I’VE never heard Fred Gapuz laugh the way he did when a fellow “victim” told him: “Welcome to the club!”
Manong Fred, erstwhile lawyer of Dongkoy Emano, was still hurting from his much publicized breakup with the Cagayan de Oro mayor but he needed a good laugh–laughter being the best medicine. His daughter Catherine, perhaps the one who was the most affected by the display of the client’s stylemark boorishness at the Sandiganbayan two weeks ago, needs a good laugh, too.

I can’t imagine this respected lawyer being treated like he didn’t exist. Imagine lawyering for someone and not being looked at by your client for hours. Imagine your client–a close friend at that–not speaking to you for reasons you know nothing about. And imagine your client-friend making your other friends and panero do the same thing. Worse, the only time you get to hear a message from your client-friend is when he sends another friend to ask you to quantify your services so he could pay you. I can understand how Manong Fred felt. He took all the insult and rejection from the airport to the Sandiganbayan. And I can understand how the emotionally battered man found himself calling his eldest child from Manila–he needed a shoulder and someone to talk to!

Children are fond of doing this. A child quarrels with a friend. So he snubs his friend. He also expects his other friends to snub the other child. Anyone seen talking or playing with the other child automatically becomes an “enemy”. As an “enemy”, you lose the privilege of playing with the group or of being allowed to enter their houses or of borrowing their toys. Your status as an enemy remains until you kiss and make up. When children do this, it’s kids’ stuff. But when an adult–a sixty-something–does this, it’s not being childish. Either the grownup is really, really insecure or is sick in the head. It’s not “wala sa mood”. It’s topak.

I say Manong Fred, with a little help from Cathy, should organize a club called Asosasyon sa mga Nahigmatang Higala ni Dongkoy (no relation to Manny Jaudian, Jerry Pacuribot, Roy Raagas and Bob Ocio’s Pagmata, Cagayan de Oro). Or Manong Fred can simply call the group “Gibungolan, Inc.” to make the name a bit catchy and crispy. Manong Fred, being the most prominent victim of mayoral uncouthness in Cagayan de Oro, can chair Gibungolan, Inc.

Gibungolan, Inc. should be non-partisan. Neither should it be anti-Emano–that is, if it wants other victims to come forward and become Gibungolan members. Rather than campaign against a continued Emano mayorship, Gibungolan, Inc. should be doing advocacy work. The club can be an advocate for good manners and right conduct as well as stand for people, especially the lowly, who were and are being treated like bums by the rich and mighty.

In these times of moral decadence, it’s high time that concerned citizens organize a group like Gibungolan, Inc.. Gibungolan, Inc. can have a train-the-trainers program and sponsor seminars aimed at promoting good manners and right conduct, things that many of our children no longer hear from parents–or even from grandparents–these days.

A group like Gibungolan, Inc. should be telling parents about the need to teach their children how to treat other people like equals regardless of their standing in the political or social ladder. Sadly, many of our children today are ill-bred, insensitive and have absolutely no respect whatsoever for other people because the new generation of parents have either forgotten or have not even heard about any of the good old-fashioned values of our ancestors. That we have in our midst today a grownup who behaves like a good-for-nothing, uncouth boor who doesn’t mind his manners, is the result of the failure of a lot of parents to pass on to their kids these Filipino values.

The town of Tagoloan may be the best place to pilot-test Gibungolan, Inc.’s advocacy program.
For starters, the club can begin by forming a core group of people who, like Manong Fred, have been trampled on or are still struggling to brave out the kind of inelegance in city hall.

Gibungolan, Inc. can have three membership classifications–regular, associate and honorary.
Regular members are those who found themselves waking up one day and saying to themselves: “Enough is enough. I will not be treated like chicken dung!”–especially if the tyrant sounds and looks like popular voice actor Ben David of the Gabi ng Lagim fame of the early ’80s.

Associate members are those who allow this diabetic (he consumes an average of four pellets of Equal sweetener for every cup of coffee) to rob them everyday of their self-esteem in exchange for you-supply-the-word.

