December

 8,  2010            Vol.  1  No.  3  

                         The  Official  Newsletter  of  the  Ateneo  Christian  Union  for  Socialist  and  Democratic  Advancement  (CRUSADA)    

INSIDE  

Politics:  On  Morong  43                  1  

 Politics:  On  the  Peace  Process                2  

Special  Section:  Timeline  of  Peace  Talks              3    

Economy:  On  BPOs  and  Education            4  

Perspective:  On  WikiLeaks              4  

Theory  &  Politics:  Neoliberalism     5  

Editorial  Board:  Miguel  Calayag,  Kristine  Chy,  Zarah  
 
Domingo,   Daniel  Garingan,  Joshua  Lim,  JA  De  Lima,  Jules  
Lo,  Coco  Navarro,  James  Roman,  Miguel  Rivera,  Maria  
 
Picture  Source:  globalbalita.com   Venturanza  

   
POLITICS  |  Illegally  Detained    
   
The   43   health   care   volunteers   arrested   by   the   while  trial  is  under  way.  It’s  ironic  that  President  
Armed   Forces   of   the   Philippines   (AF)   in   Benigno  “Noynoy”  Aquino,  whose  father  was  
February   early   this   year   began   a   hunger   strike   also  illegally  detained  during  the  Marcos  
last   week   in   protest   of   their   10th   month   in,   dictatorship,  won’t  take  a  more  proactive  
what   domestic   and   global   human   rights   groups   position  than  simply  waiting  for  the  courts  to  
and   the   Catholic   Bishops   Conference   of   the   decide.  The  detainees  –  now  known  as  “Morong  
Philippines   (CBCP)   has   labeled,   illegal   43”  are  defenseless  in  the  face  of  power  
detention.   The   health   care   volunteers   claimed   wielded  by  the  Armed  Forces.  The  Aquino  
that  they  were  undergoing  health  and  medical   government  should  extend  a  hand  for  the  
training   in   a   resort   in   Morong,   Rizal   at   the   time   deliverance  of  justice  to  them  else  it  will  merely  
of   arrest.   They   have   been   on   trial   since   then.   perpetuate  the  culture  of  military  impunity  
Their   family   members   have   constantly   under  the  government  of  former  president  
corresponded   with   the   government   and   the   Gloria  Arroyo.  
Justice   Department   with   concerns   about   the  
continued  on  the  next  page  
detainees’  welfare  in  custody,  the  legitimacy  of  
their  arrest,  and  an  appeal  for  their  release    
 THE  CRUSADER                                  2  

The  AFP  insists  that  the  volunteers  are  part  of   searches  must  be  made  observable  to  the  
 
the  CPP-­‐NPA  and  that  they  were  suspected  of   suspects,  thus  suggesting  a  possibility  for  
possessing  illegal  firearms  and  explosive   planted  evidences.  Hoping  to  finally  resolve  
devices,  allowing  the  armed  forces  to  obtain   the  problem,  Justice  Secretary  Leila  De  Lima  
an  arrest  warrant.  Sources  say  that  the   plans  to  submit  another  recommendation  to  
military  detained  them  in  various  camps  over   the  President  and  find  means  of  addressing  
time  and  subjected  them  to  unfavorable  living   the  request  to  release  the  detainees  but  
conditions  allegedly  including  corporal   emphasizes  that  final  decision  will  be  within  
torture,  physical  marks  of  which  can  be  seen   legal  bounds.  
on  a  number  of  the  detainees’  body.  Various   Picture   Source:   abs-­‐cbnnews.com  
The  Aquino  government   now   bears   the  
human  rights  groups  support  the  families  of  
burden  of  the  past  administration’s  reputation  
the  detainees  contesting  the  legitimacy  of  
for  injustice  in  the  form  of  illegal  arrests,  and  
their  arrest  on  the  grounds  that  there  was  
if  inheriting  that  problem  is  not  the  fault  of  
only  one  name  included  in  the  warrant  and  
the  incumbent  office,  surely  letting  it  go  
was  not  even  present  in  the  event,  and  that  
unresolved  is  another  matter.  
the  military  failed  to  honor  the  provision  that    
 
 
 
