Calling to war a disgruntled army - GOTCHA by Jarius Bondoc

At least five groups of disgruntled AFP and PNP officers had seen it coming. As soon as they heard about battle plans supposedly captured in early December from Moro secessionist Camp Bushra, they knew that their furloughs would soon be over. They’d be called to war again in Mindanao, there to destroy farms and villages in the name of keeping the Republic from being dismembered.

They shook their heads in disbelief. Bushra had long been taken last summer. They had Moro separatists disbanding and on the run. So why, when political winds are whipping up a storm in Manila, would a crack Army team "attack" the camp again and even capture papers?

The answer became clear in late December. They’d been told to be on alert for communist rebel assaults. Yet when the 26th, the birthday of Mao Tse-tung and the new Communist Party, came and went without incident, the alert was not lifted. What’s up, they asked each other. The five groups – Reform-AFP Movement, Young Officers Union, Soldiers of the Filipino People, and two new nameless ones – exchanged notes. The "captured" battle plans talked about bombings in Metro Manila. At the same time, and this isn’t in the battle plans, businessmen-pols close to Malacañang were talking of a junta to save the King from imminent dethronement. Defense Sec. Orlando Mercado had spat on the plan, but they were determined to push it through. The top dog can’t wag its tail anymore; it’s tucked between its hindlegs from impeachment charges. They have to wag the dog instead, to save their fortunes from confiscation in the name of the people.

A newsbit on the 28th puzzled the disgruntled officers. Police had arrested two high leaders of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf in a Manila grocery. When presented to newsmen, the two yelled that they’d been flown in from Basilan by an aide of presidential adviser Robert Aventajado for a bombing mission. Two days later, five explosions in public transport depots.

Both the AFP and PNP brass were quick to blame it on the usual suspects: Communists, Moros, Islamic terrorists. For good measure, the King’s town crier threw in the Opposition with the lot. AFP intelligence moved into the strictly police matter and arrested 20 men in a Muslim community. The PNP cried foul, when all it had done was to pick up for interrogation an 11-year-old boy, the son of a police general linked to the Opposition. Why, it has yet to identify so far 12 of the 22 bomb fatalities.

Malacañang called the quarreling AFP and PNP bosses to a meeting. An hour later came the decision to go to war.

The disgruntled officers are now muttering why they have to crawl into the jungles of Mindanao anew, when their brass know the bombers are in Manila. But, oh, that way they’d be far from the political action, where the public would be watching them instead of the King’s embarrassing trial.

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INTERACTION. Aida Aguas, aol.com: Your summary of achievements of post-Marcos Presidents is objective yet so heartfelt (Gotcha, 6 Jan. 2001). And quoting Prof. Randy David makes us feel great that our favorite writers are united during this period of helplessness. While engrossed with the impeachment trial, we should also watch the elections with long-range vision.

E.J. Saguil, cybercomm.net: I love your dig at Miriam: "Not all UP grads move from job to job for such lofty aims as higher pay and promotion . . ." It’s now clear what matters to the good senator.

Basil Santo, Diliman, QC: That UP-Law grad, in a burst of fangs and fur, just taught us a new word: colloquy.

Don’t describe that grad, Basil, with another new word: lo-colloquy.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya, film/TV director: You said (Gotcha 3, Jan. 2001), "Erap has let position and power get into his head. He often has-been reported to dismiss Cabinet men’s hesitations by snorting ‘Sino ba ang Presidente?’ " Good question. Your title, "Erap isn’t like Marcos," and your impression that "Erap is more like Imelda – capricious, acquisitive" are a psychiatrist’s dream case studies. As a director who’s always intrigued by personality disorders, I have a slightly different perspective. I see Erap as Erap – the role rather than a character; an action star playing himself; unique yet quite stereotypical.

In the mythical world of Pinoy showbiz are born, or manufactured, action stars whose glossy photographs replace The Last Supper in family dining rooms. Such is their idolatrous following, that stars like Erap become addicted to their sweet popularity and, in clinging to that, stick to their self-portrait, whether in or out of their costumes.
What an action star looks like when he obtains stardom is the same "look" that he keeps eternally. Every strand of hair and moustache, the shirt style, gait, snicker, hand on the hip, ready-to-shoot, knit eyebrows, gaze, baritone vibrato and his anting-antings – his trademark, so to speak – are, in the star’s conviction, what make him click with the masa, so better to stay exactly the same way, even inside a prop-coffin. He sticks to a simplistic, one-dimensional image which he always controls. He even chooses the angles from which his image can be flattered.

An action star simply plays who he is, or becomes who he plays, or plays who he’s not. To prepare for his macho performance, he studies Hollywood stunts and one-liners like Schwarzenneger’s "Hasta la vista, Baby!" But unlike Arnold who’s also known for intelligence, most action stars don’t think. They don’t have to. They just move their bodies around, usually shadowboxing.

The career lifespan of a Pinoy action star like Fernando Poe Jr. is half a century. Some, less secure about their professional longevity, recycle themselves into pols. It’s not really a demotion, considering the same perks to be gained in public office – mass popularity, social status, big money, good times. Screen dialogue can even be passed off as campaign speech.

Every action star has his own private army of goons, special-effects men, makeup artists. He surrounds himself with people who surround him at all times, like having a support group-cum-shadow Cabinet. It is their job to massage his ego all day and all night.

Who is the President ba? For me, he is, was, has been an action star. Cheers!

Patsy Illana, Pasig: Miriam said that presidential candidates receive lots of contributions after proclaiming themselves winner, and made special mention of 1992. Looking back, wasn’t it she who kept declaring herself winner?

Thank you, Donald Miller, Adelbert Batica, Ramon Sagullo, Jun B. Lintag, Dennis Siazon, Hanzel Leano, Ricardo Molina, Bing Ramos, Mia Quirino, Manny Leno, Juan Ventura, Abel C. Coloma, Rocelie M., Doug G. Arcias, Joel Bernasor, John Diaz, Robert Arciaga, Noriel Javier, Reuben Lim, Gerry Kaimo, Y. Taguines, Chupsie Medina, Tony Seva, Gene Bueno, Bro. Eddie & Sis. Dory Villanueva, George & Mimi Siy.

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