood at P2 to $1. There were reports going around that the peso was grossly overvalued, and that soon enough, the currency would be devalued.

One afternoon when I was making my rounds at the Central Bank, I went to the office of Mrs. Fanny Cortez Garcia, who was then economic department head. Nobody was around, not even her secretary. Taking the chance, I looked around her desk when I saw a memorandum, signed by then-CB Gov. Miguel Cuaderno and Mrs. Garcia, proposing to President Macapagal the devaluation of the peso, pegging the exchange rate of P19.50 to $1, if I am not mistaken. I made this scoop a headline story of the Herald, and it changed the business landscape.

With the currency devalued, the rate started to float to P25 to $1, but soon enough, the Central Bank poured dollars into the economic enough to arrest it from going further. But, the devaluation, while making exports like coconut oil, copra, sugar, lumber and others more competitive worldwide, new industries like textile, car assembly and others and imports suffered, having borrowed from banks at P2 to $1. The peso since then has been floating, hitting at one time over P50 to $1.

When President Marcos came to power in 1969,  there were hopes for a better Philippines. I’d say that perhaps he was the most brilliant of all Philippine presidents, packing his cabinet with so-called “technocrats,” led by Cesar Virata and Roberto V. Ongpin, both respected by the business community.

Still, there were others around Marcos who became cronies, having their own agenda as is usually the case when a new president comes to power.

It was also a time when the communists became more active and aggressive with no less than the New People’s Army already knocking on the door of Manila with their known presence at Balara near the University of the Philippines. Edsa, which was then known as Highway 54, was even closed.

I quit the Herald after 17 years as business editor and editorial director. My friend Roberto S. Benedicto, whom his friends and associates called “RSB,” enticed me to join his Kanlaon Broadcasting System to become public affairs manager. I accepted it because I believed that television was an impact medium that could reach and influence more people. Thus, I joined RPN Channel 9, which was then along Roxas Boulevard.

* * *

I had thought of ending this series already, but it seems that I should, for celebrity’s sake and for history, have another episode on the Marcos years and beyond, especially so on Martial Law. This has been distorted by people with their own agenda. Santa Banana, those were the years when the government was on the verge of a communist takeover!

I saw history in the making (2)

[An article by Emil P. Jurado, in his column titled “To the Point” in The Standard, March 30, 2016.]

During my early years at the Herald, I witnessed events that made history for the Philippines.  These were the importation of jeep surplus from Guam, Saipan and the Marianas islands, protectorates of the United States.

The importation was made by a Leyte businessman—Emilio Yap­—who later on bought the Manila Bulletin, the largest newspaper at that time, from a Swiss national, Hans Menzi.  Menzi had earlier bought the paper from the Americans who controlled it.

Since Emilio Yap was close to then-speaker Daniel Romualdez, who was also from Leyte, many members of Congress suspected Yap of smuggling. I believed this to be furthest from the truth.  In fact, when my friend, economic coordinator Peding Montelibano, sought me out to defend Yap, upon being convinced that all Yap’s transactions were above board, I wrote a series of articles for the herald             defending Yap as well.

Yap had his US automative firm to do the importation. These jeep surplus imports gave birth to the now-iconic jeepney: one of its kind, a testament to Philippine ingenuity.

Another aspect of Philippine history that I witnessed was the start of television in the early 1950s. A young American entrepreneur, Jimmy Linderberg, brought television to the Philippines. Together with Tony Quirino, the brother of the late Elpidio Quirino, Linderberg put up the Alto Broadcasting System to introduce TV to Filipinos. Since they did not have enough funds to start the business, they teamed up with the Lopezes who were then publishing the Manila Chronicle.  Thus, the name ABS-CBN came up at the old Chronicle building.

Thus, I would credit Jimmy and Tony as the fathers of Philippine television which started airing in black and white. Color television came in much later.

Several other TV-radio networks came, like Bob Stewart’s Channel 7, the Manila Times’ Channel 5 and the Sorianos, in partnership with Radio Mindanao Network of Cagayan de Oro’s Henry Canoy, for Intercontinental Broadcasting Channel 13.

There were only two television commentators at that time, Teodoro F. Valencia, who was then writing his column “Over a cup of coffee,”—and me. I was also writing my column at the Herald, called “My opinion.” Ka Doroy had his over channel 5; I had mine on Channel 13. I had Dick taylor as my director.

For these, the Citizens Award for Television of the Catholic Mass Media Council gave Ka Doroy and me the “Television Commentators of the Year” award. Ka Doroy was not very happy because the protegé (I) and the mentor (he) were now on the same level.

My program was unique in a sense because I brought my interview with personalities from coffee shops like the Botica Boie in Escolta, Country Bake Shop in Ermita, and Taza de Oro along Roxas Boulevard. For this, I was also named “Radio Commentator of the Year” in 1957.

Those were my golden years at the Herald, but because of my columns against a big bank that had closed shop because it lent to politicians without collaterals, I was sued for libel and damages for P50 million by former Central Bank governor Mike Cuaderno who was then the bank’s consultant.

