Friday, June 06, 2008 05:10:20 PM
Unknowingly
and unwillingly riding on the crest of Money Politics are the somber
faces of our dead heroes and ex-presidents. Ironically, despite ARMM
provinces being among the poorest of poor provinces based on Human
Development Index, still Money talks, indeed! And how eloquently and
persuasively!
Most people asked me after August 8 polls, how are you? I was tempted to quip: “Well, a bit seasick after braving the Tides of Money Politics. Forgot my bonamine!”
But I humorously retorted: “Well, with all due respect and begging for their holy indulgence, Ninoy, Roxas, and Osmena among others won. I realized dead heroes and ex-presidents , may their revered souls rest in peace, are effective campaigners even six-feet underground.
They are virtual witnesses to most electoral (mis)transactions that transpired in the fertile breeding ground of electoral process which electoral laws and policies are somehow susceptible to the perversity of man.” When the respected elder confusedly looked blankly at me, I laughingly asked him to check the faces printed on his 500, 100, and 50 bills, if he’s got any! Gotcha!
Inspite of their expressed qualms and skepticism from concerned affiliates, friends, kith and kins—I braved the Tides of Money Politics and never backed out from the gubernatorial ARMM race until I ultimately lost---statistically---but paradoxically I believe I have emerged triumphant in losing.
These sensible warnings and advice, instead of dampening my spirit even served to fuel my resolve to the point of irreversible resoluteness.
“Are you in the right frame of mind?” my mother interjected when I announced that I filed my COC, ten minutes to twelve midnight of May 6, 2005.
By mid-May 2005, at the Sulu Brigade in the presence of Brig Cdr Alexander Aleo, after I have declared to the Sulu Governor the reason why I was running in the Aug 8 election as Regional Governor, Hon Benjamin Loong of Sulu prudently pronounced: “I know that you already know that you will lose in this election, but perhaps in a way, you can enlighten our people somehow.”
Upon soliciting reaction from 1st District Rep Hussin U. Amin at Astoria Regency in Zamboanga City in mid-June, he replied: “Please don’t be offended, you are just wasting your money.”
“Attempting to be a khilafa is like burdening your shoulders with the weight of Bud Tumantangis,” profoundly commented Grand Mufti Ibrahim Ghazali of Sulu.
“I am happy to hear that you are running as Regional Governor because you deserve it. However, in the event that you will lose, our voluntary service of old to the Raayat will be tainted with the foul aftertaste of politics and in the future people will see our voluntary work with political colour. This is what makes me sad,” solemnly forewarned Jamalul Abduhadil, volunteer worker for Sulu Civil Society Assembly and Vice-President of ANAK-Sulu.
Carol Arguillas of Mindanews texted: “Ok stil hoping we find justice 4 boyd. Send me ur platform f govt n pix pero I want u 2 knw I believe now s not d ryt time to hold elections gven da gulo n given da money politics. How do we reform d electoral process n d country? N d armm?”
I bore the brunt of those who either hate my guts or who succumb to paranoia when confronted by “too good to be true” personalities such as I (*grins widely*). I was branded a loony, government agent, US spy, oddball, darkhorse, bughat-cum-eagle when I dared to test the murky waters of ARMM polls as RG bet.
Luckily, it was them who I practically drove nuts with my spunky quips. Well, to me it simply means that I am suspected of having a mensa I.Q.!
Govt agent…US spy! I am an agent indeed but precisely an Agent of Change.
U.S. spy? Well, in upholding the Constitution of the Philippines specifically on sovereignty issues, I am staunchly spying on as a peace advocate and as a third-party interventionist—on U.S. military troops and other foreign troops geopolitically braving our shores and hinterlands in the guise of humanitarian assistance.
Oddball, well, I may not have the wealth and power but I qualified because those two are not prerequisites to qualify as RG candidate. Dark horse, well, semantically, some well-meaning media friends have unlocked my positive equinine traits (whatever that means!).
