letters from members of the silent majority

The following are letters from the "silent majority" which I have come across while online. I share them with you now because I have the same sentiments as these people, and I believe that a lot of you do too. If you agree with the views of the authors of these letters, please pass them on to others, so that the voice of the silent majority can finally be heard.

*I saw this on the PCIJ blog site while browsing through the comments on one of their articles...

***

Dear Tita Cory, Senators, Congressmen, Businessmen, Mediapeople, Leftists, and all Bleeding Hearts Out There:

I am angry. And I know that there are many out there who are angrier than I am for the same reason. And that reason is simple. I am sick and tiredof all you guys claiming to speak for me and many Filipinos. I feel like screaming every time you mouth words about fighting for my freedom and my rights, when you obviously are just thinking about yours. You tell me that the essence of democracy is providing every citizen the right to speak his or her mind and make his or her own informed judgments, but you yourselves do not respect my silence and the choices I and many others have made.
In other words, your concept of democracy is limited to having your rights and your freedoms respected, at the expense of ours.
I am utterly flabbergasted that you still do not get it: we already responded to your calls, and our response has been very clear - we chose not to heed your calls to go to EDSA or to Fort Bonifacio not because we do not love our country or our freedoms or our rights, but precisely because we love our country even more. Because quite frankly, we are prepared to lose our freedoms and our rights just to move this country forward. You may counter with your ideological propaganda and give me all the dire warnings about the evils of Martial Law, authoritarian rule, suppression of freedom, etc., but quite frankly all we see is your pathetic efforts to defend your rght to continue fulminating, filibustering, and sabotaging this country until you wrestle power for yourselves.
You tell me that you are simply protecting my freedoms and my rights,but who told you to do that? I assure you that when I feel that myrights and my freedoms are at a peril, I will stand up and fight for themmyself. I have done that in the past, and I will do it again when I SEE THE NEED FOR IT, not when you tell me to do it.
You tell us that GMA is not the right person to lead this countrybecause she has done immoral acts. As someone who sees immorality being committed wantonly in many ways every day and by everyone (yes, including the ones you do), I may have become jaded. I may have lowered my standards about what a leader should be. Guess what, Tita Cory, you lowered it yourself. When I accepted your incompetence and fought for you during the many attempts against your government, I already lowered the standards to ridiculous levels. Guess what, Senators and Congressmen, you lowered it yourselves when you ran for office and won and now make fools of yourselves in the august halls of congress.
But the simple truth that you try to obfuscate is this: you have not been able to offer me any viable alternative! On the other hand, GMAhas bent over backwards many times to accommodate you while continuing to work hard despite all the obstacles and the brickbats you have thrown her way.From where I sit, she is the one who has been working really hard to move this country forward while all of you have been so busy with one and only one thing: to make sure she does not succeed. So forgive me if I do not want to join you in your moral pissing contest. Forgive me if I have chosen to see things from another perspective. You say she is the problem. I say, we are - all of us is the problem; more to the point, I think you are a bigger problem than she is. Taking her out may solve part of the problem, but that leaves us with a bigger problem: you. That is right, YOU!
While I felt outraged that she called a Comelec official during theelections and that she may have rigged the elections, I have since then taken the higher moral ground and forgiven her. Yes my dear bishops, have done what you have told me to do since I was a child, which you say is the Christian and moral thing to do: forgive. Especially since she has asked for forgiveness and has tried to make amends for it. Erap certainly has not apologized and continues to be defiant, continuing to insult us everyday with his protestations - and he is part of your cause now! Cory has not apologized for her incompetence but we have forgiven her just the same because like GMA, she has worked hard after all.