And honorary members are those who can’t seem to make up their mind about what action to take vis-a -vis this Neanderthal attribute. Someone who never became a “flavor of the month” but became sick due to this severe shortage of civility in city hall can apply as an honorary member.

I admire Manong Fred for his forbearance. He was able to withstand this unspeakable uncouthness for 31 long years.

Pastilan.
***
Veteran broadcaster Sandy Bas, manager of a local radio station, needs to reexamine his conscience and motives.

On Friday afternoon, he haphazardly labeled Gold Star Daily’s banner story a “lie”. The story by Nilo Abroguena quoted Manong Fred as saying that the political crisis now gripping Misamis Oriental is the handiwork of Mayor Emano apparently in an effort to unseat embattled Gov. Antonio Calingin.

Sandy claimed Manong Fred told him over the phone that he (Gapuz) “did not categorically say” that Emano is the brains behind the messy political situation in the province. (Manong Fred denies telling Sandy this.)

I wouldn’t mind if Sandy merely broadcast a news story based on his supposed phone conversation with Gapuz. But he quickly, without second thoughts, labeled the story a lie.

Who are you, Sandy, to say that Nilo’s story is a lie? Were you around when Nilo interviewed Manong Fred? Did you hear what the lawyer told the reporter? By saying his story was a lie, Sandy accused Nilo–and Gold Star–of lying. (Nilo, by the way, is standing by his story and Gold Star is standing by Nilo.)

It would be unfair to judge you simply because you had yourself appointed by the mayor as a member of the board of the Cagayan de Oro Water District (COWD). And it would be unfair to judge you simply because your appointment as a director entitles you to juicy benefits in the COWD.

But, Sandy, when your appointment is clearly influencing your reportage and commentary, when your debt of gratitude to a politician is obviously becoming your blinders, and when it is becoming obvious that you are slanting your news to please a group other than the general public, then it becomes an entirely different story.

I’m afraid your true color is showing, Sandy.

You are a godly man. You play gospel music on air all the time. And you are fond of quoting scripture–even preaching on air at times. Yet it is becoming obvious to your listeners that you are compromising your profession and work ethics.

No offense, Sandy, but your “Light” is no longer shining from where I am sitting. I think you owe your God an apology before you–and your station–completely loses credibility. It’s not yet too late to right the wrong, Sandy.

You just can’t be a preacher man when you have sold your soul to the Devil for 30 pieces of silver.
Repent, “Angel” Sandy, repent!

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Herbie Gomez

Imagine a man, covered with blood , carrying a dying boy in hi arms. He cries out for help, he asks people around to help him save a life and rush the boy to the nearest hospital.

That is not the picture the public is getting based on the pronouncements and the accounts of those who saw what happened to 15 year old Junrie “Babay” Balingit on a road in Upper Dagong, Carme at dawn Thursday.

Instead the public is seeing a councilor who was elected to be a public servant running away (okay let’s use walking away) from the scene of the Thursday road accident.

The reason of Alden Bacal and his apologists: angry relatives of Balingit might manhandle the former local TV news reader turned councilor.

Here was a boy, dying, and Bacal’s excuse for not helping is because he was afraid he’d get beaten up? Junrie Balingit was dying and Bacal was thinking of his personal safety. Something is definitely not right when a man leaves another human being for dead. And the more it becomes not right when a man voted to become a public servant puts his concern for personal safety above his duty to be a man for others.

The road accident was a test of character for Bacal. Never mind if he ends up charged in court or not. He already failed the test on all counts.

Now we know what Bacal is really made of. Bacal is soft; he is not made of steel after all.

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I’VE never heard Fred Gapuz laugh the way he did when a fellow “victim” told him: “Welcome to the club!” Manong Fred, erstwhile lawyer of Dongkoy Emano, was still hurting from his much publicized breakup with the Cagayan de Oro mayor but he needed a good laugh–laughter being the best medicine. His daughter Catherine, perhaps the one who was the most affected by the display of the client’s stylemark boorishness at the Sandiganbayan two weeks ago, needs a good laugh, too.