Despite 1% probability of winning against 99% of losing, given the formidable force of dominant political parties amidst partisanship and money politics, I dared to exhort the Tri-people to register their protest for change by casting their votes on Aug 8 ARMM polls.
I humbly offered myself who has been thriving in the civil society world as an alternative choice and catalyst to revolutionize ARMM through my 7 Seedlings of Hope Agenda which was published last July by Mon Calbitaza of Zamboanga Star and on July 29, 2005 by Mindanews. I merely sought for two zeros from Allah so that that 1% chance of winning might turn into 100%.
Well, we all know that Allah in His Infinite Grace and Mercy granted me the zeros that I prayed for. Mind you, not only two zeros but as much as ¾ of the total number of precincts region-wide! (Lesson: Be precise in pronouncing your prayers!)
Talking about lessons, I likened my greenhorn political experience as RG candidate to enrolling in an ARMM Theories and Realities Crash Course.
I gained firsthand experience on some pertinent theories and truths, speculations and trends, fallacies and facts as dared to explore its berth.
I was besieged by internal questions that were mostly rhetorical.
How could absolute faith contend with a maligned and destitute region occupied by constituents who thrive on a hand-to-mouth existence? How can you erode the invincible armour of political parties and partisanship? How can you dismantle centuries old political clout that is devoid of compassion? How must an RG salvage the vestiges of the Final Peace Agreement?
Is the hunger for Truth and Justice enough to propel mass-based proactive change? Are most people who are underprivileged or marginalized going to buckle from perpetually selling their honor and dignity in exchange for meager amount offered to them during election campaign despite the unveiling of recent political truth that has led to the erosion of public trust?
Will the garci tapes or gloriagate scandal indirectly bring positive change in forging electoral reforms? Will the 8-8 (God-fearing, principled & trustworthy, pro-people, pro-environment etc.) electoral reform posters help to increase intelligent voters? Or do intelligent voters actually mean those who sell commodify their votes to the highest bidder?
Or are “intelligent voters” those who are even shrewd enough to resort to multiple selling of his singular cast? Are the electorate seriously contemplating of revolutionizing and deodorizing ARMM? Is it right to blame the ARMM system? What about the actors who gave life to it when they were in authority? Or instead of life did they actually design ARMM an agonizingly slow but sure death?
The realities borne out of the ARMM polls result evidently answered the questions that haunted some of us. Servant leadership is obscured by the grandiosity of being a ruling Honorable. That generally and realistically public service is not about Khilafa-Amanat or Vicegerency and Trust although ideally it is. Political parties rule. Political clout and influence by individual and clans are crucial in winning. Political backouts resulted in a cohesive re-alignment aka Queen’s Gambit.
The challenge is to demythologize Malcanang as The ARMM mythical kitchen in brewing the RG soup in a silver cauldron; to destroy forged links of political and party affiliation obfuscating the significance of public service. If it’s any consolation, notices and correspondences to RG candidates from Comelec regional offices were consistent, I can vouch for that, but not from my home province.
More realities: Who can blame people who wish that every regular day is a campaign day? How most of us wish and pray for that the candidates’ fervor to help and to touch lives shall remain and will never wane even during post election and beyond.Wasting millions of money by pouring it into campaign paraphernalia during polls in any medium is worth the price than bestowing basic social services any time of the day to the poor and those who are in dire need.
The general populace would rather feast no matter how briefly rather than to steadfastly hold onto their non-negotiable dignity in exchange for sustainable economic upliftment through holistic human development that they should assert and demand from their mandated servant leaders.
Honor succumbs to the unspoken tolerance of what is not right with the belief that one is not left of a choice but to yield to temptation. What one not realizes is that he had actually a choice except that choice was to resign and accept albeit to struggle indignantly and indomitably is among the other hundred options one can avail.
He waived his right to enjoin good and forbid evil, which the Almighty God has inherently equipped him when He gave man willpower to either elevate his stature to the highest of high or to submerge himself to the lowest of low.
