Release 200 jailed Commie rebels? You must be joking! - BY THE WAY by Max V. Soliven

Let’s not fiddle-faddle or doublespeak about it. It’s wrong for our government to agree to hold "peace talks" with the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the New People’s Army (NPA) rebel leaders in faraway Oslo, Norway.

What have the Norwegians got to do with our local business? They have pretty fjords and snowy mountains, but what the hell. The discussions should be held in Manila, not Oslo. After all, it's a local rebellion – not an international war.

Remember the last peace treaty which was forged in Oslo? It fell flat on its face. This was the peace agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestine’s Arab supporters. Where is that peace deal now? The Israelis and Palestinians are shooting at each other all over again, rocketing each other, and bringing heavy weaponry into play. The "peace process"? It’s kaput. The Israel-Palestinian "war" is escalating. Even from the viewpoint of being a peace venue, Oslo (I hope they won’t take offense) is jinxed.

It’s also wrong to fall into the trap laid by the rebels of agreeing, as they suggest, to a joint nationwide ceasefire. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo must not be misled by her advisers, including former General and Congressman Eduardo Ermita and, Susmariosep, former Secretary of Justice and Solicitor General (Ramos-time) Silvestre "Bebot" Bello. Incidentally, don’t you think Bebot is the wrong choice to "negotiate" on behalf of the government with the NDF and NPA? In Davao, where he comes from, he used to be head of Bayan, a pro-NDF organization. Gee whiz. They didn’t even bother to vet Bebot for his former Leftwing connections.

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As for the screwy idea of a "ceasefire" reiterated by NDF chief negotiator and former priest Luis Jalandoni, who arrived from the Netherlands last Sunday at the head of a four-member NDF peace panel, it’s foolish for our government to stop chasing and fighting the NPA and their armed cadres.

A "truce" would enable them to go unhindered from barrio to barrio, town to town, city and province, openly recruiting new cadres, beefing up their forces, conducting teach-ins and distributing propaganda, and attracting new "converts." It would give the rebels a pause during which they can rest, train new "fighters" and rearm. It would give them an opportunity to move around populated areas to collect what they call "revolutionary" or "progressive taxes." (You know how the Communist insurgents collect taxes. They tell their victims, "pay up, or else!" Or else means termination with extreme prejudice. You can evade paying taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, but if you don’t cough up the money demanded by the NPA or the so-called proletarian rebel forces, it’s goodbye for you and your family, and some unmarked grave somewhere.)

Why give them a breather from being harassed and attacked by the Army and the PNP? They’ll only take advantage of it – then they’ll strike from ambush without declaring the "truce" over, scoring a deadly "victory", leaving our outposts and peaceful communities in ashes and ruins. Why deal with them "by the book" as if they were gentlemen to be trusted, when they’ve thrown the book away themselves? They are never guided by any rules of conduct or "honor." To a guerrilla, everything goes. They win by cunning what they can’t conquer by bullets. They prey on the gullibility of "the other side." Our democratic government and its leaders are their "enemy." Why give them quarter, when they give us none?

A "ceasefire" would be suicide for us. The late, great President (and former Defense Secretary) Ramon Magsaysay was the only one who defeated the Communist rebels, originally named the Hukbalahap, then the HMB (Hukbong Magpapalaya ng Bayan) or "People’s Liberation Army." Magsaysay did not crawl to them or beg for peace. He made them beg for peace. His policy was to offer them only two choices: "All-out friendship or all-out force." There was no in-between. If they surrendered, they were granted amnesty (unless guilty of murder, arson, or rape) and even given a parcel of land. (Some of those defending their lands in Mindanao from NPA attack or Moro rebels are the families of the former Huk "surrenderees" who benefitted from this deal). If they continued to attack the government, Magsaysay sent in his battalion combat teams (the renowned BCTs) or the Nenita "Death’s Head" unit of the late Col. Napoleon Valeriano – and crushed them.

His tactic was summarized in the Four F’s: Find ’em, Fool ‘em, Fight ‘em, Finish ‘em!

But these are twice-told tales. Have we learned nothing from them?

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In the end, what worked for Magsaysay was that, even as he fought the Huks and the enemies of the Republic tooth and nail, he addressed – at the same time – the evils which provoked unrest and discontent. What he pledged was equal justice for all. Even if legally infirm, the Magsaysay Credo, which convinced the populace without doubt that he was a "man of the masses" was the slogan: "Those who have less in life should have more in law."

