Moral Outrage

Politics and morality cannot be divorced

Inquirer News Service

THE just-concluded impeachment proceedings against Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo highlighted the assumption that this process is political and not moral -- a numbers game, wherein the majority, right or wrong, prevails.

I submit that this "fragmented mindset" -- wherein human activity in economics, politics, business, education, etc. is divorced from ethics, morals and values -- has resulted precisely in our fragmented society today. It is the root cause of most of the problems of the human condition in general, and of our country in particular.

Business and economics without values and ethics result in poverty, alienation and human degradation. In fact, postmodern business and economic theory states that business and economic success rests more on complementation and cooperation, rather than on ruthless competition; and that the more moral and ethical one is in his or her business practice, the more successful he or she will become. The world's biggest and most successful companies have learned this -- many of them, the hard way.

Education likewise is fast learning that true education is more of formation, rather than information; and that facts and technology are better learned and used if they are taught in the context of values and morality -- in the seamless integration of technology and values. For in truth, education is what is left behind, after one has forgotten everything that he or she memorized in class.

The same is true with politics. Edsa People Power I and II -- against Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph Estrada -- is really the result of the outpouring of moral outrage against two presidents who divorced politics from its moorings on morals and values. And the tangible taste of incompleteness and lack of closure in the Arroyo impeachment case is again another example of politics bereft of morality. President Arroyo and her majority allies have to realize that they can only be successful politically if they practice politics within the context of morals and values.

For, indeed, there is only one "Reality," albeit with two dimensions -- the interior and the exterior; or spirituality and economics; or moral values and politics; or ethics and business; or morals and praxis. And that any attempt to improve the human condition will have better chances of success if it involves the seamless integration of these two dimensions of one and the same Reality. We can only be reconciled as a nation if politics is practiced in the context of values and morality.

SAMUEL J. YAP, 118 Granada, San Antonio Heights, Sto. Tomas, Batangas

Poor Saudi

Commentary : Another crossroad for Saudi Arabia?

Mai Yamani
Inquirer News Service

SAUDI Arabia's decade-long, royal death watch is over. King Fahd, the longest-serving king in Saudi Arabia's history (24 years), is dead. For six weeks, the King lay in a hospital fighting death-something he has been doing, in reality, ever since he suffered a massive stroke 10 years ago. The identity of the new king is clear, but not of the one who will really wield power.

As the political underlings of Marshal Tito felt when he was dying in a divided Yugoslavia, the King's royal relations (also his political underlings) feared that the ruler's death would unleash chaos. And his death came at a time when the wider Middle East is abuzz with talk of democratic change. From Egypt to Lebanon to Iran, political passions are mounting, along with a renewed optimism. Street demonstrations, elections and political debate in cafes and on the Internet are flowering as never before. Even the conservative states of the Arabian Peninsula are embroiled in lively disputes about women ministers, Shia representation, Islamist participation in the political process, and even the future of their ruling monarchies. In these dynamic circumstances, Saudi Arabia stands out.

Indeed, Saudi Arabia seems trapped in a state of suspended animation, its body politic sick and infirm. The country is caught between two choices: progressive reform or continuing paralysis and decay.

Divisions in the kingdom are sharper than ever, and the King's death might deepen them further. Two rival camps-the so-called reformers and the hard liners-are forming in the Al Saud, the world's largest ruling family, with 22,000 princes and princesses.

The reformers have less authority but are the acceptable face of the Saudi dictatorship internationally. Their new leader, King Abdullah, appears to have legitimacy because of his seniority in the family. The reformers talk about partial municipal elections, national dialogue and the rights of women, who they hint may one day even be allowed to drive cars!

Even these limited efforts are obstructed by the hardline Wahhabi camp, which controls the security forces, the judiciary system and the real levers of domestic power. Indeed, Prince Naif, the minister of the interior and leader of the hardliners, has either silenced or imprisoned hundreds of the key Saudi reformers.