For the Sorianos, it was a big case since the management and the editors were included in the suit  I still recall that Don Andres Soriano, living in Spain but on a business trip to Switzerland, flew all the way to Manila to talk to me (with the lawyers and Cuaderno).  Soriano talked about a compromise with the bank owners with Cuaderno representing the bank.

Soriano and the bank officials wanted me to apologize, but I refused. I showed them papers proving the anomalies. I recall Don Andres saying to my face: “Jurado, you are fired!” But when I returned to the Heraldi office, a top manager told me I was not fired, after all.

When the Garcia administration came after the death of Ramon Magsaysay, one scandal after another fed newspaper headlines. Reporting on import quota allocation anomalies made journalists busy.  People close to Garcia took advantage of their closeness to him.

Then came the reparations scandal. I recall businessmen lining up at the suite of a well-known congressman from one of the Visayan islands to get their reparations in the form of inter-island boats, cargo and bulk carriers. This legislator was the conduit of the reparations commissioners who were raking in millions of Japanese yen converted into dollars.

Those were the days when luxury jewelry and even diamonds were being smuggled from Bangkok and Hong Kong. Thus, when Garcia ran for reelection (at that time the Constitution provided a four-year term for the president, who may be reelected). That also gave birth to the Grand Alliance of Senator Raul Manglapus and Senator Manuel Manahan, he lost to the “poor boy from Lubao, Pampanga,” President Diosdado Macapagal. The only threat then against Macapagal was movie icon Rogelio Dela Rosa, who ironically was his brother-in-law by his first wife. Roger eventually backed out. That was also another story.

To his credit, President Macapagal put up the Emergency Employment Administration to provide jobs to the jobless and a land reform program which eventually broke many rice, sugar, and coconut lands, making the landless tenants landowners. The land reform program broke the backbone of many landed estates. Strangely, Hacienda Luisita was never included in land reform. That gave birth to the “new poor” of Negros.

My 17 years at the Herald gave me the opportunity to meet many businessmen, who have become taipans and heads of conglomerates. My being twice president of the Business Writers Association of the Philippines which handed out awards annually to successful businesses also helped.

Lest I forget, during the Garcia-administration, the so-called “new and necessary industries”—textiles, cement, car assembly, home appliances, to cite a few—flourished. It was also a time for the rise of lumber and veneer industries, sand log exports and many more. I also became vice president of the Misamis Lumber Corp. owned by my wife’s family, managed by Nicolas Capistrano Jr. It gave me the opportunity to go to Japan as a journalist.

Through the years, assembly of cars was the name of the game.

Though the Garcia administration was buffeted with anomalies in dollar allocations and preparations, it also gave rise to big business going into logging operations. The Aguinaldos, the Sanvictores and the Alcantaras were famous names at the time. But the cost of illegal and destructive logging cost the country a lot.

During the Macapagal administration, I acted as palace reporter every now and then. And I admired the President for his simple ways and his closeness to the press. I recall that one time when the President invited my wife and me at a Palace dinner with some journalists. I met a 13-year-old girl who was studying at Assumption College. This girl turned out later to become, in 2001, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

I was also a close friend of the late Fenny Hechanova, former press secretary and former finance secretary. Fenny was then the closest member of the cabinet to “Cong Dadong.”

During the Macapagal years, two events shaped the nation—the deportation of Harry S. Stonehill and the peso devaluation, which I will write in my Part 3.

 

I saw history in the making (1)

[An article by Emil P. Jurado, in his column titled “To the Point” in The Standard, March 29, 2016.]

HOLY Week gave me time to reflect on my past, what I did or did not do.

At my age of 88 years, I live on my memories. And I thank God for having been a product of the war and having lived through it.

The most memorable years of my life were my years in journalism even though I went to college to become a lawyer and eventually passed the bar in 1954.

Being in the industry for the past 66 years, I have seen history in the making. At times, I was part of it. I walked through the corridors of power, knowing, and sometimes becoming friends with, presidents. Indeed I have seen the best and worst of them.

When I was hired by no less than the late Don Vicente Madrigal way back in 1955 to become the business editor of the defunct Philippines Herald, it was partly luck, but I would say it is a blessing. When I reported to the late Felix Gonzalez, who then was called “judge” upon orders of Don Vicente Madrigal, he asked me where I studied. When I told him I was an Atenean and a lawyer, he said, “I hate Ateneans,” but added, “that’s your desk there since the former business editor is on leave taking the Bar to become a lawyer.”

When I was introduced to the staff and editors as the new business editor, Teodoro Valencia, or “Ka Doroy” as he was commonly called, approached my desk and told me that as of the next day, I would be covering the Central Bank and Department of Finance. Ka Doroy at that time had his daily column “Over a Cup of Coffee,” which was widely read and respected.

In fact, I was told that if I needed financial help, I should see Ka Doroy. No wonder every payday, there were always two lines of newsmen at his table: Borrowing money from him, and paying him back.

