LEON ELLIVER

this is leon elliver. a lawyer. a writer. a lover. of life.

TRUE SERVICE

“The Carnival is on!” as the dailies declared. It starts with the Senatorial Candidates showing their faces on TV, newspapers, and street posters. Their voices resonate over the radios declaring that they are for the service of children and in the side of women, the poor, and of social justice.

Come March 30, the carnival will break loose and become a big discordant barrage of noise of local candidates declaring too that they will serve the community and will promise everyone that they will be exemplary public servants.

Like the senatorial candidates, their local counterparts will unabashedly announce that they are “the fulfillment of your dreams”, “the hope for a prosperous future”, “the protector of the Constitution”, “your voice in the government”, “the redeemer in the quagmire of poverty”. Ad infinitum!

After 3 years, we start to wonder what service they have done except that we see them building their mansions, importing classy cars and traveling in big cities abroad.

One editorial cartoon in the local paper might have said it all. Political Parties are mere dumps of garbage and the politicians are the hideous flies in those garbage.

When I think about public service, I remember the case I handled as a Special Prosecutor for the Environment way back in 1994 when a poor woman was harassed and gravely threatened. In the middle of the night, she single-handedly tried to stop illegal loggers from transporting illegally cut lumbers in Dansolihon. After a rigorous trial, Hon. Ernesto Malferrari, then Presiding Judge of Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC), Branch 5, penned a decision, part of which states:

It is concededly rare nowadays to see a person dedicate herself to the service of her people and government, as was being done by the person of Guinang LYNDIE N. ACALA. The prosecution has established that Ms. Lyndie N. Acala was “deputized” by the DENR to monitor, police and report any violation of the forestry laws, especially in the matter of smuggling cut timber without proper license from the government.

It was because of her dedication to her work that the accused got mad at her for reporting them, and, since she has become a “thorn” in their illegal activities of smuggling illegal lumber, they resented very much the laudable efforts of the offended party in blocking their operations which hatred caused them to subject the offended party to Grave Threats in order to silence her and let the accused continue unhindered in their onslaught of destroying our forest.

It is not difficult to see why the accused were able to threaten the offended party. She is a woman, a simple wife, living in a place far from the protective mantle of the legal authorities, easily intimidated by threats because there is no strong arm of the law to protect her. But it is the misfortune of the accused that the offended party has the courage to prosecute them for the legal wrong they committed in order to vindicate her sacrifices and efforts in protecting the patrimony of our nation.

She was willing to sacrifice her life and time to come to court so as to seek justice for the harm she was subjected to by the accused who did not even bother to respect the fact that the offended party was only trying her best to do service to her people and nation.

True service comes in many facets. One need not be a leader in the community in order for him to sincerely give himself in the service of humanity. With so much hullabaloo in our electoral process, I feel it is time to deeply ponder whether it is wise or unwise to join local politics.

THE REAL BATTLEGROUND IN THE 2007 ELECTIONS (OR A VIEW FROM A DOOMSDAY SAYER)

In one of the TV shows, interviews were conducted on how common folks react to the incoming 2007 elections. An ominous trend among the answers evidently shows that in the simple minds of our people, all politicians are practically the same. Whoever may be elected will not yield any positive results in their lives. “Kahit na sinong piliin nyo, pare-pareho lang yan sila!”

For that same reason, our countrymen choose those who are popular and not those who present themselves to be real statesmen. Thus, we end up with basketball players, actors, husbands of actresses, radio and TV announcers in the senate, congress and even in local governments.

The observation of many appears valid if not to be considered profound. They are now benumbed by what they perceive as a useless exercise every three years, election after election.

However, the scenario these days in the Halls of Congress, particularly the Lower House, may spell the gravity of the role a congressman has to delicately take if voted upon in his district.

The incoming year in Congress will be most crucial in the history of Philippine politics. The situation is extremely volatile. Should there be a drastic change in the balance of countervailing powers in Congress, our government will take a radical turn, either for better or for worse.

If 80 congressmen or 1/3 of the opposition will win, the impeachment proceedings will be revived, and if approved, it will be passed on to the House of Senate for trial.

However, if impeachment proceedings are prolonged or snuffed out and GMA decides to declare Martial Rule, putting an end to our democratic life, Congress will need about 130 congressmen together with the senators to stop such a menace.

The constitutional provision, Art. VII, Section 18, states:

In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, (s)he may, for a period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law. Within forty-eight hours from the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, the President shall submit a report in person or in writing to the Congress. The Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its members in regular or special session, may revoke such proclamation or suspension, which revocation shall not be set aside by the President….