One reason for the weakness of Abdullah's faction is that he has scant support within the family because the Al Saud center of power lies with the al Fahds-the six full brothers of the dead King Fahd, most importantly Prince Sultan, the defense minister, and Prince Naif. On the surface, the succession has proceeded as expected, with Crown Prince Abdullah becoming king now that Fahd has died. In spite of this, Abdullah may not be able to shape the future, because he seems doomed to lose any showdown with Naif's forces.

Abdullah's power base is in the National Guard, and his claim on the support of Saudi Arabia's modernizing forces. Both are insufficient to check Naif. A key early test of Abdullah's kingship will be his success in freeing the hundreds of political reformers now in prison, especially three respected academics whom he encouraged to make reform proposals, only to be incarcerated by Naif.

Now that King Fahd is gone, old scores among his numerous brothers and half-brothers, not to mention the thousands of princes in the next generation, will need to be settled. But don't look for hope in the new generation, which is not necessarily young or progressive. Indeed, the Al Saud clan's third and fourth generations are divided not only in political and religious affiliation; they also range in age from 20 to 90 years old. All await a chance to rule.

So Saudi Arabia's people confront this key question: can an authoritative ruler emerge who will reunite the country in the progressive tradition of the late King Faisal? The sad likelihood is that, given the power of the obstructionists under Naif, a decisive and energetic king is unlikely to emerge. The direction the country will take in the longer term can best be assessed by whom Abdullah chooses to name as the successor to Prince Sultan, Naif's chief ally who has already been named Abdullah's heir.

If Abdullah (aged 83) skips a generation and appoints a more open-minded younger figure, there may be hope. But Naif (age 77), his full brothers-including Sultan (age 82)-and their supporters within the Wahhabi establishment appear too entrenched to allow that to happen. Like the geriatric successions that preceded the collapse of the Soviet Union, the succession in Saudi Arabia seems to be only a step short in an inexorable march toward political decay. Russia found a young reformer in Mikhail Gorbachev too late. It may also be too late for Saudi Arabia. Project Syndicate

Mai Yamani is an author and research fellow at the Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House).

Gloriagate Blogs

Posted by Alecks Pabico
PCIJ

LET a thousand (journalist) blogs bloom.

No doubt about it, the current political crisis rocking the Arroyo administration has made blogging, for all its unmediated, instantaneous and personal nature, an attractive reporting medium for Filipino journalists. Of course, the case for blogging journalists has already been made by the likes of Manuel L. Quezon III, Jove Francisco (By Jove!), Chin Wong ( Digital Life), Erwin Oliva (cyberbaguioboy), to name a few, even before we at the PCIJ started venturing into the blogosphere ourselves.

Recent welcome additions to the journalist blogging community are GMA Network's Howie Severino (Side Trip with Howie Severino), who has a blog on blogs today, and Philippine Daily Inquirer's editorialist John Nery (Newsstand). Much earlier, we also saw GMA reporters coming out with blogs of their own — Tina Panganiban-Perez ( crimson page) and Joseph Morong (Essays and Other Lullabies). The media network is said to be encouraging its reporters to go into blogging.

Another journalist has also been blogging anonymously since May at The Early Edition.

While the mainstream media based in Metro Manila seem slow in grasping the potential of blogging as an important addition to the journalistic toolkit, interesting developments have happened elsewhere. In Cebu, Sun.Star has spiced up its coverage of "Gloriagate" by launching the Citizen Watch: The Arroyo Presidency blog. There's also dyAB, the first radio station (as far as I know) that is complementing all its programs with blogs ( dyAB Abante Bisaya). 

Cardinal Sin, 76

Jaime Cardinal Sin, 76
Former Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin passed away Tuesday morning after a lingering illness, DZMM reported. He was 76.
abs-cbnNEWS.com

Cardinal Sin dead at 76

Philippines' Cardinal Sin dies at 76 MSNBC  ... his death early Tuesday. "Our call to all the faithful is to include in their prayers the soul of Cardinal Sin," Sescon said.

Cardinal Jaime Sin Dies at 76 Los Angeles Times, CA  MANILA, Philippines -- Cardinal Jaime Sin, the Roman Catholic cleric who helped lead revolts that ousted two Philippine presidents, died early Tuesday.