I can’t imagine this respected lawyer being treated like he didn’t exist. Imagine lawyering for someone and not being looked at by your client for hours. Imagine your client–a close friend at that–not speaking to you for reasons you know nothing about. And imagine your client-friend making your other friends and panero do the same thing. Worse, the only time you get to hear a message from your client-friend is when he sends another friend to ask you to quantify your services so he could pay you. I can understand how Manong Fred felt. He took all the insult and rejection from the airport to the Sandiganbayan. And I can understand how the emotionally battered man found himself calling his eldest child from Manila–he needed a shoulder and someone to talk to! Children are fond of doing this. A child quarrels with a friend. So he snubs his friend. He also expects his other friends to snub the other child. Anyone seen talking or playing with the other child automatically becomes an “enemy”. As an “enemy”, you lose the privilege of playing with the group or of being allowed to enter their houses or of borrowing their toys. Your status as an enemy remains until you kiss and make up. When children do this, it’s kids’ stuff. But when an adult–a sixty-something–does this, it’s not being childish. Either the grownup is really, really insecure or is sick in the head. It’s not “wala sa mood”. It’s topak. I say Manong Fred, with a little help from Cathy, should organize a club called Asosasyon sa mga Nahigmatang Higala ni Dongkoy (no relation to Manny Jaudian, Jerry Pacuribot, Roy Raagas and Bob Ocio’s Pagmata, Cagayan de Oro). Or Manong Fred can simply call the group “Gibungolan, Inc.” to make the name a bit catchy and crispy. Manong Fred, being the most prominent victim of mayoral uncouthness in Cagayan de Oro, can chair Gibungolan, Inc. Gibungolan, Inc. should be non-partisan. Neither should it be anti-Emano–that is, if it wants other victims to come forward and become Gibungolan members. Rather than campaign against a continued Emano mayorship, Gibungolan, Inc. should be doing advocacy work. The club can be an advocate for good manners and right conduct as well as stand for people, especially the lowly, who were and are being treated like bums by the rich and mighty. In these times of moral decadence, it’s high time that concerned citizens organize a group like Gibungolan, Inc.. Gibungolan, Inc. can have a train-the-trainers program and sponsor seminars aimed at promoting good manners and right conduct, things that many of our children no longer hear from parents–or even from grandparents–these days. A group like Gibungolan, Inc. should be telling parents about the need to teach their children how to treat other people like equals regardless of their standing in the political or social ladder. Sadly, many of our children today are ill-bred, insensitive and have absolutely no respect whatsoever for other people because the new generation of parents have either forgotten or have not even heard about any of the good old-fashioned values of our ancestors. That we have in our midst today a grownup who behaves like a good-for-nothing, uncouth boor who doesn’t mind his manners, is the result of the failure of a lot of parents to pass on to their kids these Filipino values. The town of Tagoloan may be the best place to pilot-test Gibungolan, Inc.’s advocacy program. For starters, the club can begin by forming a core group of people who, like Manong Fred, have been trampled on or are still struggling to brave out the kind of inelegance in city hall. Gibungolan, Inc. can have three membership classifications–regular, associate and honorary. Regular members are those who found themselves waking up one day and saying to themselves: “Enough is enough. I will not be treated like chicken dung!”–especially if the tyrant sounds and looks like popular voice actor Ben David of the Gabi ng Lagim fame of the early ’80s. Associate members are those who allow this diabetic (he consumes an average of four pellets of Equal sweetener for every cup of coffee) to rob them everyday of their self-esteem in exchange for you-supply-the-word. And honorary members are those who can’t seem to make up their mind about what action to take vis-a -vis this Neanderthal attribute. Someone who never became a “flavor of the month” but became sick due to this severe shortage of civility in city hall can apply as an honorary member. I admire Manong Fred for his forbearance. He was able to withstand this unspeakable uncouthness for 31 long years. Pastilan. *** Veteran broadcaster Sandy Bas, manager of a local radio station, needs to reexamine his conscience and motives. On Friday afternoon, he haphazardly labeled Gold Star Daily’s banner story a “lie”. The story by Nilo Abroguena quoted Manong Fred as saying that the political crisis now gripping Misamis Oriental is the handiwork of Mayor Emano apparently in an effort to unseat embattled Gov. Antonio Calingin. Sandy claimed Manong Fred told him over the phone that he (Gapuz) “did not categorically say” that Emano is the brains behind the messy political situation in the province. (Manong Fred denies telling Sandy this.) I wouldn’t mind if Sandy merely broadcast a news story based on his supposed phone conversation with Gapuz. But he quickly, without second thoughts, labeled the story a lie. Who are you, Sandy, to say that Nilo’s story is a lie? Were you around when Nilo interviewed Manong Fred? Did you hear what the lawyer told the reporter? By saying his story was a lie, Sandy accused Nilo–and Gold Star–of lying. (Nilo, by the way, is standing by his story and Gold Star is standing by Nilo.) It would be unfair to judge you simply because you had yourself appointed by the mayor as a member of the board of the Cagayan de Oro Water District (COWD). And it would be unfair to judge you simply because your appointment as a director entitles you to juicy benefits in the COWD. But, Sandy, when your appointment is clearly influencing your reportage and commentary, when your debt of gratitude to a politician is obviously becoming your blinders, and when it is becoming obvious that you are slanting your news to please a group other than the general public, then it becomes an entirely different story. I’m afraid your true color is showing, Sandy. You are a godly man. You play gospel music on air all the time. And you are fond of quoting scripture–even preaching on air at times. Yet it is becoming obvious to your listeners that you are compromising your profession and work ethics. No offense, Sandy, but your “Light” is no longer shining from where I am sitting. I think you owe your God an apology before you–and your station–completely loses credibility. It’s not yet too late to right the wrong, Sandy. You just can’t be a preacher man when you have sold your soul to the Devil for 30 pieces of silver. Repent, “Angel” Sandy, repent! (Written last Dec. 15, 2003 but never fails to make me feel glad that I am with an editor-in-chief who trusts his reporters. Thanks always Sir Herbie! – Liza)