Magsaysay was not a brilliant man. He used to joke that he was a "mere mechanic" who had married the boss’s daughter. But he fixed what was wrong with our Republic. He succeeded where more intellectually "gifted" and prestigious leaders had failed: He mobilized everyone, rich and poor alike, to rally to his banner. The snobs, political dynasts, cynics and pseudo-intellectuals sneered at him for being an ignoramus, a grandstander, a showboater – a clown. He was all of those, but much more: he was a leader, overwhelming everyone with the tidal wave of his sincerity.

He called on Filipinos to give the best of themselves, and they responded with a magnificent shout that shook the rafters and echoed to the highest mountain-tops. I do not exaggerate. Unashamedly, many were proud to have themselves marked as "men of Magsaysay." For he inspired us. Even when he doublecrossed Luis Taruc, the Huk chieftain, by sending Ninoy Aquino and the late Senator Manny Manahan (two of his brightest lieutenants) to convince Taruc to surrender and promised him a "pardon", but instead slapped the Huk supremo in jail, he elicited understanding from Taruc – himself a sincere leader. It was Ninoy and Manahan, really, who were surprised and angered. "For many years," Ninoy used to tell me, "I had to look behind me, expecting a Huk assassination squad to zap me for my perfidy. In penance, I did everything to support and help educate Ka Luis’s son."

No, the angry Huks didn’t zap Ninoy. It was Marcos’ minions who finally got him. As for Ka Luis Taruc, he served out his sentence without bitterness, and continues to lead a dedicated and exemplary life, in peace.

As you can see, Magsaysay was generous and caring – but he was also relentless. What made him furious was injustice, the exploitation and degradation of the poor, the mistreatment of soldiers and – in particular – the widows and orphans of soldiers and Philippine Constabularymen slain in battle, and the sneaky maneuvers of corrupt politicians.

Once I found him in tears in his private sanctum in Malacañang. I asked him why. He replied: "There’s so much to do, and often I find I can’t do anything about problems, or I can’t find enough time to deal with them!"

Too soon, time ran out on him.

What about GMA? Is she using the time allotted to her wisely? Is she fighting as relentlessly as "The Guy", Monching Magsaysay did? Or is she compromising? Remember the Four F’s, President Arroyo: Find ‘em, Fool ‘em, Fight ‘em – Finish ‘em! There is no middle way. Don’t fall between the cracks.

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It is wrong, finally, to even consider the release of 200 Communist rebels or terrorists from prison – which is reportedly one of the key demands being made by the National Democratic Front. What effrontery! The NDF is already arrogantly trying to dictate peace terms, as if they were the victors in the uncivil war which they have been waging.

But that’s what happens when the Arroyo government, following the inane examples set by the previous Cory, Ramos, and Estrada administrations, desperately sends emissaries to ask the Communist insurgents to make "peace." When you’re begging for peace, as everybody ought to know, you look like you’re the loser in the fight. Let our government hand down the terms, not the NDF or the NPA. And our position should be: Take it or leave it!

Sanamagan. The NDF and NPA should have been beaten long ago, but each succeeding administration demonstrated a lack of political will to do so. It was always a case of talk-talk, jaw-jaw, negotiate-negotiate. While we dithered, the NPA and rebel forces continued to recruit, proselytize, attack – and subvert. They infiltrated not only the labor unions (unionists were warned: cooperate or die!) but the government itself, with many Communists, their ideology merely thinly-disguised, rising to ranking positions.

No. It’s not a case of "the only good Communist is a dead Communist." However, how cleverly they weasel themselves into decision-making positions. They put on protective coloration. Some claim they’ve "reformed." There are a legion of "sleepers" ready to rise up and chip away at the stability of our democratic government anew.

Whenever somebody questions their moves, their favorite ploy is to shout that "McCarthyism" is in the air, or they plead harassment or "violation of human rights." We’re such suckers. We buy that line – everytime. As for them, you have to grant them an "A" for tenacity and effort.

If President Arroyo and her dispensation allow themselves to be led – gullibly – down the same garden path and seek to appease the NDF by freeing those 200 troublemakers and convicts, there will be no end to the grief that will be visited on our society. The judges and prosecutors, the soldiers and policemen (and their families) who nailed those vermin will be at risk from vendetta and retaliation. The hardships endured by our soldiers and policemen, the blood shed by their comrades, to capture those "prisoners" will go for naught. We will be setting 200 dangerous subversives and their contagion back into the bloodstream of our nation.

