Resignation Movement's Transformation: An Analysis By Alejandro Lichauco

By Alejandro Lichauco
ANALYSIS Column on Tribune Online (The Philippines' Daily Tribune)

03/06/2008

"The resign movement should transform into war against economic treason of political leaders.
For that treason and not - repeat, not - corruption is what lies at the root of the nation's crisis, of which the ZTE anomaly is but a miniscule aspect and manifestation. The nation's problem with GMA started long before GMA came up the presidential scene. It started after the Marcos dictatorship, with that cursed import liberalization program of 1986 that became the defining signature of the first post Edsa government, and which eventually lead to the mass slaughter of the nation's sources of livelihood. That program would peak with the nation's hasty membership in GATT and the WTO, which GMA as the then lead of the Senate committee on economic affairs, with the prodding of then President FVR, forced down the throat of the nation with the collaboration of the opposition.

And with FVR, the nation simply went on an orgy of selling off just about every crown jewel of the nation - from Fort Bonifacio, to Petron, to National Steel and so on and so forth - to global investors - all in the name and for the cause of FVR's favorite ideology called globalization.
Then came the move to amend the Constitution in order to eliminate remaining national restrictions on foreign ownership, particularly land. That move started with FVR, pursued by Estrada, further pursued by GMA only to end up in the decision of the Supreme Court that the whole damn thing was unconstitutional after all.

Following Edsa I, every government of this accursed - only Christian nation in Asia, was obsessed by one thing, and one thing only: To auction off the entire patrimony of the nation to international investors and to stifle any effort to industrialize the economy. In fact, the present Constitution contains a provision which literally prohibits the kind of industrial policy that made economic miracles of our neighbors.

The ZTE is but a manifestation of what the late Claro M. Recto called the colonial mentality of the nation's political leaders: The mentality of giving in to just about everything demanded or just requested or merely wished for foreign governments and foreign investors.
And that colonial mentality was implanted by guess whom? By no less than the US government, which as far back as 1949 made it official policy of Washington to see to it that this country is governed by leaders who owe their election to the CIA and other agencies of the US government.
That policy was even given the official designation of PPS 23, or Policy Planning Staff Memorandum 23. And if you don't believe that ask Dick Pascual of the Star who exposed that in several of his columns.

Any nation whose leaders have been deliberately programmed and habituated to be nothing but the servile executors of a particular foreign power eventually transforms into a nation whose leaders become the servile executors of just about any foreign power prepared and capable of buying those leaders off. Whether it be the US or, in the latest case, China. Next time around it could be Russia, South Korea or even tiny Taiwan and even tinier Singapore.

This is what the general membership of the ongoing Resign Movement should realize. GMA is a problem and should go. But she is only the shadow of a more real problem which should be identified and recognized for what it is. And that problem is imperialism. Whether it be the imperialism of the US or the imperialism of China. For any great power - whether it be capitalist or communist would have an inner inclination to expand and dominate and that's what happened to America, and that's what beginning to happen to China.

Modern wars today aren't won by armed conquest but by economic conquest. And the foreign conquest of the Philippines can be achieved by a foreign power acting indirectly through Filipino political and economic leaders in whom the colonial mentality has been implanted. That's GMA and that's just about every president we have had since 1946 with the exception of the late Carlos P. Garcia who was maneuvered out of power by the CIA for his "Filipino First" policy and who used former President Macapagal for its (CIA's) purpose.

If you don't believe that then read the confessions of the CIA man in charge of that affair. His name is Joseph Smith and his book was titled Portrait of a Cold Warrior.

The ZTE affair is actually an affair of rivalry between two great powers fighting for control of the Philippine economy and its politics. And that's the point which the Resign Movement should realize. That's the point which the Armed Forces in particular whose constitutional duty is to secure the sovereignty and the integrity of the national territory should realize.

To maintain one's allegiance to the present globalist regime is to commit nothing less than treason. For globalism, for reasons to be explained in further articles, is treason incarnate. And all our political leaders since Edsa have been confirmed globalists.

Read their lips."

My Comment: This is a spot on analysis by Mr Lichauco on the "State of Affairs" of the corruption, greed and the general malaise besetting our country.

A friend of mine from high school forwarded to me the "NSCB DATA VALIDATES RP'S WORSENING POVERTY SITUATION" report. After reading this and reacting to it, I've read this column by Mr Lichauco. This is it, I said to myself; another "fresh viewpoint" in the vein of nationalists Claro M Recto and Renato Constantino.

I don't think this is another conspiracy theory, as this goes beyond theories. As one astute US diplomat says: "we are here to protect US interests." And he was right. We have our own government officials; whether elected or not to protect OUR OWN interests. They are there as public servants, elected or appointed to do just that: to be of public service and to protect or interest against competing international interests.

When our own government officials: our own leaders; stop doing that, Mr Lichauco is right to brand them as committing treason.

We are not harking for more nationalist movement or becoming militant nationalists, we just wanted what is good and fair for our own citizens. What is rightfully ours in the first place.

When we start to liberalize and privatizing our public assets, we start to lose control. And that experience is nothing new. All around the world, when a particular public utility is privatized the consumers suffer. Let us not kid ourselves, private companies are there to make a profit, and profit they make. We are always being guiled into thinking that opening our public utilities and natural resources to liberalization would give more competition and hence, lower costs: wrong! Experience around the world proves that thinking wrong.

As members of GATT and the WTO, we like to think we belong to the big boys' network. What we do not know is that we are the pawns that big boys in the GATT and TWO play with. Free trade is a one way street, and that street goes the way to the big boys like the US and EU.

Those who are for global liberalization obviously wants that precisely because there is something in it for them. Smaller countries like us are gullible enough to believe that. Why do you think there is always a large of protesters in any given GATT or WTO meeting?

We should therefore heed the call of people such as Mr Lichauco. For our leaders to pay attention and start leading us into a more glorious future. For every citizen to make sure that whoever commits "treason" be punished and expelled from public office. If we fail to do that, we will become a country of poor for eternity.

M Baylon Jr