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CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY–Former Mayor Ruben Ecleo Jr. of San Jose, Surigao del Norte, is a wanted man. He is accused of killing his own wife Alona in Cebu last January and has been ordered arrested so he could be tried in court on the charge of parricide.

But he is not merely a politician or a son of Surigao del Norte Rep. Glenda Ecleo. He is the “supreme president” of a Mindanao-based cult with members who are willing to die for their “master”.

Such zealotry could be attributed to Ecleo’s late father Ruben Sr. from whom the ex-mayor inherited the cult’s mantle of leadership.

For 37 years, the Surigao del Norte-based Ecleo cult, Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA), has been preaching a doctrine lifted from the teachings of Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism mixed with occultism and astrology.

It was the late Ruben Ecleo Sr. who started it all.

In 1965, the “divine master” and a handful of his followers formally organized the PBMA in Ozamiz City.

Its incorporators were Ecleo, Arsenio Nazareno of Calbayog, Francisco Enerio of Misamis Oriental, Floro Caboverde of Zamboanga City, Carlos Lomanta of Ozamiz, Maximo Ravelo of Davao Oriental;

Pedro Montives of Leyte, Dionisio Cui of Davao del Norte, Victoriano Rafols of Lanao del Norte, and Eusebio Bandivas, Casiano Gorrea and Maximo Caboverde of Zamboanga del Norte.

The elder Ecleo’s “missionary work”, however, started much earlier than 1965.

Between 1958 and 1963, the years Ecleo supposedly immersed himself in his “missionary work”, emerged the “divine master’s” apostles who were referred to as the “First Thirteen”.

Two PBMA incorporators, Nazareno and Enerio, were among the Ecleo apostles. The others were Cipriano Otero of Gingoog City, his wife’s brother Ruben Buray of Misamis Oriental, cousins George and Cupertino Edera of Basilisa and Martin Laturnas of Bohol, Ignacio Sombrado of Bohol, Teodoro Regacion of Leyte, Pedro Toquib of Bukidnon and Benjamin Ratonil of Cebu.

The “First Thirteen”, like the early New Testament apostles, were sent out by Ecleo to preach, “heal” the sick and recruit followers.

