LuisTeodoro.com

There’s a farce being played out in the Philippines, and it’s orchestrated by the country’s putative president. But her subalterns are either also in on it and have memorized their lines, so to speak, or else are taking their cue from what she and their superiors in various government agencies do and say.

As part of this charade, Mrs. Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo gave law-enforcement agencies last Tuesday ten weeks to identify at least ten suspects in the killing of political activists and journalists. While that sounds like a tall order, it’s not as difficult as it seems. The police can quickly draw up such a list, throwing into it whoever’s convenient, as they have done in the case of the killing journalists. »

Why would Philippine ambassador to Lebanon Al Francis Bichara claim that the Philippine embassy in Beirut has run out of funds for the repatriation of Filipino workers unless it’s true?

Certainly Bichara knew the consequences to his career that claim could have, given the fate of government officials like Fe Hidalgo of Education, who’ve dared to publicly reveal such state secrets as the classroom shortage. And certainly Bichara knew how his statement would initially be received back home in the Philippines, where the immediate reaction of the public was to condemn Bichara and the embassy. »