Philippines Cardinal Sin is dead BBC News, UK  Cardinal Sin played a key role in the Philippines' transition to democracy following the lengthy dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.

Cardinal Jaime Sin Dies at 76 San Francisco Chronicle, CA  Cardinal Jaime Sin, the Roman Catholic cleric who helped lead revolts that ousted two Philippine presidents, died early Tuesday. He was 76.

Hello, Garci Ring Tone Download

Here are Mp3 and wav files of the Hello Garci ring tone:

Indymedia server:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (124.1 KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (72.1 KB)

Server Mirror 1:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

Server Mirror 2:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

Server Mirror 3:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

To save, right-click on the file and click save as.

Many thanks to QC Indymedia and Yuga of PinoyBlog and Ploghost for hosting the files.

Links to the entire tape are at the PCIJ blog.

How do I put it in my phone?

1. Download your choice by clicking any or all of the files.

2. Transfer the downloaded file/s from the computer to your phone using either an infrared connection or a USB-to-phone cable.

3. For those whose phones have GPRS/WAP access, point your phone's browser to www.txtpower.org and download it directly to your phone.

4. Once transferred to your phone, the sound file may be used as ringtone for calls or text messages.

Other options

1. Ask for file-transfer from friends who may already have the ringtone. Both your phones should have either infrared or bluetooth connections.

2. Join any of the future anti-GMA rallies and look for the TXTPower banner. Next big date is June 24.

3. Watch out for the TXTPower "Hello Garci" Ringtone Download Team when they go around offices, stores and tiangges, communities and schools!

Download Garci Ring Tone From TxtPower

June 17, 2005
Here are Mp3 and wav files of the Hello Garci ring tone:

Server Mirror 1:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

Server Mirror 2:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

Server Mirror 3:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

To save, right-click on the file and click save as.

Many thanks to Yuga of PinoyBlog and Ploghost for hosting the files.

Links to the entire tape are at the PCIJ blog.

ABS-CBN Download

 

You can download the controversial "Gloria-Garci" tapes from ABS-CBN Archive.

PNP's Ills

What's Wrong with the PNP?

THE United Nations Development Program has come up with a first-of-a-kind study on the Philippine National Police (PNP)—what ails the organization, what prevents it from performing basic functions, and what can be done about its problems.

We are highlighting two issues that the voluminous study tackled and which have a direct impact on the country's peace and order situation: the relationship between the PNP leadership and local police officers and the authority being exercised by local government units (LGUs) over the internal operations of the police. The UNDP report has been distributed to the key command and staff offices of the PNP for their own comments. Below are excerpts from the study that are related to these issues:

A. Local police officers believe that local police units rank very low in the priorities of the PNP leadership.

· What was striking in the interviews with police officers at the police station level was their perception that the local police units are not a priority area of concern to the PNP leadership; hence, they are at the bottom of the pecking order in terms of training and resources.

· Local police officers believe that the PNP leadership focuses and concentrates resources on the various specialized task forces created at the height of a particular peace and order issue generating media attention: kidnap-for-ransom cases, anti-terrorism, transnational crimes, gambling, organized crime, illegal drugs campaign, and the like.

B. There is resentment for special task forces created and based in the national/central office.

· Stories reveal resentment for these task forces that—to the local police officer—appear to have easy access to operational funds, resources, and equipment, while ordinary policemen have to rely on their own resourcefulness to procure basic supplies. An example of the perceived disparity is an incident with a Quezon City police officer, who narrated how local police officers are not supplied with bullets for their service firearm. According to him, when they are issued their service firearm, they are given two magazines with 26 bullets. The bullets are never replenished; hence, when a police officer uses his firearm in operations, he has to use personal funds to purchase bullets, at the cost of P15 for every 9-mm bullet.

· Task forces such as the National Anti-Crime Task Force have unlimited resources, including ammunition. The advantage of having classmates and colleagues in these task forces, according to one officer, is that they can spare you surplus supplies such as bullets.

· Because the members of the task forces are based in the central offices, and coordinate directly with the PNP leadership, spot promotions come easily to them.

