What's going on in Leyte?

Well, well, well, interesting developments in the Philippines… eh?

[quote]Tacloban — A municipal elections officer in Leyte expressed his surprise over what he called a “high degree of interest” among soldiers to register as voters for next year’s elections.

Rutchie Cerro, elections officer of Burauen town in Leyte, said the members of the 801st Infantry Brigade had been trooping to their office in the last two weeks to file their registration of votes.

“I am really amazed with this sudden high degree of interest among our soldiers based here to register as voters. They came in groups,” Cerro said in a telephone interview.

According to Cerro, about 200 members of the brigade filed their application for registration before the Commission on Elections office in Burauen, a third-class town 42 kilometers from Tacloban City.

The 801st Infantry Brigade is based in Barangay Abuyugon, five kilometers from the town proper of Burauen.

“But I think the public has nothing to worry about this. Their application is not yet accepted. They just filed their application to vote,” he pointed out.

The soldiers’ move to register in their areas of assignment also generated criticism from the militant group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya).

Gerry Albert Corpuz, Pamalakaya national spokesperson, said that Malacañang was behind the mass registration of soldiers in order to ensure the victory of its candidates next year.

Corpuz added that the soldiers’ registration may also be in preparation for a plebiscite being eyed by Arroyo allies to amend the Constitution.

He also expressed fear that the move was part of a wide-ranging campaign to marginalize leftist groups such as Bayan Muna and Anakpawis in next year’s elections. /Inquirer[/quote]

globalnation.inquirer.net/cebuda … e_id=36481

Very interesting indeed. I will check with a contact in the area and see whats in the wind…or on the coconut telegraph… :fedora:

Sounds, at first read, like a counter-terr operation using the ballot box.

Registering to vote, eh? Best keep your trousers on, Fred. they’re more likely angered by that foolish woman running the country and showing their support for the constitution than readying to hunt commies.

But of course, their guns could ultimately point in any direction.

HG

[quote]Political typhoon - SCMP (yesterday)
Alan Robles.

Asian diplomats are still catatonic over Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s shock postponement on Friday of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Cebu. The meeting had been due to start on Sunday. Although the government blamed an incoming typhoon, the storm wasn’t meteorological: it was political. It all blew up last week, when Mrs Arroyo’s allies in congress ham-fistedly tried to change the constitution.

Angered, various groups called for immediate, massive street protests - the kind that have already overthrown two governments here. The administration then realised that most of its security forces were deployed far away in Cebu, preparing to guard the summit. The anxiety was so palpable, I could almost hear the “oops” and “uh-oh” from the presidential palace halfway across Manila.

The president’s subsequent, unprecedented decision to postpone the summit until January - made without consulting any Asean members - was so abrupt that bewildered officials in Cebu were left mumbling excuses. It led to an undignified stampede as delegations scrambled to get away. Stranded foreign media tried spinning a terror threat, but one official scoffed, asking: “If there was a terror threat, why were the airlines continuing to fly in delegates?” All in all, it was not a shining moment for Philippine diplomacy.

With unheard-of bluntness, Japan’s trade minister, Akira Amari, doubted the typhoon excuse, noting that the storm missed Cebu. He believed the summit was as good as cancelled, and said the Philippines had lost credibility.

The real story was in Manila where, for the past two years, the administration has been pushing a “charter change” to switch the country over to a parliamentary form of government. By the most astonishing coincidence, the change would indefinitely extend Mrs Arroyo’s term and increase her powers tremendously. It would also cancel elections next year, letting incumbent congressmen stay in office.

When the Supreme Court recently cut off the movement’s legal legs, Mrs Arroyo’s allies decided to go for broke. Last week, they used a majority in the House of Representatives to crudely break rules and invent new ones. They probably weren’t expecting the backlash: civil society declared mass protests and prayer rallies. The Catholic Church, the huge charismatic group El Shaddai and the influential Iglesia ni Kristo church all declared their opposition. One bishop called on soldiers to defend the existing constitution.

