If he’s dead, he’s dead; if not, he’ll show up. Why this fuss?

I don’t understand why so many people are getting hot and bothered over the Lamitan parish priest Father Cirilo A. Nacorda’s flippant remark at the Rotary Club of Manila that he heard that the Abu Sayyaf renegade Abu Sabaya is still alive and had been "sighted".

Nacorda was right in the past to have strongly assailed the military’s disgraceful failure to crush the ASG bandits who had snatched 20 hostages from Dos Palmas when the army already had those rebels-cum-kidnappers penned up in his town. By letting the Muslim brigands get away – with all their captives in tow (plus a new one, the ill-fated nurse Ediborah Yap) – while business tycoon Reghis Romero and two friends mysteriously "escaped", our military enabled the ASG to go on an additional year of murder and rampage.

On the other hand, sad to say, Father Nacorda has also exhibited, on occasion, a propensity to grandstand. Perhaps, during the Rotary open forum, he was merely careless when he dropped that so-called "bombshell" about Sabaya still being alive, contrary to reports that he had been slain by Philippine Navy Seals and Marines in the June 21 shoot-out off the coast of Zamboanga del Norte. Nacorda’s wild tale, when you examine it, was simply based on hearsay. If you ask me, his fellow grandstander, Abu Sabaya, would have surfaced by now, if he survived that encounter, to thumb his nose at the government and the armed forces in the full glare of media.

But what the heck. If he’s "alive", so what? If we missed him that time, we’ll get him next time. Why waste time and saliva debating whether Sabaya’s deadball or not, or whether having captured his backpack and sunglasses are "proof" of his having been extirpated? Susmariosep. It’s up to that murderous rapist and braggart to prove he’s "alive". Our military – instead of shooting off at the mouth – should keep on shooting hot lead at the Abus, dead or alive. They relaxed their vigilance, crowing that the Abus were "on the run" or had broken up, or had already been "crushed".

Look what happened. At Patikul, Sulu, the Abus surfaced anew to grab those six Jehovah’s Witnesses missionaries, two of whom they promptly beheaded. Our military was too proud, and – as even Father Nacorda knows, since he presumably knows the Bible by heart – pride goeth before a fall.

* * *

Another thing that mystifies me is why Defense Secretary Angelo T. Reyes and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Roy Cimatu (who’s desperately trying to get his term extended beyond his early September retirement "deadline") are now insisting that the bandits who abducted those hostages aren’t Abu Sayyaf.

Reyes in particular has been claiming that the leader of that group – Abdumon Sahiron alias Commander Moin, and a nephew of ASG Chieftain Raddulah Sahiron – is not "in the military order of battle" and, therefore, is not considered part of the Abu Sayyaf Group.

I heard Reyes on television asserting that "he (Abdumon Sahiron) is what we might call a loose cannon. Not even Radullah Sahiron can influence him."

How does Reyes know that? Is the DND chief now a "character reference" for this scalawag, the younger Sahiron? Remember the old maxim: If it waddles like a duck, quacks like a duck, and honks like a duck, then it must be a duck. Commander Moin and his "beheading" bunch certainly look and smell like the ugly ducklings of the Abu Sayyaf.

And what’s this nonsense about his not being included in the military’s "order of battle"? Do those vicious Sulu kidnapper-killers have to present their credentials to be officially accredited as card-carrying members of the ASG? Give us a break. No wonder we can’t defeat the Abus. We’re too busy struggling with words and definitions. If we weren’t so verbose, perhaps we’d get something accomplished.

It’s like that silly piece of government-propaganda B.S. now appearing all over TV, in which a happy little family is portrayed as having managed to afford to buy an electric fan because the nation’s Fairy Godmother – who else but La Presidenta Gloria? – so benevolently saved them "money" by abolishing the PPA payment which had swollen everybody’s electric bill all out of proportion. Gosh. Of course, we’re all happy and grateful that the awful additional PPA "charge" was dropped from our electricity bills. We also know that GMA scrapped the PPA after her popularity ratings dropped in an earlier IBON survey, just before the Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll showed her popularity had gone back up. Apparently, GMA’s mood swings from one survey to another. What’s this about the latest Pulse Asia survey? Sanamagan. Here we go again.