· Even basic administrative supplies are lacking, with no available budget for necessities such as bond paper for reports. Local units rely on the generosity of business establishments in the area to either donate basic supplies, or sell them at discounted prices.

C. There is resentment over the issue of spot promotions.

· The perception that local police unit operations are undervalued was particularly evident in the resentment over spot promotions. While task force members could easily obtain spot promotions, successful operations by local officers would go unrewarded, or worse, others more politically savvy in the central or regional offices would reap the benefits of these operations.

D. There is unwillingness to perform certain basic functions.

· Patrol functions are the backbone of police operations, and included among patrol functions are traffic services and effecting arrests. Local police officers have expressed an unwillingness to perform these basic functions, seeing them as an unnecessary nuisance.

· Police officers both in Metro Manila and regional offices commented that so much time was spent serving warrants of arrest, which, according to him, should just be served by court process servers. It is not necessary for the police to do this.

· According to personnel interviewed in Region IV-A, traffic management should no longer be a function of local police units, considering that traffic management us already performed by local executives.

· Unless policies are changed to accord deserved recognition and resources to the patrolman and local police officers and units, an improvement in the delivery of basic police services may not materialize.

The UNDP study likewise observed that the bigger challenges facing the PNP lie in the organization's relationship with other agencies, specifically the local government units. It said that "the authority being exercised by local government units over the internal operations and decision-making of the PNP creates an environment extremely vulnerable to undue politicization of the police force, destroys command responsibility and administration management authority of the PNP."

The study suggested that the relationship between the PNP and the local government units "should be one of partnership rather than one of superior-subordinate relationship." As it is, the mayors and governors have the final say on who gets appointed to be police chiefs in their areas.

"Local government units should not interfere with the internal administration of the PNP, particularly in recruitment, promotion, appointment and discipline, in the allocation and utilization of financial resources, in the day-to-day police operations, and in the transactional decision-making process of the PNP within their locality," the study said.

The study called on other agencies as well, such as the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Bureau of Customs, the Land Transportation Office, and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, which currently perform policing functions, should "focus their functions on investigative monitoring and relegate functions of case cased intelligence, investigation, and apprehension" to the PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation.

Alternative Arroyo Download

Posted by Alecks Pabico

PCIJ
 

THE tsunami-like surge in bandwidth usage due to the unprecedented download requests for the controversial tapes has already forced the shutdown of one of our servers and those of the mirror sites that have been generously shared to us. However, thanks again to some of our fellow bloggers' initiatives, the files can still be downloaded via the following links:

Three-Hour Tape

• BitTorent: http://mininova.org/tor/55762 (160MB)
• RapidShare:
  1. Audio Set 1 (01-11) - 48.7MB
  2. Audio Set 2 (12-20) - 45.6MB
  3. Audio Set 3 (21-29) - 46.8MB
  4. Audio Set 4 (30-33) - 20.5MB

Paguia Tape

• BitTorent: http://mininova.org/tor/55788 (31MB, including text file of transcript)
• Windows Media Video: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=12LP7M2J (with subtitles)

PCIJ Download

Posted by Alecks Pabico, PCIJ 

FINALLY, here's the tracker to the torrent file of the three-hour tape, courtesy of Yuga and MLQ3, from which you can start seeding to have your own copy. You will need a BitTorrent client installed on your PC to download the content of the torrent file. With a DSL connection, download time is roughly about two hours.

 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |

16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |

21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |

26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |

31 | 32 | 33

Gloria's Alleged Conversations

You can download the three-hour-three-CDs audio recording of the alleged telephone conversation between Pres. Arroyo and Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano through these 33 separate MP3 files provided by PCIJ:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33

 

For first-timers:  You can download by right-clicking on the links above and save each one to your hard disk.

Kapamilya Run

Registration Centers:

• Ayala Center (beside the Activity Center)
• Aboitix Express in E-Mall
• SM City (beside the Supermarket)
• Cebu City Sports Commission (Cebu City Sports Center)
• ABS-CBN Broadcast Complex, Jagobiao, Mandaue City

The P100 registration fee entitles each runner singlets, snacks and giveaways.