Former President Corazon C. Aquino and her wiseguys released Joma Sison, for instance (after he spent nine years in prison), and what did we get? More rebellion, more murders and ambushes, more pain. Now we’re negotiating with those like Joma, Jalandoni, and the rest who were set free – and they’re now demanding we accept the terms of our surrender.

And what’s this about releasing the two convicted killers of US Col. James Rowe (who was shot down in cold blood)? The murderers, Donato Continente and Juanito Itaas, must never be given any so-called "political pardon." There’s too much blood on their hands. They were twice convicted by the courts. The very thought of them going free makes many in the armed forces and the PNP want to vomit.

C’mon, Madam President. Stand firm. The rebels can be defeated and put to rout. But not if we "surrender" first. Jesus Christ! Every one of those convicts behind bars is worse than Barabbas!

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THE ROVING EYE . . . Let’s not forget what happened to thousands of workers who were thrown out of work when major companies gave up, packed up, and fled the country, owing to protracted labor trouble and strikes that deteriorated into bloodshed. (After all, these were triggered by Communist-led unions and labor federations – and the aim of these bozos and strike-leaders was "class struggle", not higher wages or a better deal for employees and workers.) For example, the giant Nestlé Corporation shut down its operations here and left for other countries. Nestlé was not mistreating or underpaying its personnel. Even the lowliest janitor, in those days, got a wage of P12,000 monthly. (When I wrote a column about it, one brigadier general of the Army rang me up: "Wow! Can I apply for a janitor’s position?") Alas, Nestlé departed, never to return . . . Another case in point was the Mattei Corporation, which manufactures the world-famous "Barbie" doll. The company simply left for Malaysia and other countries. "Barbie" marches on around the planet, but dolls are no longer manufactured here . . . There are dozens of others which left. Now, the hardlining strike organizers are sneering that Toyota won’t carry out its threat to pack up and leave. Do GMA and Labor Secretary Pat Sto. Tomas want to test Toyota’s will to depart? The union agitators are now insisting that Toyota is only bluffing because, they maintain, the Philippines is one of the company’s biggest markets in Southeast Asia, with Toyota controlling 30 percent of the Philippine automotive market. Are they dreaming? Toyota can go elsewhere – yet still sell cars and other vehicles in the Philippines. It’s a world where everyone today lives in a global village. Yesterday, we heard Emilio Completo, spokesman of the Toyota Motor Phils. Workers Association bragging that Toyota’s threatened pull-out is a remote possibility because of the firm’s huge investment in the Philippines. Completo had better look again. Toyota can simply crate its machinery and ship everything somewhere else, leaving behind the empty hulls of its factory and administration buildings in Laguna. Completo asked, scoffing at the Toyota plan: "Where are they going to take all that money, their buildings and facilities?" Perhaps to China, Emilio Baby. In the People’s Republic of China, the homeland of Maoism, the government doesn’t allow anybody to go out on strike. Remember the Falun Gong? All those unfortunate men and women did was mount a few demonstrations and qicong meditation sessions in Tienanmen Square and near the government leaders’ homes, and they were all carted off to jail. The Communists when they’re in power and have created a "workers’ paradise" don’t permit the workers to spoil their paradise by strike-action or protest marches (unless organized for "show" by the government itself). The Chinese have prison labor for "free", and can underbid our workers anytime. Or Toyota can go to Thailand where the government treats foreign investors better. Their alternatives are almost limitless. So, get off your high horse, Completo! When there’s no food on the table, and your co-workers are out on their behinds on the bare ground, unemployed and unemployable, they’ll thank you for not shutting up and wising up – in their own fashion . . . Recall the Philippine Airlines’ pilots’ strike which virtually destroyed PAL? Where are those pilots now? Some of them may be working for other airlines – but at much reduced pay. Or they’re driving FX taxicabs. It’s no wonder another big car manufacturer, General Motors, bypassed the Philippines, although President Ramos and his merry men attempted energetically to attract it here. The GM execs took one look at our aggressive labor front, and our pugnacious court system – and opted for Thailand. It’s time we stopped living in the World of Illusion and recovered our senses. This is a land where passions are so easily whipped up, resentments provoked, but where regret comes too late. It pricks our pride that we must depend on the investment of foreigners and the "kindness of strangers", but pride won’t fill the empty stomachs of our children and our families. Nor will empty rhetoric.