Santa Banana, believe it or not, for six months I was only getting P120 a month since I was new. When I became part of the regular staff, I got P750. I’m still wondering how my wife and I survived with that measly pay.

As a business editor, and covering the Central Bank under then-Governor Miguel Cuaderno, I had the opportunity to meet businessmen, CEOs and chairmen of the board, because I was a dutiful business editor. I had exclusive stories not only for the business pages but for the front page.

At times, I also covered Malacañang and the Department of Foreign Affairs when my colleagues Nestor Mata and Oscar Villadolid were out. That’s why I personally knew the late President Ramon Magsaysay and Carlos P. Romulo.

The Central Bank was an interesting beat because of import control. It was a time when businessmen fell in line at the Office of the late Virgie Yaptinchay, Central Bank Import Department director, for that much-needed quota allocation. Having the privilege of going in and out of Ms. Yaptinchay’s office unannounced as the Herald business editor, I recall introducing some businessmen to Virgie ahead of others. Many of them had since become billionaires.

That was the time when I had a scoop of three Monetary Board members taking advantage of their office to secure quota allocations for their businesses, and even played the stock market, something Monetary Board members should never do.

That exclusive I got for the Herald led to an episode of my life I can never forget. One evening, as I was getting down the stairs from my office at the second floor of the Herald and passed through the front beside our security guard, two burly men poked guns on both sides of my stomach, and told me to board a black car. Yes, it was just like what happens in movies about gangsters.

I was taken to the old Hotel Filipinas, to the top floor when I was made to enter a suite.

Seated at the sala of the suite was a fat man smoking a cigar, who said in the vernacular: “You are still a young man, and I would hate it if something happened to you. My friend (mentioning the name of one of the three Monetary Board members I exposed as guilty of graft and corruption) does not know it, but I would just like you write his side.”

“Sure, gladly,” I said.

“Just wait here,” said the man I recognized to be a mobster from South of Manila, who was one time accused of killing somebody on Dasmariñas Street.

The man then left, instructing one of his men to stay inside the suite and me to wait for a press statement of his friend whom I had exposed. After eating pancit canton which was ordered for me, I was advised by the guard to get some sleep. That was already one o’clock the next morning. I tried but I could  not because I was so worried about my wife, who must have been so worried about me.

At six a.m. there was a knock at the door. Somebody had an envelope for me. When I opened the envelope, it was a press statement from the Monetary Board member I had  exposed. When I was released from custody, I immediately went home and explained everything to my wife, who was indeed so worried. I then called up my brother Willie, who told me to wait for him. When Willie arrived, he told me we would go to Malacañang and see President Magsaysay. My brother said he was expecting us.

When we arrived at the Palace, a guard took us to the quarters of  President Magsaysay, who then asked if I knew people who I thought should take over from the three. I was stunned but, I managed to blurt out three names—Jaime Velasquez, UP Dean Vicente Cinco and Agriculture Undersecretary Amando Dalisay. “Done,” the President said, and called his secretary to have those three names immediately appointed to the Monetary Board.

After coffee, the President ushered me to his bedroom and opened one of his side drawers where a Smith Wesson .38 caliber with “PRM” was inscribed. “This is for you,” he said and added that somebody would have it licensed under my name. The President also said that I would need  security protection for myself and my family.

The following day, a Palace security guard came to our house and one was assigned to me, my wife, and one for each of my children. Having somebody always following me day and night was something new to me. It was worse for my wife, who had to be accompanied even to the bathroom by her guard.

And, my gulay, we had to feed them and give them tips. Those were the longest days and nights of my wife. Our security lasted for over a year after President Magsaysay died when his plane from Cebu crashed.

That was part of my life as a journalist I’ll never forget. But I was glad it happened because I proved to the Herald editors that I was worthy of their choice as a business editor.

Another exposé I made was in connection with import quota allocations. It was when the late Gregorio Licaros picked me up at home so we could inspect businesses and factories that were supposed to have used their quota allocations for imports, but never did. They used them for other purposes.

I knew that was a very dangerous game we were playing, but we did it just the same. That earned Licaros a lot of praise from the press.

Licaros later on became chairman of the Development Bank of the Philippines and governor of the Central Bank, a position he deserved.

That was “RM”—a man of action who listens to the people.

The critics of President Magsaysay accused him of being pro-American. In a way he was, since he needed the help of the Central Intelligence Agency and the US State Department to counter the rise of communism from China with the help of the Hukbalahaps or Huks, whose leaders were being infiltrated by Chairman Mao Tse Tung’s type of communism. RM proved himself ready for the task when as defense secretary during the Elpidio Quirino administration, he led the fight against the Huks. That earned him the support of the people, enough to be president in 1955.

It was a sad day for the Philippines when RM died in a plane crash in 1957. He was indeed a man of the masses and a very popular president.

In Part 2 of my series, I’ll write about my television and radio days, and the many scandals in connection with the grant of import quotas and reparations by Japan to the Philippines.