(Salin sa Pilipino ng Liham ni Brig.Gen. Danilo Lim)

Ang ating bansa ay nahahati. Ang kapayapaan, pagkakaisa at pag-unlad ay mailap sa atin sapagkat mayroon tayong pangulong walang moral at legal na otoridad na mamuno. Sa katunayan, siya na ang patuloy na banta at sagabal sa seguridad ng bansa, sa pagkakaisa, sa kabutihan at sa diwa ng pagkabansa ng samabayanang Pilipino.

Ang tunay na lider ay simbolo ng pagkakaisa at nasa unahan ng mamamayan lalo sa mga panahon ng krisis. Ang huwad na lider ay mapanghiwalay at nangungunyapit sa kapangyarihan sa kapahamakan ng lahat at ng interes ng bansa.

Ipinupuwersa ni GMA ang sarili sa ating miserableng mamamayan. Sa gayun ang rekurso ng gubyerno ay winawaldas sa pagbili ng katapatan ng kanyang mga alipures, nilalapastangan ang mga legal na institusiyon upang magmukhang may pagsang-ayon sa immoral na gubyerno, ang mga serbisyong pampubliko ay ginawang larangan ng katiwalian at korupsyon, at ang moralidad, mga pagpapahalaga, pananagutan at responsibilidad ay pawang mga pagkukunwari. Winasak at ibinasura ang mga prinsipyo ng katotohanan bilang pundasyon sa bawat kilos ng gubyerno.

Ang bansa ngayon ay nakasadlak sa malalim na kumunoy. Panunupil, korupsyon at kawalang hustisiya ang naghahari sa bansang lugmok sa karimlan. Ang republika ay kinakaladkad sa pagkakawatak-watak ng mga labanang paksyunal. Ang malaganap ng kahirapan ay nagkakait sa mamamayan ng kanilang dignidad at itinutulak ang papalaking bilang sa prostitusyon at pagpapa-alipin sa mga dayong bansa. Ang mga insidente ng kagutuman ay walang kapantay sa nakaraan at ang bansa ay lalong nababaon sa pagkaatrasado. Ang mga mamamayang dati nang mapagtiis at mapamaraan ay binabalot ngayon ng higit na pagdarahop. Lahat ng ito ay bunga ng 8 taon nang pamumunong hindi hinalal, walang hanggan sa korupsyon at mga patakaran nito ng liberalisasyon sa ekonomiya at pagbubusal sa mamamayan.

Ang sambayanang Pilipino na malaon nang pinagkakaitan ng mabuting gubyerno ay dapat nang kumilos upang bawiin ang kanilang dignidad, paalisin ang umagaw sa kanilang kapangyarihan at sumulong sa landas na kadakilaan. Aking pinaalingaw-ngaw, nang malakas at malinaw ang panawagan para sa radikal na mga pagbabago at muling pagtitindig ng bansa. Panahon na upang tayo ay hindi lamang makinig at magmasid, bagkus ay dapat na humakbang pasulong.

Ilang araw mula ngayon ay Nobyembre 30 na, Araw ng mga Pambansang Bayani. Ating muling sariwain at hawakan nang mahigpit ang mga pananaw at adhikain ng ating mga bayani at martir at bigyang katuparan ang kanilang ginintuang layunin ng Pambansang Kasarinlan.

Kailangan ng bansa ng mga lider na makabayan at handang magpakabayani sa pagtataguyod ng tunay na kasarinlan ng bawat aspeto ng buhay ng bansa. Sila ay dapat na may matibay na kapasyahang labanan ang kolonyal na kapangyarihan at mga local na alipures nitong nakakubabaw sa ating ekonomiya; itakwil ang mga mapanupil at aprang lintang patakaran sa pagbabayad ng dayuhang pautang; isulong ang pambansang industriyalisasyon, produktibidad ng agrikultura at sustinidong mga repormang agraryo, pagtiyak ng kasapatan at kasarinlan sa pagkain at enerhiya; at, pagbabalangkas ng matatag na pang-ekonomiyang programa at estratehiya na nakabatay sa prinsipyo na – ang yaman at rekurso ng bansa ay para sa kaunlaran at kapakinabangan ng mga Pilipino.

Ang kasalukuyang presidente ay kabaligtaran ng hinahangad nating pinuno. Para sa higit niyang pakinabang, handa at ginagawa ni Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo na ihain sa mga dayuhan ang soberanya at integridad ng bansang hangang sa ang republika ay pagwatak-watakin tulad sa kaso ng Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) at sa isyu ng muling pagguhit sa batayang linya ng kanlurang bahagi ng kapuluan.

Ang kasalukuyang mga pakana ng Malakanyang ay naglalayon ng pagpapalawig ng ilehitimong rehimeng GMA. Ang panalangin ni Dureza at pag-uumarte ni GMA ay sapat na nagsiwalat ng masamang layuning nito. Wala ni bahid ng hiya na mismong anak ang nangunguna sa pangangalap ng mga pirma na sa lalong madaling panahon ay magpapatibay sa buktot na pakanang ito. Sa pamamagitan ng bayaran nitong Kongreso na bumibigo sa proseso ng bawat kaso ng impeachment at ng mga tiwaling miyembro ng Korte Suprema na nasa mando nito, ang landas ay malinis para sa Malakanyang at nakataya na ang kinabukasan ng bansa. Bangungot na isiping ang tanging pag-asa natin ay ang mamatay si GMA sa katandaan.