Who’s going to pay for the postponed PPA in the end? Why our children and grandchildren, of course. But that’s after 2004.

* * *

The President is going to Spain on September 17 on a "state visit" to Madrid, making a sidetrip to Barcelona after her official meetings with His Majesty King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia, and Prime Minister José Maria Aznar. She won’t overnight in Barcelona, but fly on to Rome, arriving there at about 10:30 p.m. on September 20, according to her tentative schedule. The following morning, the Chief Executive will have an audience with His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, at the Supreme Pontiff’s summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, then fly on to Copenhagen (Denmark) for a world summit conference. I’m told that GMA will discuss – after, of course, receiving his blessing – the Holy Father’s planned visit to Manila next February.

I hope and pray that the Holy Father makes it. While he appeared so weak and frail in his visit to his "hometown" of Cracow (Poland) a few days ago, who knows what miraculous "staying power" God may grant him? The Pope has been saying for months that he will "go" only when Our Lady of Fatima comes and takes him. Thus far, we haven’t heard from Our Blessed Lady.

The Holy Father, if he can still travel six months from now will surely find millions of Filipino devotees thronging to greet him in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation – despite all the so-called church "scandals" erupting into publicity all over the world. Last Sunday, when Pope John Paul II conducted Mass at Cracow (Krakow), he blessed a crowd of 2.2 million who had assembled from all over Poland. When he came to Manila in 1996, he had been hailed by more than five million Filipinos. We’re still, for all our troubles and disappointments, a devout bastion of the Faith. Which gives us confidence, despite the absurd and non-stop politicking of so many bishops, clerics, and nuns, that we’ll endure in God’s grace. This is the sort of deep-seated faith that the Communists, Marxists, Maoists, Leftists and assorted atheists and agnostics constantly condemn as "the opium of the people". On the contrary, it doesn’t sedate our nation – it energizes us.

I notice, by the way, that the Communists have come out of the shadows and the woodwork, and are roundly being touted as having become "respectable". Why, their admirers and supporters toothily ululate, they’re even "in Congress!" (I won’t be nasty and say that somebody being in Congress is not a guarantee of respectability.) May I point out that the Communists have an advantage, even at the ballot box, when we gullibly invite them to take part on our free, democratic elections. They have a "private army" with which to coerce, frighten, and force Commission on Election officials, poll watchers, and teachers to "cooperate", or enable them to "fix" the ballot – namely the violent and homicidal New People’s Army (NPA). In sum, they can talk-talk and shoot-shoot at the same time, while still pretending to be peace-loving and "respectable".

* * *

The Americans are urging the President, after the Copenhagen summit is concluded, to fly to New York City for a one-on-one meeting with US President George W. Bush. The "excuse" for the extra sidetrip would be for GMA to attend and even be one of the dozens of speakers at a plenary session of the United Nations over there. Why doesn’t Washington, DC just make its invitation "official" and schedule an honest-to-goodness meeting with President Dubya – instead of being sneaky about it? (What is George going to give GMA? Only 15 minutes?)

For one, George W. needs — at this stage — all the friends he can get. He’s been losing them like some one with bad breath, thanks to his insistence and that of his Hawkish coven, i.e., Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, et cetera, on launching an invasion of Iraq. Daddy should have finished the job in 1991, when Desert Storm had destroyed Iraq’s Republican army and devastated Baghdad’s military establishment and the "alliance" led by George B., Sr., had Saddam Insane by the balls. But Dad blinked, and later on the "economy" scuppered his re-election bid.