The Supreme Court cannot curtail the President from further continuing with Martial Rule, thereby putting us back to where we belonged during the Marcos era. Martial Law would take its toll on democratic life, dimming out the lights of freedom.

The question now is who among those who presented themselves and are posturing to become Congressmen in the two districts of Cagayan de Oro City will be considered consistently under the opposition or independent minded enough not to kowtow with GMA.

A cursory look at them may shed more light.

BENJO BENALDO: He could never be with the opposition and will run under the administration. He is a godson of GMA. He is also a good friend, a fratmate and a classmate of Mikee Arroyo before they were kicked out from Ateneo de Manila Law School. He will now “graduate” as a Councilor. His connection with Malacañang has been enormously displayed during the visit of GMA in our fiesta celebration. He presently violates election laws by putting his face together with the mayor in tarpaulins around the city.

EDGAR CABANLAS: The number one bootlicker of Dongkoy. Known to be the man behind the implementation of the illegal piso-piso project and assigned in the purchase of lands from the coffers of the local government. As his master is at the side of the administration, he too will take such side.

ALVIN CALINGIN: The erstwhile deep penetration agent (DPA) of Dongkoy who took an oath to be in the ranks of PDP-Laban knowing that Dongkoy will not be supporting him for any elective office. He is also a cousin of the former Governor Antonio “Bong” Calingin who caught the ire of Dongkoy when he was sitting as Governor of Misamis Oriental. He can neither be considered as a consistent oppositionist nor an independent minded person.

TONY SORIANO: He stood as an opposition and even ran for mayoralty position but all the while was a lawyer of UKC, the contractor of the city allegedly owned by Dongkoy but operated by Dodong Uy. He is a member of the Black and White Movement. Yet, he appears to be neither black nor white and could hardly take a stand against GMA.

ROLANDO UY: The Barangay Captain of Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City is now posturing to run in the camp of Dongkoy and is also under the administration.

MONCHING TABOR: He declared that he will run for Congressman and nothing else. While he has shown himself to be independent minded, he finally gave in and joined Dongkoy. He has taken his oath under the banner of PaDayon Pilipino.

We are then left practically without any choice at all for the House of Congress. If people like Justice Alfredo Lagamon, Roderico Villaroya and some other independent minds will not take the cudgels for the City of Cagayan de Oro as a prominent voice in Congress, no one will speak the truth for us.

No one will try to prevent GMA from pursuing her evil designs if only to remain in power. We will be back with another Tinnex, who, after nine years of kowtowing with the President and betraying us, built a castle in Indahag complete with swimming pool, basking in the warmth of his wealth.

PIT OF SNAKES

The entrance of Intramuros in Manila is grandiose. Turning right upon reaching the first road stands the Manila Cathedral and to your right is the renovated Palacio del Gobernador. A few meters away from the back of the Manila Cathedral is a worn-out wooden building painted with white, the edges of which are beginning to worn-out showing the various coats of other paints.

There are about four steps going up in the building. I needed to pass through narrow corridors as you get deep inside the halls. And I felt like I am inside a dungeon as I get through a room with a signage, LEGAL OFFICE.

The faces inside the office did not seem to welcome anyone. They don’t care nor bother. This is the COMELEC office. After getting out, it feels like I had just freed myself from the pit of a snake.

This is the office that proclaims victory for all leaders of the land. An office that refuses to modernize our electoral process. An office that refuses computerization of balloting and counting of the will of the people.

The big debate rages on either to computerize election or not.

In a country where dishonesty thrives and cheating as the means to assume power, the people are held hostage by the leaders who find it convenient to deliberately curtail any electoral reform that may come at hand.

Well-meaning persons who aspire to become leaders often think twice in presenting themselves as they know they will be subjected to dirty tricks that may along the way.

ITAKWIL ANG TAKSIL! (OR THE DESECRATION OF AN OATH)

Before a crowd of about half a million people, mostly wearing black, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in a pale gray suit and flanked by several dignitaries, stands up expressionless. She is about to be sworn in by Chief Justice Hilario Davide into the highest office of the land. In between the two of them, one administering the oath and the other taking it, is a little girl holding the Holy Bible.

That was January 20, 2002, the so-called EDSA 2.