Panahon na upang magkapit-bisig at kumilos! Sobra na, tama na!

We are a nation divided. Peace, unity and development continue to elude us because we have a president bereft of moral or legal authority to lead. She had, in fact, become the greatest continuing threat to the security, cooperative spirit, well being and sense of Nationhood of the Filipino people.

A true leader is a symbol of unity and a rallying figure especially in difficult times. A bogus leader is divisive and stays in power to the detriment of the common good and the National interest.

GMA continues to inflict herself on our hapless people. In the process, scarce government resources are squandered to buy for her dubious loyalties, institutions are prostituted to project a sham imprimatur to an immoral governance, public service has evolved into a buffet of graft and corruption, and morals, values, accountability and responsibility have been reduced to mere flamboyant phrases. She destroyed the very concept of truth as the foundation of every act of government.

We find the country today in deep turmoil. Oppression, corruption and injustice rule the benighted land. Internecine struggles threaten to dismantle the republic. Widespread poverty robs people of their dignity and drives many to prostitution and virtual slavery in foreign climes. Hunger incidence is at an all time high and the country’s human development index is at an all time low. No wonder, an atmosphere of destitution pervades among our normally resilient and patient people. All of these were brought about by 8 years of unelected, hopelessly corrupt leadership and a slew of failed liberal economic and peace policies.

Long starved of good governance, the Filipino people should act now to reclaim their dignity, remove the pretender from power and steer this nation on the path to greatness. I echo, loud and clear, the call for radical reforms and restructuring. The call of the times is for us NOT ONLY TO LISTEN BUT TO MARCH.

November 30, a few days from now is National Heroes Day. Let us recapture the visions and ideals of our heroes and martyrs and give justice to their golden dream of National independence.

This country needs a leader of heroic and nationalist stature who would champion genuine independence in every aspect of our national life. He or she must be committed to challenging colonial economic masters and their local surrogates, abandoning obscene foreign debt payment policies, pushing industrialization, agriculture productivity and sustainable agrarian reforms, ensuring food and energy independence, and formulating a sound economic strategy anchored on the declaration that this country’s patrimony and all of our abundant resources are solely for the Filipinos to develop and benefit from. The current President is the antithesis of that leader. For her personal aggrandizement, she was willing to sacrifice the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by dismembering the Republic in the case of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) and the baseline issue, west of our archipelago.

The latest Malacanang sponsored machinations are designed to extend GMA’s discredited regime. Secretary Dureza’s prayer and the feigned reaction revealed it all. With no semblance of delicadeza, no less than her son is doing the rounds, spearheading a signature campaign that would eventually actualize their foul design. With a subservient congress which frustrates the impeachment process at every turn and some Supreme Court justices willing to do their biddings, then their coast is clear, our political fate is sealed. I dread the thought that our best bet is for GMA to die of old age.

Now is the time to grip hands and act! Enough is enough!

By BGen Danny Lim
November 13, 2008

Before the Filipino people, the raison d’etre for its existence, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is currently in a state of disgrace. This alienation is the price soldiers pay for the Original Sin committed by their senior officers, Esperon and his rogue accomplices, who allowed themselves to be “used” and in the process unconscionably got the institution involved in the massive electoral fraud in 2004.

Like Adam and Eve who were unable to resist the crafty snake’s temptation and ate from the Tree of Knowledge, Esperon and his self-aggrandizement group succumbed to the offers of immoral political leaders and helped themselves to the “tree of Garci.” But unlike the Garden of Eden’s original sin, Esperon’s partakes of a mortal character, not merely venial. It was a grievous criminal offense when he and his gang knowingly and willfully violated our election laws and thwarted the people’s sovereign political mandate. And being mortal, such stain cannot be cleansed by Baptismal waters alone. The sin can only be forgiven and the soldier reconciled with his people through a sincere Act of Contrition and the corresponding Acts of Penance.

To be redeemed from its complete separation from the Filipino people, for a start, the military needs to be honest with itself and be truthful to the country it has sworn to serve. The AFP needs to come out of it with a clean breast by admitting the fault, dealing with it squarely and helping initiate moves that would task those responsible to account for their illegal acts. Unfortunately, it is like wishing for the moon at this time; even a watered down version of the Mayuga Report has yet to be made public.

Meantime, a chasm of sinfulness and damnation continue to define the military’s relationship with the Filipino people and its estranged sons and daughters continue to suffer from the stigma of Esperon’s shameless act. Innocent soldiers continue to suffer and pay for the original crime. Some who stood up to be counted for the side of truth and justice ended up in detention and continue to languish in their cells to this day. Add to this the cases of involuntary disappearances, tortures, abuses, etc and you multiply and magnify the gulf between soldiers and civilians.

From accounts in the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden and condemned to perpetual harsh existence where they can only “eat bread from the sweat of their faces.” The serpent’s punishment, “on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life.” No such treatment for Esperon, his rotten crew and the big Anaconda, no matter how well they deserve it. The crooks in uniform were, to a man, amply rewarded for their “invaluable services” with promotions, incentives (including financial) and other perks. They’ve got it made! Their brows need no longer sweat. They were banished to paradise (juicy positions) after retirement. The political serpent is not crawling on its belly. It continues to lord it over the garden and abuse its hapless and downtrodden residents.

Only when the men in uniform and the Filipino people unite and act as one can the Biblical story rooted in crime and punishment come to full realization.