I know you do not think that GMA’s apology was not enough, or that she was insincere, or that that apology should not be the end of it, but please spare me the hypocrisy of telling me that you do so for the sake of protecting the moral fibre of society. The real reason is because yousmell blood and wants to go for the kill. Well, I have news for you. I do not like her too. I did not even vote for her. I voted for Raul Roco. But as much as I do not like her, I do not like you even more. I may not trust her, but you know what, I do not trust you even more
You know why I do not trust you? Because all you do is whine andsabotage this country. You belittle every little progress we make,conveniently forgetting that it is not just GMA who has been working so hard to achieve them. Every single day, we keep the faith burning in our hearts that this country will finally pull itself out of the mess and we work so hard to do that. Every little progress is the result of our collective effort, we who toil hard everyday in our jobs.
Yet, you persist in one and only thing: making GMA look bad in theeyes of the world and making sure that this country continues to suffer to prove your sorry point. In the process, you continue to destroy what we painstakinly try to build. So please do not be surprised that I do not share your cause. Do not be surprised that we have become contemptuous of your antics. You have moved heaven andearth to destroy her credibility, you have convened all kinds of fora and hearings and all you have done is test our patience to the core. For all your efforts, you have only succeeded in dragging us further down. I say enough.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not asking that we take immorality lying down, or that we let the President get away with anything illegal. But you e tried to prove your accusations all these time and you have not succeeded, so it is time to let things be. Besides, you are doing something immoral as well if not utterly unforgivable. The Magdalo soldiers are consorting with the communists - the same people who have been trying to kill democracy for years. Cory has been consorting with Erap and the Marcoses.
So please wake up and take a reality check. In the absence of true and genuine moral leadership, many of us have decided to cast our lot with the President, even if we do not like her. A flawed leader is better than scheming power hungry fools who can not even stand up for their convictions in the face of an impending arrest.
Your coup attempts and the denials that you have consequently madeonly underscore what we think is true: you are spineless and unreliable people who only want power but not the consequences and the sacrifices that go with the quest. Your one and only defense is to cry suppression when your ruse does not work. You are nothing but BULLIES who taunt and provoke, but cry oppression when taken to task for your cruelty. You call for the rule of law and respect for authority, but so brazenly display your defiance and disrespect for the same things you claim to be fighting for. I would have respected you if you took the consequences of your actions like real heroes: calmly and responsibly instead of kicking and screaming and making all kinds of lame excuses. You say you are willing to die for us, that you do all these things for the country and the Filipino, but you are not even willing to go to jail for us. Come on, you really think we believe that you did not want to bring down the government when THAT IS THE ONE AND ONLY ONE THING THAT YOU HAVE BEEN DESPERATELY TRYING TO DO in the last many months?
We love this country and we want peace and progress. Many among us do not give a f*&k who sits at Malacanang because we will work hard and do our share to make things work. We the people will and can make it work, if only you get out of the way and let us do it. If you only do your jobs, the ones you are supposed to be doing, things would be a lot simpler and easier for all of us.
The events during the weekend only proved one thing. You are moredangerous and a serious threat to this country than GMA is. We haveseen what you are capable of doing - you are ready to burn this country and reduce everything to ashes just to prove your point. If there is something that we need protection from, IT IS PROTECTION FROM YOU.

S. C. Austero

***

*This one was sent to me in an email...

Dear friends,

I share the sentiments of whoever wrote this. these
are words i would have wanted to pen down myself. It
is sad to note that all this hullaballoo boils down to
only one thing ... selfish, manipulative, greedy, and
big-time, dirty old politicians taking the whole
country for a ride! Labanan ito ng mga politikong
walang malasakit sa kapakanan ng mga maliliit at mga
nagsisikap lamang na paunlarin ang bayan at
papag-aralin ang kanilang mga anak, at bigyan sila ng
magandang kinabukasan.

hindi kasinungalingan at kadayaan ang isyu dito ...
lahat sila pati yung mga nagsisigaw dahil sa kadayaan
diumano ay madadaya rin. ang sistema ang bulok. kahit
sino ilagay mong presidente, ganyan pa rin ang
mangyayari.nakita nyo ba yung mga buwitreng politiko
(trapos) na noong nagkakagulo sa fort boni ay
nagdagsaan para daw tumulong at makiisa sa hinagpis ng
mga sundalo? vamos a ver ... noong matapos na ang
lahat, nawala silang parang bula. at kung naghahanap
kayo ng prayer leader sa inyong mga chapel, social
hall, at covenanted communities, alaw nyo na kung sino
ang dapat imbitahin ... kasama nga lang ng mga
madadaya at sinungaling na trapos, mga pulahan, at mga
armadong hindi alam kung sino ang dapat sundin.

i ask my readers and friends only one thing ... look
at the bigger picture. discern ... we cannot allow
ourselves to play into the hands of these
manipulative, scheming politicians, power grabbers,
and ideologues at yung mga nanagana na noong araw na
wala namang nagawa rin (nangurakot rin naman!) gasgas
na ang people power. we need new wineskins for new
wine; we cannot remain with old paradigms. how vain it
is to build a fence by destroying a wall on the other
side (khlil gibran. we cannot miss the forest for a
tree. we need to fight corruption in and out of
government, but we cannot afford to burn the whole
house in the process. i was reminded of a news story
that came out two months ago. a houseowner saw a pesky
rat in his house. sa galit nya, binuhusan ng kerosene
at sinindihan ang peste. Pumasok ang daga sa bahay
habang siya ay nagliliyab. namatay ang pesteng daga,
at NASUNOG ANG BUONG BAHAY.

This house, the whole Philippine society, is festered
with rats. They are all over the place not excluding
congress, senate, malacanang, the military, the
private sector (including one well known university),
and... why not? including religious groups and
denominations. the Naia alone is a seedbed of
corruption, as is every city, every town, every
barangay ... from top to bottom! but to destroy these
rats, including the one in malacanan, we cannot afford
to burn the whole house, for that would mean all of us
would end up losers.

perspective is what i request from everyone. when we
see the bigger picture, merely shouting in mendiola,
and joining rallies, ranting and railing against
oppression and injustice (whatever that means) and
other forms of inane sloganeering, might not be the
best course of action. L'ottimo nemico del bene ...
the best is the enemy of the good. let's face it ...
our president is not the best of the lot ... but let
him who has no sin cast the first stone. who is the
best? who can these noisy holier than thou personages
that are irredeemably angry at the present leadership
offer as alternative? crispin beltran? liza maza? the
one whose only expertise is to read news written by
other people? the one who obviously is drooling for
the presidency, whose name exactly sounds like he's
drilling and digging for power?

WE all want these rats out of the scene. But
perspective will tell us that mere violent overthrows
never worked and will never work. perspective should
tell us that the solutions of today may end up
becoming the problems of tomorrow.we need to discern.
we need guidance from above. and last thing i
heard,that type of pesky behavior exhibited by rats,
begins in the human heart - the heart of each and
everyone of us. another word for this is SIN, both
personal and social, and lest we forget, "all men have
fallen short of the glory of God." May I add a
memorable poetic line from Hopkins? Referring to the
human heart, he says: "There in your heart is your own
small commonweal. There ... rid the dragons; root out
there the sin!"

The tenant in the house by the dirty river may be
guilty of dishonesty and other forms of sin. "a just
man sins seven times a day." but so, too, are all
those who want to stone her, who push and drive her to
declare a state of national emergency, and then
vociferously rant and rail against it. What a shameful
hypocrisy!

I won't bore you any further ... here is the forwarded
message:

Ako ay isang middle class pinoy, isang officer sa
isang malaking
korporasyon at may asawa...dalawa anak. Di na
importante pangalan ko kasi
parepareho naman tayong mga middle-class....trabaho
9-5, inom konti tapos
uwi sa pamilya, laruin si baby, itutor si ate/kuya
tapos tulog na, pag wala
na pera intay nala ng ng sweldo.