Last Friday’s USA TODAY, the influential and internationally-circulated American daily, ran as its frontpage banner headline: "SUPPORT SLIPS FOR BID TO OUST SADDAM."

The newspaper tacked on in its subhead, however: "But poll shows 86% of US feel Iraq’s leader aids terror."

Richard Bendetto of USA TODAY reported: "A slight majority of Americans still supports sending ground troops to Iraq to oust Saddam Hussein, but the size of that majority has dwindled to pre-September 11 levels, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll finds.

"At the same time, President Bush’s job approval has fallen to 65%, still healthy but at its lowest level since before Sept. 11.

"Support for the sending of troops to Iraq has fallen from a high of 74% in November to 53%."

That’s significant.

Moreover, the report noted, "several US allies have warned against going to war against Iraq. In the poll, most of those who support going to war want it with allied help,"

The newspaper stated that "the slide comes amid growing debate at home and abroad over the advisability of a military offensive that could disrupt trade and further inflame tensions in the Middle East."

On the other hand, 85 percent still feel "Saddam is involved in supporting terrorist groups planning to attack the United States"; 94 percent "believe Saddam either has weapons of mass destruction, or is trying to develop them;" and 83 percent of those who say he has them believe he would use them.

In short, such attitudes could still suddenly swing Americans from hesitation to a full support of "war".

* * *

What’s even more serious than the disquieting poll result is the fact that "disgruntled Saudis" have pulled $100 billion to $200 billion in investments out of the US in recent months – unnoticed by many of us here in Asia. We must not overestimate the impact of, say, $200 billion being withdrawn from the already shaky American economy, which has been damaged by the Enron and WorldCom scandals, and the sharp drop in the confidence-ratings of corporate America. In the immense US economy, this is not an earth-shaking amount, but it could start a stampede.

An article by Roula Khalaf, datelined London, provided a banner headline for last Wednesday’s Financial Times (August 21 issue) which blared forth: "Disgruntled Saudis Withdraw Billions of Dollars from US".

The piece points out that "the US-Saudi alliance was put under severe strain after September 11, when 15 of the aeroplanes’ 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals.

The FT comments further that "accusations that Saudi Arabia’s austere brand of Islam breeds terrorism and its charities finance Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network have been perceived in the kingdom as attacks on Saudi society and its religion."

The following day, the FT in its Thursday (Aug. 22) issue, reported that the billions being moved out of the US by the Saudis and other Middle Eastern countries were possibly being shifted to the euro zone.

The newspaper opined that the exodus could even accelerate in the wake of the trillion-dollar lawsuit filed last week by relatives of the victims of the September 11 Twin Towers terrorist attack, accusing several Saudi institutions and charities and three members of the royal family, "including the defense minister", of financing terrorism.

However, Financial Times correspondent Julie Earl in New York and reporter James Politi in London (August 22) said that "most banks (have) emphasized the relatively low level of Saudi holdings of US assets, between $400 and $600 billion, according to one estimate, or equivalent to less than one percent of total outstanding US assets."

What the US-Saudi rift reveals, on the other hand, is that – as an editorial in the same issue underscores – "for decades US policy in the Middle East has sought to reconcile the irreconcilable. It has tried simultaneously to support Israel and defend the Arab states which are the most important suppliers of its oil."

This balancing act is increasingly becoming both too obvious and precarious.

And so, Mr. Bush, as I’ve said, needs to keep all the friends he can in this unraveling situation. GMA has nailed her flag to the mast, giving her unstinting support to George and the US "global war against terror." Can we expect, then, that the next Balikatan will be in Sulu?

Were those Christian "missionaries" who walked so openly into that traditionally Islamic stronghold pretending to sell "cosmetics", or had they been bravely courting martyrdom by braving the perils of Patikul? In any event, those cruel Abu Sayyaf mujahideen, by abducting them and cutting off the heads of two, may have brought the wrath of Balikatan down on their own.