Not salvaging the Remnants of the Peace Process is tantamount to Desecrating the Hallowed Grounds of the Peace Process, watered by the blood of the martyrs and fertilized by the carcasses of freedom fighters. As if all that they have strived to fight do not mean a thing to us.
This we should have borne in mind when we casted our votes. Unwittingly, we have contributed indirectly in turning the peace agreement into a peace disagreement ( and sometimes we make it worst by turning it into “fist disagreement” and eventually a bloody disagreement!)
Stress and Conflict Management was part of the ARMM crash course. Do not invest a centavo as campaign, no personal investment, just surrender everything to the will of Allah. Destroy deeply ingrained campaign malpractices by not employing such means. By surrender is to absolutely trust and worry. Every polls prove that it’s not having the millions but who have more millions.
So, why risk your millions when you have lesser? I don’t brag like others are wont to do that I know the most influential men and women in the world, it is enough that I brag that I know my Creator, Allahu subhana wa taala, and His aid is enough. “Iyyakana budu wa iyyakanastain..”
Teach them invaluable lessons on how to run honourably not in speech but in deeds. Some lessons are practically best taught that way. The real meaning of winning is finding that there is a shred of honor and glory in losing.
Running is struggling against ego, greed and power. For how long and how far the distance can you go in preserving your scruples and not eventually compromising it. In Ya’qin, one has to run the eternal miles internally and spiritually. Defeat in honor by resisting unscrupulous measures is actually a feat!
My audacity in mouthing divine angels was proven by mortal angels personified by Tuan Ben and Tuan Parmanan, BusBus friends, Mon Calbitaza, Carol, Hadjulani family, Sam Omar, Nash Maulana, Utuh Wen, Kah Dayang, Madz Mohammad of Sibutu, Tawi-Tawi, Ummar Hashim, Great Brod Fazlur Rahman Abdulla, Maddas family of Siasi and other unnamed ones who voluntarily supported us by their free will and through their limited means.
It was practically difficult to learn and unlearn the course on How To Keep One’s Positive IQ and EQ intact and stabilizing its equilibrium, so to speak. It was hard to embark on a practicum on Maintaining The Fire to Fight Against All Odds By Employing Decent Ingenuity. The practicum on Tawhid and TawaqqALLAH were my Waterloo , it squirmed like a lethal viper under my feet.
Diving into the murky poll tides, spiritually naked (*winks*) was part of the ARMM Polls Sports Crash Course. I miraculously emerged from this immaculately clean, I circulated a text message: “ Tasbih! After daring to brave d tides of money politics, we have managed to emerge whole…spirit unscathed (by piranhas), unsullied and indomitable.” We have resisted the almost irresistible temptation to employ political alignment, media mileage by sacrificing our hard earned respect, inherent scruples and principles.
Somehow, by our silence and inaction during campaign period we have effectively and resoundingly promote our Pronouncement of Truths even without actually uttering it.
We have stoked the Peace Advocacy Flame by silently invoking compassion from friends, kith and kines. Consequently, we have resuscitated dying hearts and flagging spirits of the helplessly oppressed, depressed, and the repressed. I witnessed the Boxer’s syndrome, when supporters inwardly and outwardly flinched in each of my zero they heard from the radio as tabulation and canvassing ensued, their reaction served as a salve to my pains not of the zero but on how much I have unwittingly touched their lives to join me in this mighty struggle. My fight was actually theirs, too!
The ultimate truth was actually knowing the actual figures of the number of kins and friends who voted for me ARMM-wide! Comelec Regional results via website yield that I actually have eleven of them in Basilan, 23 in Lanao del Sur, 34 in Maguindanao, 266 in Tawi-Tawi and 502 in my own Sulu!
Touching the Hearts of 836 (oh count my vote out and make it 835 to be precise! And may these 836 endangered species abound) voters by affinity (*winks*) and rekindling their bleaker than bleak spirits through my maverick impudence proves that such cardiac and spiritual lighting are beyond Napocor’s realm.
Call this post election prose as sweet lemon or sourgraping but let’s get ethnic and patriotic by acknowledging it as “maymuh gulah” or “maasum bigi-asum, both for local fun and for local pun!”