 

Pulso sa DYAB Abante Bisaya ug TV Patrol Central Visayas

Too ka bang Estados Unidos maoy utok sa pagbisto sa audio recording ni Pres. Arroyo?

Please text your answer to DYAB REACT (opinion) and send to 2366.

Weather Update

Southwest monsoon prevailing over Luzon and Western Visayas.

Metro Cebu: Occasional rains, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the southwest, coastal waters will be slight to moderate, temperature range 24 to 30°C (75 to 86°F).
 

More Weather

Pulso sa DYAB Abante Bisaya, Maayong Buntag, Kapamilya ug TV Patrol Central Visayas

Too ka bang si Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano ang "Gary" nga gikasulti sa telepono nilang Pres. Arroyo ug First Gentleman Mike Arroyo?

Please text your answer to DYAB REACT (opinion) and send to 2366.

Weather Update

Southwest monsoon prevailing over Luzon and Visayas.

Metro Cebu: Occasional rains, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the southwest, Manila Bay will be slight to moderate, temperature range 25 to 29°C (77 to 84°F).
 

More Weather

Pulso sa DYAB Abante Bisaya, Maayong Buntag, Kapamilya ug TV Patrol Central Visayas

Angay bang mo-resign si Pres. Arroyo tungod sa nabistong audio recording sa giingong pagtikas niya sa niaging eleksiyon?

Please text your answer to DYAB REACT (opinion) and send to 2366.

Weather Update

 

Typhoon "DANTE" was located based on satellite and surface data at 1,310 kms east northeast of Extreme Northern Luzon or at 720 kms southeast of Okinawa, Japan (24.4°N 133.7°E) with maximum sustained winds of 150 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 185 kph. It is forecast to move northwest at 06 kph. Southwest monsoon prevailing over Luzon and Visayas.

 
Metro Cebu: Cloudy with occasional rains, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the southwest, coastal waters will be slight to moderate, temperature range 23 to 30°C (73 to 86°F).

 
More Weather

Weather Update

Typhoon "DANTE" was located based on satellite and surface data at 1,220 kms east northeast of Extreme Northern Luzon or at 770 kms southeast of Okinawa, Japan (22.3°N 134.1°E) with maximum sustained winds of 160 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 195 kph. It is forecast to move north northeast at 07 kph. Southwest monsoon prevailing over Luzon and Visayas.
Metro Cebu: Mostly cloudy with occasional rains, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the southwest, coastal waters will be slight to moderate, temperature range 23 to 31°C (73 to 88°F).
More Weather

Reuters Stories

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Bomb attacks across Iraq kill 24 
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'Runaway bride' sentenced to probation 
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Animal rights activists face trial under terror law 
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Goal to reverse AIDS by 2015 won't be met, UN says 
The world will not meet its goal of halting and reversing the spread of AIDS in 10 years if the disease continues to race faster than efforts to stop it, a senior U.N. AIDS specialist said on Thursday.

Israel frees nearly 400 Palestinian prisoners 
Israel freed nearly 400 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday in a long-delayed gesture that fulfilled a ceasefire pledge to President Mahmoud Abbas, but Palestinians said the release did not go far enough.

Bush selects Cox to head SEC 
President Bush has picked California Rep. Christopher Cox, a Republican who has championed lower taxes on investment income, as his choice to become chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a senior administration official said on Thursday.

Wolfowitz test is to keep World Bank relevant 
Paul Wolfowitz has promised to make the World Bank more attractive to fast-growing but still poor countries like China and India, which feel the development institution has less and less to offer them.

Double 'No' vote on treaty bounces EU into action 
European Union leaders, shocked by the French and Dutch rejection of their constitution, tried on Thursday to show that it would not paralyze the 25-member bloc.

Spelling bee morphs into media darling 
The U.S. National Spelling Bee, that ultimate anxiety fest for brainy schoolkids, has morphed into a media darling, inspiring a novel, a documentary, a feature film and a Broadway musical.