POLITICS  |  A  Promising  Start  
 
 
The  Government  of  the  Republic  of  the  Philippines  (GRP)  and  the  National  Democratic  Front  
(NDF)  achieved  a  major  breakthrough  in  the  Mindanao  peace  process  after  successful  and  
productive  preliminary  negotiations  in  Hong  Kong  last  week  (see  timetable  of  previous  peace  
talks  on  the  next  page).    Testaments  to  the  renewed  commitment  of  both  concerned  parties  to  
end  the  forty-­‐one  year  war  are  two  covenants;  first,  being  the  18-­‐day  holiday  ceasefire  and  
second,  Joint  Agreement  on  Safety  and  Immunity  Guarantees  (J.A.S.I.G.).  These  efforts,  according  
to  GRP  peace  panel  chair  Alex  Padilla  and  Atty.  Pablito  Sanidad,  are  said  to  be  part  of  a  larger  
effort  to  build  trust  and  goodwill  between  the  GRP  and  NDF.  As  a  gesture  of  confidence  on  the  
promising  peace  panel  process,  the  chief  negotiator  of  the  NDF,  Luis  Jalandoni,  along  with  his  
wife,  returned  to  the  Philippines  after  a  long  self-­‐imposed  exile.  Also,  Padilla  says  that  the  
timetable  of  the  peace  talks  is  three  years.  He  also  mentioned  that  the  panel  would  be  able  to  
reach  a  peace  agreement  before  the  term  of  President  Aquino  III  ends.  The  news  is  admittedly  
promising  but  the  goal  of  reaching  a  peace  agreement  before  the  incumbent  president’s  term  
ends  might  send  the  wrong  signals  to  both  the  GRP  and  NDF  negotiators  alike.  The  approach  of  
the  peace  panel  should  be  to  strategically  engineer  a  comprehensive  peace  agreement  that  
attends  to  the  interests  of  all  parties  involved  at  a  reasonable  pace.  Mutual  suspicion  should  
become  a  thing  of  the  past  and  genuine  dialogue  must  ensue  between  parties.    
 
 
 
 THE  CRUSADER       4  

ECONOMY  |  Number  One   PERSPECTIVE  |  WikiLeaks  and  Transparency    

   
IBM’s  Latest  Global  Locations  Trend  Annual  Report   WikiLeaks  is  a  Web  site  has  sparked  worldwide  
controversy  by  releasing  confidential  files  of  various  
released  last  week  showed  that  the  Philippines  is  
nations’  governments  out  on  the  Internet,  such  as  
now  the  leading  country,  outranking  India,  in  terms  
diplomatic  cables,  war  logs  and  dossiers.  Various  world  
of  Business  Process  Outsourcing  (BPO)  services   governments,  particularly  of  the  United  States,  have  
with  a  PhP62-­‐million  budget  support  from  the   already  taken  action  against  WikiLeaks  in  an  attempt  to  
government.    President  Benigno  “Noynoy”  Aquino   bring  down  the  website  and  prevent  it  from  being  
proudly  claimed  that  the  nod  from  a  credible  and   accessed  by  the  public.  Some  private  corporations  even  
withdrawn  support  for  the  organization,  such  as  
global  report  will  attract  more  BPOs  to  invest  in  
Amazon.com  and  PayPal.    And  just  yesterday,  founder  
the  Philippines,  generating  jobs  and  revenue.  This   Julian  Assange  was  arrested  in  the  United  Kingdom.  
effort  to  attract  BPOs  is  not  new:  it  dates  back  to  
Although  the  role  of  WikiLeaks  in  promoting  government  
the  former  Arroyo  administration’s  first  steps  in  
transparency  and  freedom  of  speech  is  highly  
improving  the  BPO  industry  where  4,000  workers   commendable  with  respect  to  their  drive  to  inform  the  
in  2001  rose  into  a  high  400,000  in  2009.  In  India,   people  about  what  their  governments  are  up  to,  
budget  allocations  enabled  the  industry  to  endure   boundaries  have  been  crossed  which  potentially  threaten  
global  economic  crises,  making  it  a  competitive   global  security.  By  releasing  confidential  information  
about  the  inner  workings  of  a  certain  nation’s  government  
and  beneficial  sector.    
out  onto  the  Internet,  one  effectively  allows  other  nations  
Sustaining  this  position  is  a  matter  of  addressing   to  access  this  information,  and  with  respect  to  the  
key  difficulties  faced  by  BPOs  in  the  country.  While   information  that  was  recently  released,  it  potentially  
damages  the  relations  governments  have  with  one  
Filipino  callcenter  agents  are  still  premium  for  their  
another  and  even  the  relationship  with  their  own  citizens.  
neutral  English  accent,  the  actual  number  of  fluent   While  the  Internet  should  be  a  free  and  open  place,  there  
English  speakers  in  the  Philippines  is  estimated  to   are  certain  things  which  should  not  be  put  there  in  the  
be  about  300,000.  Many  officials  maintain  that   interest  of  protecting  national  security  and  sovereignty.  
English  proficiency  is  declining  as  schools  have   The  fact  is,  one  should  not  release  confidential  
standardized  their  course  work  in  Filipino  dialects,   information  out  in  the  open  that  could  potentially  be  used  
or  a  mixture  of  these  dialects  and  English.  Popular   by  individuals  of  one  nation  against  another.  Government  
demand  for  TV  programming  to  be  broadcast  in   transparency  is  highly  desirable  and  should  be  promoted  
for  the  sake  of  informing  the  individuals  of  that  nation  on  
Tagalog  instead  of  English  is  overwhelming.  
what  their  government  is  doing  and  planning  to  do,  but  
However,  spending  on  education  has  been  scant  in  
this  should  be  done  responsibly  and  with  restraint.    While  
recent  years  as  the  government  has  been  trimming   what  WikiLeaks  is  doing  may  be  too  ambitious  for  now,  it  
its  budget  deficit,  so  there  has  been  little  headway   does  signal  that  governments  are  not  completely  open  
in  improving  standards  of  English.  Ongoing  public   with  their  dealings,  and  they  ought  to  be  more  
debates  on  the  proposed  budget  for  education   transparent  to  save  face  against  the  trademark  massive  
file  bombshells  of  WikiLeaks.    However,  irresponsible  
may  help  in  raising  public  awareness  and  
whistleblowing  would  defeat  the  purpose  of  government  
intensifying  government  action  over  BPO   transparency  for  the  sake  of  the  well-­‐being  of  the  people  
difficulties  in  hiring  competitive  workers.     and  the  welfare  of  nations,  and  even  the  world,  as  a  
 