Allah bless our newly elected ARMM RG and legislators! Wa billahi tawfiq wal hidaya…wassalam!
Most people asked me after August 8 polls, how are you? I was tempted to quip: “Well, a bit seasick after braving the Tides of Money Politics. Forgot my bonamine!”
But I humorously retorted: “Well, with all due respect and begging for their holy indulgence, Ninoy, Roxas, and Osmena among others won. I realized dead heroes and ex-presidents , may their revered souls rest in peace, are effective campaigners even six-feet underground.
They are virtual witnesses to most electoral (mis)transactions that transpired in the fertile breeding ground of electoral process which electoral laws and policies are somehow susceptible to the perversity of man.” When the respected elder confusedly looked blankly at me, I laughingly asked him to check the faces printed on his 500, 100, and 50 bills, if he’s got any! Gotcha!
Inspite of their expressed qualms and skepticism from concerned affiliates, friends, kith and kins—I braved the Tides of Money Politics and never backed out from the gubernatorial ARMM race until I ultimately lost---statistically---but paradoxically I believe I have emerged triumphant in losing.
These sensible warnings and advice, instead of dampening my spirit even served to fuel my resolve to the point of irreversible resoluteness.
“Are you in the right frame of mind?” my mother interjected when I announced that I filed my COC, ten minutes to twelve midnight of May 6, 2005.
By mid-May 2005, at the Sulu Brigade in the presence of Brig Cdr Alexander Aleo, after I have declared to the Sulu Governor the reason why I was running in the Aug 8 election as Regional Governor, Hon Benjamin Loong of Sulu prudently pronounced: “I know that you already know that you will lose in this election, but perhaps in a way, you can enlighten our people somehow.”
Upon soliciting reaction from 1st District Rep Hussin U. Amin at Astoria Regency in Zamboanga City in mid-June, he replied: “Please don’t be offended, you are just wasting your money.”
“Attempting to be a khilafa is like burdening your shoulders with the weight of Bud Tumantangis,” profoundly commented Grand Mufti Ibrahim Ghazali of Sulu.
“I am happy to hear that you are running as Regional Governor because you deserve it. However, in the event that you will lose, our voluntary service of old to the Raayat will be tainted with the foul aftertaste of politics and in the future people will see our voluntary work with political colour. This is what makes me sad,” solemnly forewarned Jamalul Abduhadil, volunteer worker for Sulu Civil Society Assembly and Vice-President of ANAK-Sulu.
Carol Arguillas of Mindanews texted: “Ok stil hoping we find justice 4 boyd. Send me ur platform f govt n pix pero I want u 2 knw I believe now s not d ryt time to hold elections gven da gulo n given da money politics. How do we reform d electoral process n d country? N d armm?”
I bore the brunt of those who either hate my guts or who succumb to paranoia when confronted by “too good to be true” personalities such as I (*grins widely*). I was branded a loony, government agent, US spy, oddball, darkhorse, bughat-cum-eagle when I dared to test the murky waters of ARMM polls as RG bet.
Luckily, it was them who I practically drove nuts with my spunky quips. Well, to me it simply means that I am suspected of having a mensa I.Q.!
Govt agent…US spy! I am an agent indeed but precisely an Agent of Change.
U.S. spy? Well, in upholding the Constitution of the Philippines specifically on sovereignty issues, I am staunchly spying on as a peace advocate and as a third-party interventionist—on U.S. military troops and other foreign troops geopolitically braving our shores and hinterlands in the guise of humanitarian assistance.
Oddball, well, I may not have the wealth and power but I qualified because those two are not prerequisites to qualify as RG candidate. Dark horse, well, semantically, some well-meaning media friends have unlocked my positive equinine traits (whatever that means!).
Despite 1% probability of winning against 99% of losing, given the formidable force of dominant political parties amidst partisanship and money politics, I dared to exhort the Tri-people to register their protest for change by casting their votes on Aug 8 ARMM polls.