The PBMA claims Ecleo started his “mission” as early as 1941 when the PBMA founder was still a boy. At eight, it said the boy Ruben had “reached far places on mission” and that he had received “dictations from the spiritual realm” in the mountains of northern Leyte at the age of 11. He began his “full mission” a year later, when he was already 12.

The “dictations”, according to the PBMA, came in the form of a voice from Devachan while Ecleo was meditating, surrounded by “pythons, deadly insects, venomous vipers and reptiles”.

Devachan, in Indian language, is the equivalent of the word “paradise” to Christians, a second heaven for the soul and a place of rest to Buddhists.
The PBMA also claims Ecleo was guided by the Arhat and taught by the Avatar.

Arhat is a Buddhist term for “worthy one” or “destroyer of the foe (ignorance)”, a title given to those who have achieved “Nirvana” which is the state wherein a man is believed to have been freed from suffering or from the cycle of birth and death. In Hindu usage, Avatar refers to any incarnation of the god Vishnu. Used generally, it refers to any descent of a god into the world in human form.

The “voices”, adds the PBMA, trained Ecleo in reading and writing in Arabic, Hebrew, Sanskrit and Aramaic so he could “interpret the ancient mysteries” and make predictions based on “Akashic Records” or, in Hindu mysticism, “cosmic consciousness”.

Cult leaders say Ecleo had possessed the powers to be omnipresent like the “Master Jesus [Christ] who had been in the Americas, Egypt, India and in his native Judea simultaneously, aside from being in the monastery in the Essenean School, near Mount Serbal, overlooking the Black Sea”. Mainstream Christian sects have rejected such teaching.

The cultists claim Ecleo “could do almost anything” by reciting the Mantra which, in Hinduism and Buddhism, refers to a sacred word or syllable repeated in prayer and meditation.

And like the biblical Jesus Christ, the PBMA leader can also transfigure himself and can even resurrect the dead, according to the cult.

“Master Ruben can materialize anywhere at will,” claims the PBMA. It said Ecleo, on numerous occasions since his childhood, had been present in various places at the same time. “While performing his missionary work in Agusan, he was also physically travelling somewhere in Davao, Bukidnon, Leyte and Samar, using different names (and) perhaps different faces, some of whom are old or young identities…”

The cult said “all manifested personalities”–with nicknames such as Ben, Obing, Fred, Freddie, Ruben, Tony and Dr. Laway–had cured the sick like the “Lord Jesus who first applied these powers in Judea…”

PBMA leaders say Ecleo’s “healing powers” directly come from “our Divine Father by virtue of the sacred or divine prayers which are called in Occultism as Mantras”.

‘Ecleo Kingdom’

RUBEN Ecleo Sr. built for himself and his family a “kingdom” on impoverished Dinagat, a small, irregular and typhoon-prone island mass off the northeastern tip of Mindanao.

Since it was chartered in 1965, the late cult leader’s Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA) virtually turned the entire island into an “Ecleo Country”.

The cult also became a political machinery that it created, wittingly or unwittingly, a political dynasty for the Ecleos.

Ecleo’s elder brother, Moises, became a governor of Surigao del Norte. His wife, the former Glenda Oliveros Buray of Gitagum, Misamis Oriental, is now a representative of Surigao del Norte to the Lower House while his son Ruben Jr. was one-time mayor of San Jose town. Another Ecleo son, Allan II, is presently mayor of the same town where the PBMA solidified its base.

On San Jose now stand four multimillion-peso PBMA landmarks–the “Divine Master’s Shrine”, “Master’s Mansion”, “Comet House” and the cult’s administration building.

The San Jose edifices are indications that the PBMA has grown into a multimillion-peso, if not a billionaire establishment.

It is estimated that the PBMA has already raised at least P35 million in entrance fees from its members since 1965. The figure is insignificant if one considered the estimated P70-million annual revenue the PBMA generates by imposing annual dues on its members in the country.

The PBMA charter obliges each new member to pay P10 as “entrance fee”. Every year, each PBMA member is expected to pay a P20-annual fee.

The PBMA boasts of having 3.5 million members in the country alone. It claims it also has members in Jordan, Canada, Australia, Palau, Hong Kong, Guam, Singapore, Malaysia, London, Italy, Monaco, Germany, Hawaii, New York and Scotland, among others. The group claims it is also organizing more PBMA chapters abroad.

Aside from its fixed entrance- and annual-fee incomes, the PBMA charter also encourages members to voluntarily give money “when the Board of Directors or the Supreme President… may desire to plead to the general members for the good or the betterment of the association”.

The association’s constitution and by-laws is silent on the sale of PBMA rings but a Surigao city-based source said all its members are expected to wear one for identification.

Each PBMA ring, according to the source, costs somewhere “between P50 to P100, more or less”.

With all the money the PBMA rakes in, not to mention the influence it wields over Dinagat, nearby towns and neighboring Surigao City, it has virtually become a little government in its own right with a well-greased “private army”, ironically, on the impoverished Surigao del Norte island.

“Many of the PBMA members living in Dinagat are armed,” said a Surigao-based source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The source said the armed PBMA members have made an oath to protect the “master”, referring to Ecleo’s son and successor Ruben Jr. who is facing a lawsuit in connection with the grisly murder of his wife, the former Alona Bacolod. Alona, who died by strangulation, was found inside a garbage bag dumped in a secluded area in Cebu last January.

Agents of the National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) who were sent to Dinagat island last week complained they failed to serve an arrest warrant against the parricide suspect because residents have been protecting the PBMA “master”.

The Cebu-based CIDG team also accused the entire San Jose police force of coddling Ruben Jr. who is believed hiding inside the Ecleo mansion in San Jose town.

“That’s the extent of the influence of the Ecleos in Dinagat. They even control the police,” another source said.

Not a cult?

PHILIPPINE Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA) “Divine Master” Ruben Ecleo Sr.’s namesake and other leaders of the group resent being called “cultists”.

They maintain that the PBMA is not a cult and that the group is “neither a religion nor a sect”.

Its primer says the PBMA is merely an association for brotherhood and charity and does not interfere with religious faiths. “Members have been constantly urged to strengthen their faith and relations with the religion where they respectively belong.”

The PBMA defines a cult as a “system of religious worship” and a group “devoted to a person, principle, etc.”–therefore, according to them, the association does not fall under such category because “it does not practice any form of religious worship”.

None of the Ecleos is being worshipped as a god although the PBMA admits its followers give their late founder and his successor Ruben Jr. a “particular regard”.

The father and son, says the PBMA, have become their “rallying point in translating the aspirations of promoting world brotherhood, through benevolent practices, into actuality”.

That PBMA policies are being formulated by a board of directors, and not just by one person, “squarely negates the unwarranted accusation that (the PBMA) is a cult”, reads a portion of the group’s primer.

And that PBMA members call the elder Ecleo “divine master” and his successor-son “supreme president” and “master” does not mean they are considered as religious leaders, much more as gods, the primer adds.

“As the title of ‘Grandmaster’ is accorded to an international chess champion (and) ‘Most Worshipful Master’ or ‘Very Worshipful Master’ is given to the top leadership of the order of Masonry, so is the title of distinction bestowed to the successor (Ruben Jr.) of a leader who single-handedly organized such an internationally renowned organization as the PBMA… by calling him ‘Master’.”

But the PBMA admits that its members regard its founder as “one (who) is devoted to God”, “supremely great”, “holy” and “good”, not to mention “miracle worker”.

Aside from the elder Ecleo’s “transfigurations”, “healing powers”, “ability to raise the dead”, “accurately predict” and be “omnipresent”, the PBMA also teaches that, like the biblical Jesus Christ, their late founder was resurrected from the dead and appeared to nearly “half a million of his followers and friends” on two occassions, specifically in the evenings of Dec. 24 and Dec. 31, 1987.

The PBMA claims Ruben Sr. had predicted the day of his death, his supposed resurrection and re-appearance.

It said the PBMA founder “re-appeared” four days after his death. The exact reason for Ecleo’s death remains unclear to this day.

Although it was not clear where Ruben Sr. “re-appeared”, the PBMA claims to have recorded the supposedly resurrected group founder “discoursing, admonishing, singing, and embracing close relatives and friends” on tape.