Sa nangyayari ngayon sa ating bansa, lahat nalang ng
sector ay maingay at
naririnig, tayo lang mga middle-class, tax paying at
productive Pinoys ang
di naririnig. Subalit, buwis natin ang nagpapaikot sa
bansang ito. Pag
may mga gulo na nangyayari, tayo ang tinatamaan. Kaya
eto ang liham ko sa
lahat ng maiingay na sector na sana makagising sa
inyong bulag na
pag-iisip.

Sa Mga Politiko:

- diyos ko naman, sa dami na nang nakurakot ninyo di
na ba kayo makuntento
kelangan nyo pa ba manggulo.

Sa Administrasyon:

- hayan ayus na ha pinatawad na namin ang pandaraya
nyo sa eleksyon,
pruweba dito e di kami umaatend sa mga panawagan ng
people power, kaya sana
naman gantihan nyo kami ng magandang serbisyo at
magaling na pamumuno at
malaking bawas sa kurakot naman please para kahit
papano maramdaman naman
namin na may napupuntahan ang binabayad naming buwis.

Sa Oposisyon:

- di nyo pa b a nakikita na dalawang klase lang ng tao
ang nakikinig sa
inyo....isa ay bayaran na mahihirap kungdi man ay
tangang mga excited na
reporter na parang naka-shabu lagi....mga praning e at
naghahallucinate.

- Bago man lang kayo maglunsad ng kilos laban sa
administrasyon, pumili
muna kayo ng magiting at nararapat na ipapalit sa
liderato ngayon. Hirap
sa inyo paresign kayo ng paresign wala naman kayo
ipapalit na maayos.
Advise lang galing sa isang middle-class na syang
tunay na puwersa sa likod
ng lahat ng matagumpay na People Power, magpakita muna
kayo ng galing bago
nyo batuhin ang administrasyon. Wala na kaming
narinig sa inyo kundi
reklamo, e wala naman kayong ginagawa kundi
magreklamo....para kayong
batang lagi na lang naaagawan ng laruan.....GROW UP
naman...sa isip sa
salita at sa gawa.

- please lang gasgas na rin ang pagrarally nyo na
katabi nyo ay mga bayaran
na mahihirap, magtayo nalang kayo ng negosyo at iem
pleyo ang mga rallyista
para maging productive silang mamamayan. Sige nga,
pag nagrarally kayo
yakapin nyo nga at halikan yang mga kasama nyong
nagrarally!! Nung People
Power namin nagyayakapan kami lahat nuon.

- Wala naman mangyayari sa mga rally nyo nakakatraffic
lang, kami pang
middle-class ang napeperwisyo. Di nyo kayang
paghintayin ng 3 araw ang mga
rallyista nyo kasi kelangan nyo pakainin at swelduhan
ang mga yan. Kung
gusto nyo tagumpay na People Power kami ang isama
nyo....pero pagod na kami
e, sori ha.

Sa Military:

Alam nyo lahat tayo may problema, pati US Army may
problema, 2,000 plus na
patay sa kanila sa Iraq na parang walang rason naman,
pero nakita nyo ba
sila nagreklamo? Wala diba kasi professional sila na
sundalo.....yan dapat
ang sundalo di nagtatanong sumusunod lang. Kasi may
mga bagay na di kayang
maintindihan ng indibidwal lamang, at ang mga
nakatataas lang ang
nakakai ntindi ng kabuuan, kaya ito ang panuntunan ng
lahat ng military ng
lahat ng bansa. Pero parang military natin yata ang
pinaka-mareklamo.
Sabi nga sa Spiderman "with great power comes great
responsibility".....kaya maging spiderman kayo lahat
at protektahan ang
mamamayan. Sa totoo lang natatakot kami kapag
nagrereklamo kayo, kasi may
baril kayo at tangke, kami wala.

Wala ako comment sa mga mahihirap, di naman kasi sila
maingay na kusa e,
may bayad ang ingay nila. Saka wala rin naman sila
email.

