The Prince, Meralco, Texas 10, and CCN

Sometimes it happens that there are more things I want to write about than there is space to write them on. This is one of those times. In the past week, the visit of Cambodia’s Prince Ranariddh, the Supreme Court decision against Meralco, Texas 10 update and Constitutional Change Now were vying for space as far as this column was concerned.

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The Prince. In the touching ceremonies for Prince Ranariddh, head of the National Assembly of Cambodia and leader of the Funcipec Party, Speaker Jose de Venecia recalled a golden age in international diplomacy in which the Prince’s father, King Norodom Sihanouk played a stellar role. At the height of the Cold War and the bitter struggle between Communism and Capitalism, King Sihanouk was at the center of a group of legendary leaders who formed the non-aligned bloc. I wonder how it would have been had these leaders been alive and in power today. The occasion also brought out once again the political savvy of the host. When queried on the newly established Congressional award of achievement to Prince Ranariddh, Joe de V said "We may not have an Angkor Wat (world-famous Hindu-influenced temples of architecture in Cambodia) but we have the magnanimity and decency to give a man what he deserves."

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Meralco: The passing of an age. For personal reasons, I have been reluctant to write on the Meralco saga since the Supreme Court’s decision. My husband, former Ambassador Alberto A. Pedrosa, was vice president and general manager of Meralco Securities Corporation, the antecedent of First Philippine Holdings, Inc. at the peak of its power and development. Those were difficult years with Bert in the thick of a corporate struggle on the direction and policies of the company. As fate would have it, it was also the time when the Untold Story of Imelda Marcos became a cause célèbre. My husband and I were besieged on two fronts. While news reports have concentrated on the amount to be refunded to customers or how this would bankrupt the company, I would like to take a broader, more philosophical view of the Supreme Court decision. By making the decision it did, that is, in favor of the multitude against a powerful corporation, we have reached a watershed in our history as a nation. I see the decision as a signal of the passing of an age. There was a time when such a decision would have been unthinkable. I would like to believe that the personalities involved from the President, the Supreme Court justices, the Meralco officials and lawyers as well as the Lopezes are incidental, mere dramatis personae, in carrying out the inevitable modernization of the nation. We have reason to cheer and be optimistic.

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Texas 10. I am grateful to FilAms who wrote their appreciation to this column for publishing the story of the Texas 10. Although they are less than ten now, they have come to be known as Texas 10 among Filipinos helping them because there were originally 10 of them jailed in Mansfield, Texas. Other detainees from different nationalities have since been freed but Filipinos have had a more difficult time because the Philippines is regarded as al-Qaeda country. Oscar Rabutaso is back in the Philippines. He was the first detainee to be represented by a lawyer hired by NaFFAA (a Filipino organization in the US). Another detainee, Mr. Solemno Picardal whose family hired a well-paid private attorney (the only one with a private attorney), is now out on bail.

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The remaining eight will be tried on December 9 and it is for them that different groups in the US are raising legal money and public awareness both in the US and here. So far the fundraising has not met the goal. Gus Mercado says they have given up on the idea of proposing bail, and will just concentrate on their defense. Our mission is to send our Filipino detainees home to their families for Christmas. Sponsors of Resolution Creating NaFFAA Legal Defense and Humanitarian Fund were Gus Mercado of Dallas & Lope Lindio of Houston, Region VI with co-Sponsors: Alex Esclamado, Loida Lewis, Rodel Rodis and the 10 Regional Chairs.

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Constitutional Change Now (CCN) – A Question of Honor. With the looming presidential elections of 2004, expect the economy or anything else more serious to take a back seat. As far as politicians are concerned, they cannot wait to do battle. It is the only show in town as far as the Philippines is concerned. With Senator Panfilo Lacson’s hat in the ring, expect the temperature to rise up in the political climate. A birdie told me that President GMA has already selected her teammate and it is none other than Lopez-MERALCO-ABS-CBN’s man Senator Noli de Castro. Some senators I have talked to (the more responsible ones, obviously) are frustrated with the way events are developing. We will probably end up with FPJ, Jr. as president and Noli de Castro as vice president. Heaven forbid. I am not saying who said this to me. He was speculating, anyway. He thinks Senator Lacson, in the end, will be persuaded to give up his presidential bid in favor of FPJ, Jr. For those who still want to do what is right for the country, the real choice is between whether one wants to play along with this kind of politics or go for constitutional change before 2004. Now that is a real choice. To go for politics as usual is to accept that popularity alone decides who the leaders of our country should be. If you do not agree that this is the way officials should be elected for this country then the only alternative is to go for constitutional change. It has now become a question of honor.

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But even constitutional change might come too late. There are those who are already looking at other options. Among these is an intriguing proposal from Dexter Que who wants constitutional change for a federal government. But he is pessimistic and writes that no million signatures can save this country. "What we need now is to encourage the provinces to break-off economically from Manila. The Philippines would continue to remain as one political unit, but with each province going off on its own economic plans. The moment one Christian province decides to break off, there will be a domino effect and we will have a SUPER-EDSA that will finally accomplish what all the other EDSAs failed to accomplish, and that is to break the power of Manila ( including all the families that control the Senate and the House). What all the other EDSAs did was just to change the president, but the rules of the game remained the same, thereby guaranteeing an endless cycle of more EDSAs in the future. Let us do it right this time; we have very little time left."

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My e-mail address: [email protected] or [email protected].