“And (how) do you call a person who, despite his humble origins and unknown beginnings, proved to have sucessfully cured (the) ailments of millions of people?” asks the PBMA.

The PBMA primer did not give a categorical answer to that question but the group admitted in a separate account that their late leader and founder “gave an impression to the people… that (Ruben Sr.) was no less than (a) misguided psychophant (sic) or a crazy charlatan, bent on working with invisible denizens from whose powers he made manifest his psychic influence.”

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Just because Taiwan made it doesn’t mean Mindanao can. While it’s probably true that Mindanao’s resources are more than enough to make it stand on its own, there are other factors––very serious matters––to consider.

Reuben Canoy and Nur Misuari failed because of their motherhood statements on Mindanao independence. And now, lo and behold, two mayors are parroting the same motherhood statements. What we have right before our eyes today is intellectual property theft. But what’s really disgusting is the exploitation of Canoy’s and Misuari’s intellectual property for an agenda other than empowering Mindanao.

Here’s an unsolicited advice to the mayors of Cagayan de Oro and Davao: if you plagiarize, make sure you improve at the least. Don’t just say ‘‘Mindanao can’’ and mindlessly repeat similar motherhood statements. Say exactly why Mindanao can, and give us hard data. Or do they really understand the words they are parroting?

It occurred to me that it is possible they don’t even realize that their call for a ‘‘Mindanao Republic’’ is a call for secession. Now, isn’t secession worse than a coup d’etat?

A coup is just a sudden and decisive change of government through a forceful takeover, but secession is separation, a ‘‘divorce,’’ so to speak. Now tell me if the ‘‘Mindanao Republic’’ call isn’t inciting to sedition, a crime punishable under our present laws? Doesn’t that make its proponents threats to national security?

The difference lies on who’s making the call. If the ‘‘Mindanao Republic’’ call was made by representatives Crispin Beltran, Joel Virador, Lisa Maza, Teddy Casino or Rissa Baraquel, Malacanang would waste no time in having them arrested and charged by the justice department. But since the call was made by Arroyo bootlickers, it’s not sedition but ‘‘freedom of expression.’’ Ako’y iyong iyo na, ‘‘what is’’! Ahh, such double standard.

The Palace’s silence on the latest Emano-Duterte caper is really deafening. A lot of people are passive. In fact, no one’s really taking the two politicians seriously for the simple reason that they are Arroyo’s apologists. They used the same ‘‘Mindanao Republic’’ antic to briefly divert public attention from the ‘‘Hello Garci’’ controversy last year and therefore, made Gloria very happy. At the same time, they got some publicity which they think made them ‘‘sikat.’’ Sikat sa imong mata. Jokers, not sikat.

Yes, they became jokers just like that lawyer surnamed Pamatong who rose to national prominence because he said it was his destiny to become president in 2004, and because of his suyak.

So the ‘‘Mindanao Republic’’ call is nothing but a big joke because the pronouncements come from people who can never dissociate themselves from Malacanang’s agenda. Simply put, Emano and Duterte’s call reeks of ugly politics.

But just for the sake of argument, even if there are figures and other hard facts to back up the argument for a ‘‘Mindanao Republic,’’ the question of whether or not it would be wise for Mindanao to attempt to do a Taiwan remains.

Taiwan is Taiwan, Mindanao is Mindanao.

Who would lead this ‘‘Mindanao Republic’’? Emano? Duterte? Or the likes of Emano and Duterte? Forget it.

Why? So there will be more vigilante killings and other human rights violations? So the financial statements of the ‘‘Republic of Mindanao’’ would be kept from public view?

Put officials like them there and, chances are, they’d get impeached––or Mindanao will have its first ‘‘People Power’’ revolution even before it could celebrate its first independence day.

I tell you, it would be much better if we forget the Emano-Duterte prank and just try to think that the two grandstanding politicians made the call at a time when they were having a bad hair day.

Make any of them president or prime minister and Mindanao will be in deeper shit.

Dongkoy and Rody simply don’t get it. Their enough-resources-argument is simply not enough. (/ March 13, 2006)

Pastilan.

Email: hsgomez@journalist.com; URL: http://herbiegomez.tripod.com

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