Kaya paano na tayong mga middle-class?? Eto hanggang
email nalang tayo kaya
ikalat nyo na ito at magdasal tayo na umabot ito sa
mga dapat makabasa nito
at makiliti naman ang kanilang mga konsyensya.



Signed,

Isang Middle-Class pinoy na walang puknat na
binabawasan ang sweldo ng
Buwis!

overreaction

It has been said that the President was overreacting when she declared a state of national emergency. True, Proclamation 1017 appears draconian at first glance, but take a good look at it and all you'll see is just a statement saying that there is a national emergency. I believe that the negative reaction it received from various sector was due to its perceived similarity to a declaration of martial law. The warrantless arrests, the raid on the Daily Tribune, and the dispersal of rallies on the 20th anniversary of the first People Power revolt were all too reminiscent of the bad old days under Marcos. As with the previous issues which have turned our country into a political morass, perception metamorphosed into fact, and the declaration of a state of emergency became a declaration of emergency rule in the eyes of some: a return to dictatorial rule in the guise of PP1017.

But again, take a closer look at the circumstances. The alleged coup was planned to coincide with the rallies, with the soldiers marching with the rallyists to declare their withdrawal of support from the government. If a firefight erupted between loyal soldiers and the rebels, thousands could have been caught in the crossfire. Therefore, the ban on and dispersal of the rallies could have been ordered by the president in order to safeguard the lives of innocent civilians.
The raid on the offices of the Daily Tribune has earned the ire of journalists from all over. This was perceived as an attack on press freedom, and the suppression of the right of free expression. But, looking into the Tribune, one may notice an obvious bias in the wording of the news reports. Journalists should present facts in their reports; unbiased, uneditorialized facts. The biased reports could have been interpreted by the readers as fact, thus causing confusion and spreading disinformation. Freedom of the press does not entail the freedom to mislead the public through sensationalism, misinformation, or outright disinformation. If I were the President I would have shut the paper down entirely, but I am not the President, and she has refrained from doing this extreme action. In fact, the Tribune is still in circulation, biased stories and all.
The warrantless arrests of certain people has sparked cries of human rights violations, with images of the torture and abuse experienced by those picked up by the police during martial law. However, these warrantless arrests were within the law. Why? Those arrested were charged with rebellion, which is considered a "continuing crime". This precludes the requirement of a warrant, since a person charged with rebellion is considered as in the process of committing the crime. The others who were arrested during the rallies at EDSA, like Prof. Randy David, were arrested because their permit to rally had been revoked with Proclamation 1017.

So, who has overreacted?

The opposition has cried bloody murder over the suppression of rights by Proclamation 1017, a declaration of a state of emergency. Habeas corpus was not suspended, the President did not receive any emergency powers, there was no declaration of martial law; it was just a statement saying that there was an emergency.
The media has condemned Proclamation 1017 as an attack on the freedom of the press, saying that the government has muzzled the press and has stifled the expression of dissent. If this is true, why has the Tribune continued its circulation? Why has ANC continued to present editorialized news reports? Why is Conrado de Quiros of the Philippine Daily Inquirer able to criticize the President and call for her immediate ouster? Why have we been able to debate upon or even discuss the issue of Proclamation 1017 in the newspapers, on TV, in the Internet, and on the radio if its goal was to muzzle the press? Is this not a manifestation of the freedom of the press?

What is there to fear from Proclamation 1017? Nothing, unless you are its real target. The target of PP1017 is neither the press nor the public, but those who would rather see the Republic of the Philippines in ashes, albeit under their rule. These people have every reason to fear the crackdown, as this would spell the end of their selfish quest for power. They are the ones overreacting to the strong response of the government, using every trick in the book to muddle the issue and confuse the populace so that they can protect their own hides.

***

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo lifted the state of emergency at around 11:30 this morning.
(More here.)