whole.  

 
 THE  CRUSADER       5  

THEORY  &    POLITICS  

 
What   is  S   ocial  Democracy?    
Social  democracy  is  the  key  to  attaining  political  freedom  –  in  it,  there  is  the  
promise  of  mutual  responsibility  based  on  the  currency  of  action  and  not  of  
market  rationality.  The  social  democratic  argument  is  based  on  the  rejection  
of  this  politics  of  un-­‐freedom,  individual  responsibility  is  key  in  political  
participation,  and  instead  of  rejecting  this  responsibility  as  neo-­‐liberalism  
does,  it  underscores  it  –  social  democracy  is  an  affirmation  of  the  dualism  of  
freedom,  and  in  this  affirmation  necessitates  the  promotion  and  engendering  
of  true  political  freedom.  Freedom  in  social  democracy  is  the  freedom  to  
participate  in  governance,  without  the  question  of  economics,  because  the  
market  does  not  dictate  the  politics  of  the  state  –  in  the  contrary,  the  market  
is  utilized  as  a  tool,  rather  than  the  market  using  individual  actors  including   The  globally  recognized  symbol  of  
the  state.  Social  democracy  allows  us  to  ownthe  political  process  once  again,   social  democracy.    
it  allows  us  to  be  part  of  it  once  again  –  the  beginning  is  in  our  awakening  to  
 
the  light  of  the  dawn  of  a  promise  of  freedom  founded  on  the  fundamental  
principles  of  a  democracy  that  works.  When  we  release  ourselves  from  the  
neoliberal  bias,  we  become  open  to  political  participation  through  other  
means  besides  the  neo-­‐liberal  notion  of  “choice”.  

Quotable  Quotes    
 
“By  declaring  the  truth  commission  unconstitutional,  the  Supreme  Court  has  declared  (Arroyo)  
untouchable,”    
 
-­‐-­‐-­‐  activist  priest  Robert  Reyes  commenting  on  the  Supreme  Court’s  declaration  of  
unconstitutionality  of  the  Truth  Commission  established  by  President  Aquino    
 
“How  can  there  be  a  violation  of  equal  protection  when  she  is  in  a  class  by  herself?  How  could  she  
claim  she  will  be  isolated?”  
 
-­‐-­‐-­‐  Amado  Valdez,  Dean  of  the  University  of  the  East  Law  School,    arguing  that  the  equal  
protection  argument  used  by  the  Supreme  Court  as  a  basis  for  its  decision  could  not  apply  
to  Arroyo.  
 
“It  isn’t  easy  being  human?  Try  being  Filipino.”  

-­‐-­‐-­‐    Conrado  de  Quiros,  columnist  of  the  Philippine  Daily  Inquirer,  commenting  on  Filipino  
nationalism