Raising her right hand while her left palm on top of the Bible, GMA followed every word of Davide, saying: “I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY AND CONSCIENTIOUSLY FULFILL MY DUTIES AS PRESIDENT, PRESERVE AND DEFEND ITS CONSTITUTION, EXECUTE ITS LAWS, DO JUSTICE TO EVERY MAN, AND CONSECRATE MYSELF TO THE SERVICE OF THE NATION. SO HELP ME GOD.”

Though the oath was made in front of a big horde, it was really a pledge before God. It was also the beginning of her reign as President. The oath is mandatory.

Now the simple questions: Has GMA fulfilled her pledge before God? Has she faithfully and conscientiously fulfilled her duties? Has she preserved and defended our Constitution? Has she done justice to every man? Has she consecrated herself to the service of the nation?

ON CONSCIENTIOUSLY FULFILLING HER DUTIES AS PRESIDENT. She promised not to run for President. She lied. In order to secure victory during the presidential election she cheated by appointing a master manipulator in the COMELEC and thereafter, rigged the results.

ON PRESERVING AND DEFENDING THE CONSTITUTION. GMA was identified to have spearheaded the People’s Initiative, declared by the Supreme Court as the grand deception of our people. Despite her denials, her manipulative hands were seen to have pulled the strings on her majority puppets in Congress who tried to railroad the charter change in the Lower House. And now, her compliant cabal is orchestrating the return of the infamous People’s Initiative dubbed as P.I. II.

ON THE SERVICE OF THE NATION. GMA, under cover of darkness, surreptitiously took away from his cell in Makati City Jail convicted rapist Lance Corporal Daniel Smith and transferred him into the custody of another country. She declared a State of Emergency amidst dissention against her. She suspended local leaders posturing to run against her minions but spared corrupt leaders close to her like Chavit Singson.

ON DOING JUSTICE TO EVERY MAN. In her hands, our country has become one of the sickest in Asia. We have also become a country of impunity with more than 800 summary executions during her stint.

After six years, we have yet to see GMA fulfill her oath before God. On second thought, GMA for all we know may be adoring another god - a god with an illimitable greed for power like her.

THE UGLY FACE OF POLITICS (OR AN OPEN LETTER TO RONA CANOY)

My dear Rona,

Our animated discussion last night at VIP Hotel in between your Board Meeting and our Toastmaster’s Educational Session has egged me to write you this open letter. It’s amusing to hear you explain how running into public office came into mind after Butch Canoy was referred to by this paper as the son of Reuben Canoy.

But I was deeply disturbed by how you see things happening in our local politics. The ideals of good governance and the idealism that you have nurtured deep inside still appears ardently aflame. Yes, you want to push for a higher level of politics.

The stark realities appear to point in a different direction. But as you said, if you present yourself and show them true leadership, then losing or winning in the electoral race becomes an irrelevant issue. Of utmost importance is that you have shown everyone a better option.

Winning a seat in the City Hall or in the Halls of Congress, however, is done by the old crop of politicians at all costs. In doing so, the electoral process becomes so sullenly soiled by dirty tricks and in the end, we are left with undesirable leaders.

In Bobby Balinado’s perception, “politicians at present are looked upon with so much disdain.”

Here are my observations on how the political game is played. First, you need money. Oodles and oodles of money. Sacks of small currencies like 20’s and 50’s for the mo­ñedors. Watchers. Purok Leaders. Campaign staff. Transport. Campaign materials. Radio and TV ads. Mobilization expenses for nightly sorties. And finally, more money for those who want their votes to be bought like a cheap commodity.

You would also need an organizational structure, which is referred to as the “machinery.” It is designed to reach the last voter in the community. In fact, it would best serve you if you organize in small patches, showing them your platform of government and the direction to where you will lead our city.

However, some of the politicians have organized the vast masses, especially those in poverty stricken areas, through brainwashing sessions and cultist rituals. The leader then would be presented as a benevolent patron who would redeem them from their sorry state. That way, those unlettered would start revering their cult leader as a demigod. To complete the “machinery”, there is a need for a candidate to align himself or herself with National Group for added resources.

To spice up the campaign, there will be a need to hire entertainers if only to easily mobilize the crowd.

In the end, our election has become a carnival and no longer a decent exercise of choosing an intelligent and sincere person like you into office.

Most of our politicians regard politics as a business endeavor. They measure the amount they need to spend to buy votes, to finance the teachers and to bribe the COMELEC in order to bag their desired position. But beforehand, they have already measured the amount of taxes that the City Hall would be able to collect. They then put into their minds that the money they would be able to stash from our coffers from all the transactions and other dirty deals is a return of their “investments.”

