Klarong panglawgaw

Just to stress the obvious, that is, the true motive of the leftist NGOs (Bayan Muna, Sanlakas, Anakpawis, et al.), this title is so expressed in the vernacular. They have vowed to hold their own three-day "people's events" to coincide with the first two days of the ASEAN Summit on December 11 to 14.

How else are these leftists naughtily plotting their agenda, but just to throw monkey wrenches into, and divert so much wind from, the ASEAN Summit sail? Their devious aim is to strike media mileage to belittle the occasion and whatever positives this international meet will churn into news.

Negative publicity has juicier news worthiness than any positive exposure. Hence, should the militants go through with their protest march to the ASEAN Summit site on its opening day - with colorful streamers, complete with noisy street sound bites - just imagine the negative impact in the media war.

Per recent events in Cebu, the NGO radicals spurted venom when Governor Gwendolyn Garcia had declared all-out war against the NPA holding sway in mid-North Cebu, victimizing civilians including in urban centers with their "revolutionary taxation".

The militant coalition with its KKK initial and another sporting PAMALAKAYA as acronym, have condemned the governor for echoing the national government's all-out war against the rebels. The governor's call for all-out war was obviously directed at the NPA without mentioning their sympathizers or the non-combatant cause-oriented ideologues.

To everybody's surprise, nay, not unexpected to most, these party-list and cause oriented groups were one in their bellicose denunciation of the governor for allegedly fomenting a "massacre waiting to happen" and a "death warrant" of their group leaders and members. In short, they on their own included themselves in cabal with the communist insurgents, as targets of the all-out war.

The governor just mildly called these groups as "legal fronts" of the communist rebels. Rightly so, because by their vehemence in taking up the cause of the rebels, they have given away or betrayed their true color - that of flaming red, not just magenta or purplish red. So feeling the heat, there's a Cebuano saying: "Kadtong nagsili, mao gyud ang gihangan".

In fact, during its rally, the Kilusang Magbubukid went to such length of pouring animal blood on the portrait of Lady Gwen and, when the latter reacted to such primitive tribal fetish to do harm on her, the KMB twitted her as resorting to "cheap PR trick".

These are the ideologues who want to derail the ASEAN Summit with their "People's Events", touted to be attended by 100 international delegates to take up a "series of protest actions". Undoubtedly, they not only want to compete with the ASEAN powwow, but to divert public attention, especially the foreign media, to their cause. Their overall plot is for a "series of protests", a protest march to the ASEAN site on opening day, a fluvial parade from Talisay to the Mandaue-Mactan bridge, and other openly-public demos, instead of confining themselves indoors for whatever discussions as are wont in such events.

Indeed, if there be necessity for the radicals to hold their "People's Events", elementary respect and decency - and propriety - should deter them from coinciding it with the ASEAN Summit... It's ironic that these militants with their uniform warlike gesture of clenched fists raised, have to froth in the mouth in championing human rights, individual liberties, decency, and nationalism, and yet, they appear not to make out the true import of their loud sound bites. Meantime, will the ASEAN Summit organizers and the LGU executives concerned with their overflowing army of security and peace keepers, allow or tolerate the planned militant disruptions? Or, does Mayor Tomas Osmeña believe that he could sway the militants not to do their thing?

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