I humbly offered myself who has been thriving in the civil society world as an alternative choice and catalyst to revolutionize ARMM through my 7 Seedlings of Hope Agenda which was published last July by Mon Calbitaza of Zamboanga Star and on July 29, 2005 by Mindanews. I merely sought for two zeros from Allah so that that 1% chance of winning might turn into 100%.
Well, we all know that Allah in His Infinite Grace and Mercy granted me the zeros that I prayed for. Mind you, not only two zeros but as much as ¾ of the total number of precincts region-wide! (Lesson: Be precise in pronouncing your prayers!)
Talking about lessons, I likened my greenhorn political experience as RG candidate to enrolling in an ARMM Theories and Realities Crash Course.
I gained firsthand experience on some pertinent theories and truths, speculations and trends, fallacies and facts as dared to explore its berth.
I was besieged by internal questions that were mostly rhetorical.
How could absolute faith contend with a maligned and destitute region occupied by constituents who thrive on a hand-to-mouth existence? How can you erode the invincible armour of political parties and partisanship? How can you dismantle centuries old political clout that is devoid of compassion? How must an RG salvage the vestiges of the Final Peace Agreement?
Is the hunger for Truth and Justice enough to propel mass-based proactive change? Are most people who are underprivileged or marginalized going to buckle from perpetually selling their honor and dignity in exchange for meager amount offered to them during election campaign despite the unveiling of recent political truth that has led to the erosion of public trust?
Will the garci tapes or gloriagate scandal indirectly bring positive change in forging electoral reforms? Will the 8-8 (God-fearing, principled & trustworthy, pro-people, pro-environment etc.) electoral reform posters help to increase intelligent voters? Or do intelligent voters actually mean those who sell commodify their votes to the highest bidder?
Or are “intelligent voters” those who are even shrewd enough to resort to multiple selling of his singular cast? Are the electorate seriously contemplating of revolutionizing and deodorizing ARMM? Is it right to blame the ARMM system? What about the actors who gave life to it when they were in authority? Or instead of life did they actually design ARMM an agonizingly slow but sure death?
The realities borne out of the ARMM polls result evidently answered the questions that haunted some of us. Servant leadership is obscured by the grandiosity of being a ruling Honorable. That generally and realistically public service is not about Khilafa-Amanat or Vicegerency and Trust although ideally it is. Political parties rule. Political clout and influence by individual and clans are crucial in winning. Political backouts resulted in a cohesive re-alignment aka Queen’s Gambit.
The challenge is to demythologize Malcanang as The ARMM mythical kitchen in brewing the RG soup in a silver cauldron; to destroy forged links of political and party affiliation obfuscating the significance of public service. If it’s any consolation, notices and correspondences to RG candidates from Comelec regional offices were consistent, I can vouch for that, but not from my home province.
More realities: Who can blame people who wish that every regular day is a campaign day? How most of us wish and pray for that the candidates’ fervor to help and to touch lives shall remain and will never wane even during post election and beyond.Wasting millions of money by pouring it into campaign paraphernalia during polls in any medium is worth the price than bestowing basic social services any time of the day to the poor and those who are in dire need.
The general populace would rather feast no matter how briefly rather than to steadfastly hold onto their non-negotiable dignity in exchange for sustainable economic upliftment through holistic human development that they should assert and demand from their mandated servant leaders.
Honor succumbs to the unspoken tolerance of what is not right with the belief that one is not left of a choice but to yield to temptation. What one not realizes is that he had actually a choice except that choice was to resign and accept albeit to struggle indignantly and indomitably is among the other hundred options one can avail.
He waived his right to enjoin good and forbid evil, which the Almighty God has inherently equipped him when He gave man willpower to either elevate his stature to the highest of high or to submerge himself to the lowest of low.
Not salvaging the Remnants of the Peace Process is tantamount to Desecrating the Hallowed Grounds of the Peace Process, watered by the blood of the martyrs and fertilized by the carcasses of freedom fighters. As if all that they have strived to fight do not mean a thing to us.