Stunned, the Arroyo loyalists blustered but eventually blinked, announcing that charter change has been put on hold. This week, the Philippines is internationally humiliated, its citizens angry and in turmoil. If there’s a secret effort called the “Let’s Enrage As Many People As We Can Programme”, it’s been wildly successful.[/quote]

And from Stratfor:

[quote]Philippines: President Cancels Assembly
December 14, 2006 22 38 GMT
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo cancelled a constitutional assembly to debate proposed changes to the Philippine Constitution on Dec. 14 due to growing opposition and impending protest marches in the capital of Manila. Despite the cancellation, a massive prayer rally planned by religious and opposition groups will go on as scheduled. The rally will be held Dec. 17 at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, and organizers say they are expecting some 500,000 protesters. [/quote]

Well, I for one don’t see why the forces should not be allowed to vote. Why would the public need to worry about that?
And Corpuz statement regarding Arroyo doesn’t seem conclusive, looks like he is guessing.

Really Rascal? That seems to be a bit of a departure from your usual “concern” for these things doesn’t it?

Guessing? Guessing? What do you need? This spelled out in black and white for you?

Clearly, there is an effort being made to sway local elections and I think you need to recognize that, don’t you?

Not at all. Why shouldn’t soldiers not be allowed to vote? Seems to be acceptable in America and Germany, so why not in the RP? So much for your support of democratic rights.

[quote]Guessing? Guessing? What do you need? This spelled out in black and white for you?

Clearly, there is an effort being made to sway local elections and I think you need to recognize that, don’t you?[/quote]
Show me the proof.

Not at all. Why shouldn’t soldiers not be allowed to vote? Seems to be acceptable in America and Germany, so why not in the RP? So much for your support of democratic rights.

[quote]Guessing? Guessing? What do you need? This spelled out in black and white for you?

Clearly, there is an effort being made to sway local elections and I think you need to recognize that, don’t you?[/quote]
Show me the proof.[/quote]

How droll you are Rascal! Are you seriously pretending that in this case that the soldiers in question are “voting” and that this represents an ethical use of their “democratic right?” Don’t you think that it is a bit strange that they are voting in targeted areas. Merely a coincidence? What would Gunther Grass say about that? huh? And just for your information, I have always supported democratic rights, hence my interest in bringing those rights to the Arabs in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan, which you have opposed all along. You surely do not have the chutzpah to pretend that you are concerned about democratic rights now do you? Please!

Yeah, you and the proof. Haha. I think that you had better clink on the link again and let me know if you read any better the second time around haha!

Of what concern is Leyte to you anyway? It seems you are taking a position against this right. Why? Please explain.

Given GG’s past and his lies about it I don’t think you should invoke his authority. Maybe you could ask Schroeder though, a man of great leadership qualities and high moral standards.

I don’t recall opposing democratic rights in Palestine and Lebanon but in case of Iraq I certainly oppose the means used.

Well, that Corpuz fellow said ‘… may also be …’, even when I read it a second and third time. That’s opinion, nothing more.
So fred, where is the proof? By your own standards we need a signed confession by Arroyo, nothing less.

Of what concern is Leyte to you anyway? It seems you are taking a position against this right. Why? Please explain.

Given GG’s past and his lies about it I don’t think you should invoke his authority. Maybe you could ask Schroeder though, a man of great leadership qualities and high moral standards.

I don’t recall opposing democratic rights in Palestine and Lebanon but in case of Iraq I certainly oppose the means used.

Well, that Corpuz fellow said ‘… may also be …’, even when I read it a second and third time. That’s opinion, nothing more.
So fred, where is the proof? By your own standards we need a signed confession by Arroyo, nothing less.[/quote]

Oh yeah Rascal? Now, you are determining what and when I can be “concerned” about something? What gives YOU that right? huh?

Well, it is all very convenient to point to Gunther Grass’ lies right now but how does that change his insight into Germany and its politicians? I note with humor that you are still supporting that Schroeder even though he is practically a criminal. Gazprom? Hello?

Yes, I suppose that you have supported rights but your lists of conditions are often so extensive as to preclude any useful action regarding expanding those rights to those who need them most. It is all well and good to discuss this in a moral vacuum but that is not the way the world works.