It is of no wonder why Dongkoy declared that he will spend all the money to be collected by the City Hall before leaving his post. He will also leave us with billions of debts from Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).

You may then ask, what about the issues on inefficiency, corruption and other illegal activities that have been done by those leaders who want to be re-elected? These are merely side issues and they do not really count. Our government has apparently no political will to punish our corrupt leaders except if they are on the other side of fence.

So where do we go now?

We still fight Rona. We present ourselves and maybe one day not far from today, our children will not blame us for complacency, decadence and apathy.

I hope these thoughts will somehow guide you in your new journey as you confront the ugly face of politics.

Sincerely yours,

Manning

CLEAN, SAFE … AND COAL?

No Siree! There can never be a CLEAN and SAFE coal-fired power plant anywhere in the world and our coal-fired power plant is no exception. The paid TV ads amounting to several million pesos in ABS-CBN of STEAG Coal-Fired Power Plant in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental is misleading. Not only that it is misleading, it is also deceitful and cleverly designed as a deodorizer.

The phrase “clean and safe coal-fired power plant” is contradictory in terms, a foul smelling oxymoron.

In the recent issue of Sierra, a magazine distributed to Sierra Club members, a worldwide group of environmentalists, it declared that, “Despite the industry’s hype, there’s no such thing as clean coal (power plant)”.

In the United States alone, though coal-fired power plants generate more than half of the electricity and about 22% of the energy produced, it contributes to the 36% of the over-all release of carbon dioxide, the main culprit in global warming. How could that ever be clean?

The article entitled “Can Coal Be Clean?” authored by Marilyn Berlin Snell in Sierra also stated that coal-fired power plant in the United States contributes to twenty-four thousand (24,000) premature deaths a year. How could that ever be safe?

The TV ads of STEAG also claims EFFICIENCY, but it did not show us how. It’s a despicably barren claim. If STEAG shows us that they are operating in an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC), then we might be convinced of its efficiency.

In such a system, “crushed coal is mixed with oxygen and water in high-pressure gasifier to make ‘syngas”, a combustible fuel that produces extremely low emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury, and particulates. In contrast to the pulverized-coal technologies, the IGCC method uses less water, generates less solid waste, and can concentrate carbon dioxide emissions, making carbon dioxide easier to capture and store”.

Apparently, the STEAG plant in Villanueva is not among the IGCC power plants. Moreover, I have not heard of any claims from STEAG officers that they are in the process of “carbon dioxide capture and storage”, a system where the plant would find ways “to corral the carbon dioxide emitted by the coal industry, transport it, and ‘sequester’ it deep in the ocean, underground coal seams, or saline reservoirs”.

This process would drastically reduce the carbon emissions but would necessarily raise the cost of coal power. Thus, this leads us to the challenge posed by Task Force Macajalar Spokeperson, Bencyrus Ellorin.

After a long conversation with Banker-Economist, Sixto Roxas, they came up with the big challenge to the owner-operator of Coal-Fired Power Plant to secure the lives and limbs of the residents of the nearby places, including the environment by securing an insurance policy from a reputable insurance company like the Lloyds of London.

With such procurement of insurance policy, the community will be assured that STEAG is really looking at their welfare. Besides, STEAG has been boasting that it is spending Thirty Million Pesos in community development projects if only to appease the community that it is really taking care of them and the environment. With a reputable insurance company assessing future risk, people’s health and the ecology and thereafter, paying the premium, the community will lay assure that they are in good hands. Yet, I doubt if STEAG will readily stand up to the challenge.

Nevertheless, it is about time for our government especially those who kowtow with STEAG to start studying the taxing system for coal-fired power plants. Coal burning for energy generation imposes severe health and environmental costs that are not factored into the cost of producing electricity.

Government may well subsidize for such social costs. This had already been done in Norway and Sweden. The European Union, including Germany, is actually debating about the taxing system involving fossil-fuels, among them, coal.

STEAG State Power Inc. President Andreas Rubin may be partly right when he said, “We may not be able to change the world with this project but at least we can make a difference in the lives of the people who live near us”. But the change will surely be for the worse and the change in the world would be for the worsening of global warming.

The glaring fact remains that a coal-fired power plant can never be clean, safe and could hardly be efficient. It will only happen, according to Sierra, “when pigs fly”. In tagalog, “Pagputi ng uwak!”