This we should have borne in mind when we casted our votes. Unwittingly, we have contributed indirectly in turning the peace agreement into a peace disagreement ( and sometimes we make it worst by turning it into “fist disagreement” and eventually a bloody disagreement!)
Stress and Conflict Management was part of the ARMM crash course. Do not invest a centavo as campaign, no personal investment, just surrender everything to the will of Allah. Destroy deeply ingrained campaign malpractices by not employing such means. By surrender is to absolutely trust and worry. Every polls prove that it’s not having the millions but who have more millions.
So, why risk your millions when you have lesser? I don’t brag like others are wont to do that I know the most influential men and women in the world, it is enough that I brag that I know my Creator, Allahu subhana wa taala, and His aid is enough. “Iyyakana budu wa iyyakanastain..”
Teach them invaluable lessons on how to run honourably not in speech but in deeds. Some lessons are practically best taught that way. The real meaning of winning is finding that there is a shred of honor and glory in losing.
Running is struggling against ego, greed and power. For how long and how far the distance can you go in preserving your scruples and not eventually compromising it. In Ya’qin, one has to run the eternal miles internally and spiritually. Defeat in honor by resisting unscrupulous measures is actually a feat!
My audacity in mouthing divine angels was proven by mortal angels personified by Tuan Ben and Tuan Parmanan, BusBus friends, Mon Calbitaza, Carol, Hadjulani family, Sam Omar, Nash Maulana, Utuh Wen, Kah Dayang, Madz Mohammad of Sibutu, Tawi-Tawi, Ummar Hashim, Great Brod Fazlur Rahman Abdulla, Maddas family of Siasi and other unnamed ones who voluntarily supported us by their free will and through their limited means.
It was practically difficult to learn and unlearn the course on How To Keep One’s Positive IQ and EQ intact and stabilizing its equilibrium, so to speak. It was hard to embark on a practicum on Maintaining The Fire to Fight Against All Odds By Employing Decent Ingenuity. The practicum on Tawhid and TawaqqALLAH were my Waterloo , it squirmed like a lethal viper under my feet.
Diving into the murky poll tides, spiritually naked (*winks*) was part of the ARMM Polls Sports Crash Course. I miraculously emerged from this immaculately clean, I circulated a text message: “ Tasbih! After daring to brave d tides of money politics, we have managed to emerge whole…spirit unscathed (by piranhas), unsullied and indomitable.” We have resisted the almost irresistible temptation to employ political alignment, media mileage by sacrificing our hard earned respect, inherent scruples and principles.
Somehow, by our silence and inaction during campaign period we have effectively and resoundingly promote our Pronouncement of Truths even without actually uttering it.
We have stoked the Peace Advocacy Flame by silently invoking compassion from friends, kith and kines. Consequently, we have resuscitated dying hearts and flagging spirits of the helplessly oppressed, depressed, and the repressed. I witnessed the Boxer’s syndrome, when supporters inwardly and outwardly flinched in each of my zero they heard from the radio as tabulation and canvassing ensued, their reaction served as a salve to my pains not of the zero but on how much I have unwittingly touched their lives to join me in this mighty struggle. My fight was actually theirs, too!
The ultimate truth was actually knowing the actual figures of the number of kins and friends who voted for me ARMM-wide! Comelec Regional results via website yield that I actually have eleven of them in Basilan, 23 in Lanao del Sur, 34 in Maguindanao, 266 in Tawi-Tawi and 502 in my own Sulu!
Touching the Hearts of 836 (oh count my vote out and make it 835 to be precise! And may these 836 endangered species abound) voters by affinity (*winks*) and rekindling their bleaker than bleak spirits through my maverick impudence proves that such cardiac and spiritual lighting are beyond Napocor’s realm.
Call this post election prose as sweet lemon or sourgraping but let’s get ethnic and patriotic by acknowledging it as “maymuh gulah” or “maasum bigi-asum, both for local fun and for local pun!”
Allah bless our newly elected ARMM RG and legislators! Wa billahi tawfiq wal hidaya…wassalam!
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