The Holocaust and the Philippines

 The Lyceum’s College of International Relations (specifically the UNICEF Volunteers’ Organization) is the only institution in the Philippines observing the International Day of Commemoration of Holocaust Victims. The country, it seems, does not see the need to observe this special day. This is probably due to the fact that most Filipinos are unaware that there  is a strong connection between the Holocaust and Philippine history, which is something that this nation should be proud of. I am referring to the little-known efforts of the government of President Manuel L. Quezon to save thousands of Jews from Nazi persecution.

Ambassador Fortunato Oblena and Atty. Zossimo Paredes of the Lyceum CIR faculty tried to initiate discussions on this matter in the UNICEF-organized lecture-forum on the Holocaust this afternoon but the speaker from the United Nations Information Center-Manila seemed to be clueless about it. I was anxious to share what I know on the subject, but I was afraid I might embarrass the speaker. But then again I think that there should be greater awareness about the Filipinos’ role in the efforts to rescue the Jews against Nazi tyrrany during the war, hence I decided to write about it here.

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Defying the pope, perverting democracy.

Today’s Inquirer headline tells of a Vatican leadership critical of Cardinal Sin’s pivotal role in the 2001 power grab against Joseph Estrada. 

According to the story, the Holy See ordered Cardinal Sin to stop Church participation in EDSA II.

Cardinal Sin defied the order. And indeed he could defy it, for he was popular enough to override the pope when he was alive. Sin was seen as a figurehead of the Third World Catholic clergy and his influence extended beyond these islands.

Powerful as he was, however, the late cardinal, the Inquirer story proves, was nothing more than a carbon copy of Cardinal Richelieu who would disregard his vow of obedience in favor of his wanton desire to play the role of kingmaker in this country.

Although late cardinal was able get away with defying the Vatican order, Rome retaliated by splitting the Manila See into several dioceses. The break-up was crucial, for it broke Sin’s access to scores of Metro Manila parishes and schools, which he ordered in 2001 to produce at least fifty people each, mobilizing hundreds of thousands that formed the backbone of the EDSA II uprising.

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EDSA II: What it really was.

It is very amusing that there still are people who remain in a state of denial about the reality of that putsch that ousted Erap seven years ago. People still celebrate it as a “triumph for democracy and the rule of law.”

I hope the video above and the excerpts from Nick Joaquin’s interview with Mike Arroyo below would wake these people up and make them realize that EDSA II was never a spontaneous show of people power but rather a sinister scheme to grab power from a popular president by sectors who have nothing but contempt for the constitution and the rule of law. The beneficiaries of this power grab have since looted the coffers of government, screwed the country and fucked the people up.

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The Philippines’ demotion from Freedom House list: why am I not surprised?

This blog entry is dedicated to King Juan Carlos of Spain. 

The Philippine Star reported this morning that the Philippines has been relegated by New York-based Freedom House from the list of "totally free" countries to "partly free".

The said private democracy watchdog organization cited extra-judicial killings as among the reasons behind the downgrading.

That makes three. The first was the United Nations through Human Rights Rapporteur Alston, followed by the European Union through six members of its parliament who visited the country very recently. Not to mention the fact that the Swedish government even closed down its embassy here in apparent protest of the deteriorating condition of human rights under the Arroyo regime.

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Lyceum’s performance at the Worlds

        NOTE: THIS POST IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

 The Lyceum contingent: Suzy, me and Cheenee during the pre-opening party

I know, I know. It’s been days since the 28th World Universities Debate Championship (WUDC/ Worlds) came to a close in Pattaya, Thailand. But I still have the hangover and I haven’t posted anything about it yet.

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