Why would I expect your friend Arroyo to sign any such confession? Clearly, for whatever reason, you are interested in seeing her maintain her power through questionable means such as dispatching soldiers to vote in key areas. Why is this a subject of such sensitivity to you? Do you own property in the Philippines? You seem to be skating on very fine moral ice here and I find your inconsistent policies and your inconsistent concerns laughable. Do you hear me? LAUGHABLE. So there! What do you have to say to that! Cat got your tongue!

I also wonder if you are going to comment on the efforts of the Arroyo administration to reduce funding for the basket and pottery industries in these rural locales. Yet, another effort to stamp out any opposition and take away livelihoods from thousands of people who will be forced to go abroad to serve others. Seems a bit cruel and heartless. But then again… anyone who could support Schroeder has neither a heart nor a brain!

You can be concerned about anything you like, I merely wonder why. - I mean there is no oil in Leyte, is there? (Except at the nearest gas station). Got WMDs? Nah. So tell us, why the concern that you need to start a thread about this?

To say Schroeder is a criminal is like saying Putin is a dictator. But obviously your favorite Merkel who is seeking closer ties with the US isn’t doing too well in the opinion polls, just like Mr. Bush. See the connection?

So you are against a democratically elected leader then? And do you or do you not agree that soliders have a right to vote?

Gee, if I didn’t know any better I would say you supporting the leftwing militants here (Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya)). That’s not just laughable, it’s fucking hilarious.

Link please to support both accusations.

Well if that isn’t just the most cynical reponse that I have ever received. Clearly, you fully understand that Iraq (unlike Afghanistan?) was not all about oil and wmds. It was about the latter in the former’s case and about neither in the latter’s case including the latter as opposed to the former. Get it? And if I call attention to rampant abuse anywhere in the world, isn’t it the attention to abuse that is important not what one does about it? eh? What’s that Rascal?

Between Schroeder and Putin? Of course! That is why I brought it up!

Too bad for me. I had thought momentarily that a cat really did have your tongue! Now, what was your point again? That soldiers have the right to vote or that democratically elected leaders have the right to mobilize them to vote in certain districts. I can just imagine what you would have said had Bush mobilized US forces to vote in Florida. haha. What do you have to say about that? huh? What?

It’s got me rolling over on my side with laughter. You simply cannot imagine why! or can you? can you? Do you? Have you?

But then again… anyone who could support Schroeder has neither a heart nor a brain!

See Rascal’s “about Rascal” link or go to his PM to link to the site where proof can be found to buttress my accusations that those who support Schroeder have neither a heart nor a brain.

Now be nice fred, else we will throw in some statistics and numbers - and we both know who has problems with those, don’t we?

Please enlighten me. I am dying to know.

Never!

Yes, throwing sounds like the right kind of verb to use when discussing how you present your facts. Hopefully, a trash receptacle will be placed conveniently nearby.

do we?

The task seems to be beyond the efforts of Man. Better stick to praying to God. Even he, rather HE, might find you a challenge.

haha. Now, stop trying to get on my good side by giving me pleasant visions of a Rascal-free world.

Now stop avoiding the issue. Where do you stand on the issue of shanghaiing the democratic government as it presently exists in the Philippines? Hell, you even have me supporting the LEFTists on this matter AND you have NOTHING to say except to mouth feeble excuses for gross abuses of power? Let me help you out here. Bush and Arroyo are allegedly sleeping together and HE is going to go over to the Philippines to serve as president, leaving Laura behind to shack up with Gloria. NOW are you interested?

I think you are not taking this topic serious, fred, but since you admitted to supporting the leftist there is only one thing left to clarify: How does it feel?

I feel pretty good about supporting the forces of light in this otherwise dark world. And you? How do you feel about how I feel? I am starting to like this leftist thing. Maybe I will convert to the other side or rather the Other Side. How would you feel about that?

I feel that we on the sensible side should welcome those who defect from the ranks of the rancid Republican right.

Hello Fred.

BroonArisen

BroonAle
Suspended

Well that was brief, but welcome. Erh, what happened?

HG

[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]BroonAle
Suspended

Well that was brief, but welcome. Erh, what happened?

HG[/quote]

:whistle:

Sometimes things aren’t quite what they seem and the other way round.

BroonAnomaly

The penguins of Leyte breathe a collective - yes a fucking collective - but overdue, sigh of relief!

True to his word, he has returned!

HG

Wonderful! :bravo: