Talking with the opposition

House Minority leader Francis Escudero (1^st District, Sorsogon) says he cannot be accused of being one of the elected government officials who received top secret material from accused spy Michael Ray Aquino by electronic mail because of one simple reason: he doesn't have an email address. Escudero made the rather startling revelation at the end of a press conference last week at The Apo View Hotel; I was asking for a way to contact him and he whipped out a calling card and started scribbling his cell phone number at the back of it. Now I don't ask people like him for their cell phone address because that information is a little too private, so when he volunteered it I had to ask if he didn't want to give me just his email address instead. “I don't have an email address,” he replied, and I had to ask him again just to make sure I heard him right. “I don't have an email address,” he repeated. “Low-tech ako, e. All I need is my cell phone.” He has had a string of three email addresses (all web-based, presumably), but all have been canceled by the system because he rarely opened them. I found that strange since he is quite young, and I presumed he would at least have an active email address since, second to text, that is the easiest way to communicate with people these days. He is no technophobe either since he has a high-end cell phone and was texting away during lulls in our interview. The House Minority Office (which, as his card indicates, is located at the basement of the Batasan Complex), does have an email address, so if you have queries you can send them to minorityoffice@gmail.com.

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Anyway, our interview was quite fruitful because it crystallized for me what the opposition is fighting for. When I received the invitation to the press conference some friends told me to ask him when all the political squabbling will end (actually most of them told me to tell him categorically to stop all the political squabbling), and so the first question I asked him and fellow opposition stalwart Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio of South Cotabato even before the press con started was that. The answer was short: “When Mrs. Arroyo tells the truth.” “Hindi pa rin siya sumasagot sa mga paratang sa kanya hanggang ngayon (She still hasn't answered the charges against her until now),” he said. “Why doesn't she answer? Baka lalo siyang mabaon (She might sink deeper).”

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Escudero said the venue for the President to tell the truth about allegations of cheating would have been the impeachment trial, but she prevailed upon her supporters in the Lower House to scuttle it. Having lost in the impeachment stage, he said, the opposition is left with no recourse but to take the matter to the streets. “It has always been about the truth,” Escudero said. “That is why we have been moving around the country, to get the people to support our call for the truth.” I told him that this crusade for truth seems to be getting the least media attention, with more focus being given to the call for the President to resign. “The problem is we can't control what the media report. We always say that the primary issue is that the President tell the truth, but then we get asked what should be done if she is found to have cheated in the elections. We naturally say she should resign, so the headlines the next day focus on resignation and not on the search for the truth. But is has always been about the truth,” he said.

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But since the President is not about to expound on her “I am sorry” address, the opposition will keep beating at its door through protest actions and through the budget hearings that the executive department must go through. “For example,” Escudero said, “we will grill them on PhilHealth. Why was the government giving away free health insurance in 2004 but cannot give it anymore now? They also used the road users' tax. They will have to answer these during the budget hearings.” Another venue is the formation of a “Citizens' Commission” that would “give the President the chance to answer” the charges.

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Escudero, however, was a bit vague about this “Citizen's Commission” and what it is supposed to accomplish and how it would accomplish it. As near as I could tell, it would be something like a “people's court” in which the opposition would “try” the President for her alleged offenses, and this much could be gleaned from Escudero's statement that the Citizen's Commission would give Mrs. Arroyo “the chance to answer” the allegations of cheating in last year's elections. How they would get the President to actually face the Commission is a mystery, and unfortunately the flow of the press conference (which was attended by a number of other reporters) led us away from the topic and I wasn't able to steer it back. At any rate, Escudero emphasized that the intent of a Citizen's Commission is to get to the truth, a word that has really been buried underneath the political ramblings that have filled the media the past months.

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I actually told Escudero that the perception of many people we talk to here in Mindanao is that the opposition is only intent on unseating the President by hook or by crook, using any means possible – legal or otherwise – to achieve it. “It has always been about the truth,” he repeated, and also repeated that all this will end “when she tells the truth.” But isn't power the ultimate goal? “Let me make it clear,” Escudero said. “We don't want to grab power. Who will replace GMA if she resigns ? The Constitution answers that: the Vice President. What would happen if she is removed from office through People Power? There should be a transition group who will have only one task: to call for clean elections. Hindi kami ang papalit.”

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Escudero said the country should have learned from the experience of the past two People Power uprisings: “Mrs. Corazon Aquino should not have sat as President. Mrs. Arroyo should not have sat as President. What they should have done was call for new elections.” It was therefore no surprise when he welcomed the then-new (or freshly renewed) call for snap elections, although he said it cannot be done “under this Comelec.” “We need to overhaul the Comelec first, removing those who had participated in cheating in last year's elections.” He said unless this is done, any elections – be it a snap poll or the regular elections in 2007 - “will not be credible.” Escudero also criticized the President for not having taken steps to clean up the electoral process in spite of the perception that the 2004 polls were the dirtiest in recent history. “Has she done anything to address this? She has not even certified any bill on overhauling the elections as priority.”

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Escudero said an important first step is to cleanse the voters' list, which is presumably so questionable that it gave rise to massive cheating last year. How about computerization, I asked, and he said that per se “is no guarantee” that elections will be clean and “may even give way to cheating.” He said the opposition has been pushing for computerization to be held on a pilot basis in certain areas before it is implemented nationwide, just to make sure it does work and does not result in even more problems. And even before elections are held, voter education must be conducted so that the people would learn to vote for those who would really serve them and not those who are paying them off. “We have had painful experiences in this area, and we can learn from these,” he said.

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“The root of our crisis,” Escudero declared, “is rotten elections, and the solution is clean elections. We are a young democracy and we are going through growing pains, but we hope we can learn from our past. We hope we don't repeat history.”

Another text hoax

About a week and a half ago I got this text from a close friend: "pls pray 4 pstr ferdie flores, msnary in east timor, he's going 2 b killd ds sunday thru beating. pls pray dat God will not allow it. frwrd to other christians." If you don't speak textese, here's a translation: "Please pray for Pastor Ferdie Flores, missionary in East Timor. He's going to be killed this Sunday through beating. Please pray that God will not allow it. Forward to other Christians." As is my habit when I receive such messages, I took it with a grain of salt but resisted scolding the one who sent it to me for passing on unconfirmed information like that. How did I know it was unconfirmed and thus dubious? Well, for one thing, if Flores was really to be killed that Sunday, it would surely have hit the news already. We do have an embassy in East Timor, and any problem of this magnitude would have merited its attention. Media would also have already reported it. Also, the "frwrd to other christians" was a dead giveaway, a tool used by spammers both in emails and in texts to get the spurious message spreading. Correctly or not, I simply ignored the text, certain that it was another hoax.

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Soon, however, it became apparent that the text had taken a life of its own and was circulating not just in the Philippines but in other countries as well. A number of people I know sent me the same text, and that Sunday – the day of the supposed execution by beating – Pastor Ferdie Flores was mentioned in our church and prayers were made for him and his family. One of our members had taken the effort to verify the existence of Flores, and he found that there indeed was a Pastor Ferdie Flores, a native of Iligan City, who is a missionary to East Timor. I was unconvinced, through, that he was in the sort of danger the circulating text was purporting, so concerned that we could be praying for a hoax, I texted a friend who works at the Department of Foreign Affairs (who had visited East Timor about two years ago on a UN mission) and asked her to verify the report – something I know should have done when I first got the information. Her response was immediate: "I could try," indicating that as far as the DFA was concerned, no such "execution" had been scheduled.

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My friend then sent a follow-up: "Do you really believe the East Timorese government or the Catholics (who make up the majority of the East Timor population) would beat him to death? We have an embassy there and if he's being deported, or going to be killed for that matter, it would be informed." True, I said, and I told her I myself was extremely skeptical of the text. But I still asked her to confirm the report with finality and with authority, and so she said she would call her former boss who is the husband of the Philippine Ambassador to East Timor. Moments later she called, and I had to rush out of the church sanctuary to answer her (I was communicating with her throughout the church service, anxious as I was to get confirmation immediately). "Tell your churchmates that Ferdie Flores is alive and well," she said, "and that he himself is surprised that such a text has been going around. He has been having some problems with residents there, but he has not been scheduled for execution."

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Back in the office that afternoon (yes, I work Sundays) I googled the words "pastor ferdie flores east timor," and I came upon Christian websites in which members from all over the world were praying for delivery for Pastor Flores and his family. As I said, the text had spread not just in the Philippines but in other parts of the world as well. The lesson we can learn is to never forward texts like these until we verify if they are accurate. It is unfortunate that even Christians can become tools of disinformation, and we must do all we can to prevent this from happening again. It's actually simple: just don't forward texts like this.

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It is now difficult to find any more information on Flores and his family because apparently the organization that had sent him (which I can't even find out) pulled out his prayer letters for security reasons. Fortunately, a UK-based reporter was able to access one of the latest prayer letters of Pastor Flores before it was pulled out of the net. The reporter says Pastor Flores “wrote of a terrifying ordeal that left one of the co-workers, Maria, so traumatized that it caused her to suffer a 'breakdown.' Pastor Ferdie said:

“Few months back, we rejoiced for the breakthrough in Laclo, a village 12 km southwest of Manatuto. Four families with 10 of them follow the Lord in believer’s baptism. Since then we started to have a regular Bible study every Saturday.
"October 8, I and my family with two other believers went to Laclo for our regular Bible study. There about 25 believers gathered in one of the church member’s house. While I was preaching I noticed that there were people surrounded the house making noise trying to destruct our service. Just when I finished preaching and I heard a commotion. I went outside and saw people running away back and forth chasing each other. I noticed some believers lost their patience and was drawn to the rumble. While we are trying our best to pacify the situation, I feel terror is imminent. Jeannie then rushed our children to safety. In the next few minutes a mob appeared from every direction is coming towards us. As the mob comes closer I seated calmly and some hot tempered, furious catechists started to ask intimidating, long and tedious questions. I tried to answer the questions short and simple and try to evade discussion. In spite of this trouble the Lord is in control.. Finally the fire was subdued. It is a very long and horrifying day but praise the Lord the mob left us unharmed.
"The believers later told me that they already heard the rumor that some notorious fanatics are planning to beat me but they didn’t inform me about it. In the eyes of our companion the aborted horror is still obvious. Maria, our companion had nervous breakdown in the last few days. Jeannie also bore the trauma as well.”

Waniban's waters are so clean it's unbelievable. It's also wonderfully relaxing, and we enjoyed simply sitting around. 

My mother-in-law Cecil, Dadaii, and Shaolin strike a pose. 

Sunrise at Gregorio Beach Resort... 

The first interesting sight on the way to Mati is the "Sleeping Dinosaur," an island lying on Pujada Bay that looks like, well, a sleeping dinosaur. Some people -- like my brother-in-law Phillip -- can't seem to see the figure, but this picture should remove all doubt. 

MAGICAL MATI

My family (and extended family) and I spent the long weekend in Mati, our favorite place in the world, and since some of those who were with us were making their first trip there, we made sure we visited two of the most beautiful places there: Waniban (actually spelled Juan Ivan but this is rarely used) island and the mangrove forest/nursery in barangay Guang-guang. Waniban is a 4-hectare island surrounded by white sands and volcanic rocks, and a more beautiful place one is hard-pressed to find. Located in Pujada Bay a few kilometers off Gregorio Beach Resort where we were billeted, one reaches Waniban by boat, which we rented from the adjacent resort. Fifteen minutes later we were in the cleanest, most beautiful beach we had ever seen, and the fact that it was still largely undeveloped made it even more magical. The first thing we did was arrange for our lunch, and one of the wonderful things about Waniban is that the family that is caring for it serves seafood newly caught from the waters, making for the freshest feast one can ever enjoy. Having taken care of that we started off on a trek around the island, and since Waniban is quite small it took less than an hour to do it – and that was including swimming and sight-seeing breaks.

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Lunch was, as expected, simple but delicious, made up entirely of fish: broiled, tinola, and kinilaw. We wanted Coke, of course, so one of the caretakers sped off on a small banca to the mainland to buy some, making it look as simple as hopping on board a bicycle to buy soft drinks from the neighborhood sari-sari. After a short rest and some more swimming it was time to head back, for we did not want to get caught in the late afternoon winds that made Pujada Bay's waters a little choppy. We rested a while at Gregorio, and then we were off again to Guang-guang with its 21,000-plus hectares of mangroves that are either newly planted or old growth. I keep using the word "magical" in Mati and Guang-guang is no exception: it's truly magical to walk through mangroves in shallow water for many many meters away from the shore. There is talk that the water actually gushes from the hard coral floor to fill the area, but I think it's just the tide coming in; either way, being at the mangrove forest/nursery as the water rises is wondrous because the place literally turns from placid lake to flowing river – albeit with saltwater.

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Sitting in the warm waters of Guang-guang always makes us wonder why we do not have something like it here in Davao City. It should be fairly simple and there is certainly a lot of shoreline available that is not being used commercially. At the beach property of my friend Atty. Jude Ralph Yap in Binugao, Toril there is a small mangrove area, which goes to show that mangroves can thrive in Davao City if we only put our minds to it. If environment protection by itself is not enough to spur us, then perhaps this bit of news emailed by a friend can give us more reason and impetus to do it:

Trees Protected Some in India From Tsunami

Coastal villages set behind mangrove forests in southeast India suffered much less damage in the Asian tsunami than places without the protection of trees, a new study reports.

The massive wave last December struck 11 countries, leaving more than 230,000 people dead or missing.

Researchers led by Finn Danielsen of the Nordic Agency for Development and Ecology in Copenhagen, Denmark, studied tsunami damage along the coast in the Cuddalore District in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.

"In the north, stands of mangroves had five associated villages, two on the coast and three behind the mangrove. The villages on the coast were completely destroyed, whereas those behind the mangrove suffered no destruction, even though the waves damaged areas unshielded by vegetation north and south of these villages," the researchers report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

South of that area, they added, "the shore is lined with Casuarina plantations. Five villages are located within these plantations and all experienced only partial damage. The plantations were undamaged except for rows of 5 to 10 trees nearest to the shore, which were uprooted."

Overall, the researchers found damage in 35 percent of the coastal land without trees, 15 percent where there were some trees and less than 1 percent where there was protection by dense tree growth.

The researchers noted that mangrove forests have become threatened in some areas and commented that "conserving or replanting coastal mangroves and greenbelts should buffer communities from future tsunami events."