THE PANATAG SHOAL SITUATION

What will be the result of the chinese taking over of a peripheral territory like Panatag Shoal to us filipinos in the future? 

Yet today, have we ever been alarmed by the fact that as of 2007, between 80,000 to 100,000 chinese have already been moving covertly inside our main homeland?  These do not include those who have already gained access to having legalized their status.  They have been able to continue taking over of our banking system, building construction system, rice distribution system, real estate development, airline industry, retail industry, etc..  They have been rendering us impotent in solving the chronic rice shortage for decades.  Henry Sy, Lucio Tan, including Danding Cojuangco, have been able to continue unchecked in displacing us filipinos of access to our own economic resources and control of our development.  Now they have been taking over development of our education thru Asia Pacific College, UE, Centro Escolar University, etc.?  What has been the result?

They have developed a situation where in our military, police, and political officials have been locked in under their social and economic influence to provide them protection and access to having legal status of control of our resources and development.

Lives of millions of us, filipino families have already been damaged caused by our having been displaced from access to economic resources and by their destruction of environment as a result of whatever mode of their operations to gain huge profits. We have been so unable to have access to our very own rich resources that while the chinese are gaining strength here and are the ones enjoying such resources, we are forced to leave our own country to work or migrate abroad and have our human resources benefit foreign countries

Compare this with the status of development of nations whose people are the ones in control of their own development like the israelis, french, germans, vietnamese, australians, and the japanese today.  How is the direction of their economic, political, defense, and educational development compared to that of ours?   Compare this with the defense system of these nations who are able to sustain and protect their own people.

Compare our developmental status today with that of ours when we were a newly born nation in 1898 up to the early 1900s when our national identity and our control of our political, economic, defense and educational system was still strong even when they were being wrested away from us by the most powerful nation in the world- the north americans of the United States.  Inspite of our being a newly born nation then, the invading forces of the U.S. were unable to catch, lock and control our defense system for years until they resorted to massive hostage taking and extermination of the civilians among us. 

Despite of these, our moves were still instructed by our organic national developmental code we inherited from the fathers of our nation.

The Father of the Philippine Army, Gen Artemio Ricarte and hero in the Filipino-American War, "...envisioned...the country divided into twelve 'confederate states', the islands of Guam included as well as Jolo 'and its adjacent islands'.  Manila, as soon as seized from the Americans, would be the federal capital; the official language would be Spanish; the death penalty and all prisoners would be abolished; the Chinese would be barred from business and banking;..."

We also inherited the code of Jose Rizal.  In 1895, while he was in exile in Dapitan in Mindanao, in the southern Philippines. Rizal was filled with righteous indignation at the “exploitation” of the natives by the Chinese traders, and appealed to the local residents to boycott the Chinese shops.  He also opened a small sari-sari store to compete against the Chinese.  (Wickberg, E. The Chinese in Philippine Life 1850-1898).  Nick Joaquin said: “And because Chinese financiers had a stranglehold on native agriculture, Rizal set up the Cooperative Association of Dapitan Farmers, a pioneer in economic nationalism…”

Compare our alarm level over the chinese in the Philippines today compared to that of ours in the 1900s when we conducted defense actions mostly at the developmental level against the chinese creeping invasion.  Unfortunately, the chinese government provided support in complement with the US government dismantling of the defense set-up we have established against the chinese invasion here and their taking over of our economy.

If even our fathers and heroes who were alarmed by the chinese creeping invasion of our nation already in the very centers of control of our development in our main homeland which stimulated an appropriate response of resistance then are not anymore stimulating any response from us today,  why should a chinese invasion of our peripheral territory like the Panatag Shoal stimulate an alarming response from us?

Before we get alarmed with the invasion of our peripheral territories in the near future, let us review our present situation today and examine if the chinese has not already applied to us today what the famous Chinese General Sun Tzu said something like, “Therefore, the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.”

It is the chinese invasion along our border like Spratly Islands that we get excited and scramble to engage them in heroic combat just like in Hollywood.  Yet we cannot even check our main homeland here with its rich natural resources and centers of control of our development already being overrun by the chinese.

If ever we have to commit lives for our fatherland, whose lives will we commit?  Then, let it be commited for a reason based not on Hollywood, but on our real situation and needs.We should not be manipulated into engaging a physical military confrontation with the chinese just because of their invasion of our peripheral territories like Spratly Islands or Panatag Shoal.  What benefit will this give us?

This will only give the north americans of the United States an even stronger justification and on whom we filipinos perceive to be our savior, for an even increase in extent and intensity of their presence here.  This will give them an excuse being a perceived ally of the Philippines, to engage China in a military confrontation for an opportunity to reduce the threat of a looming takeover from the U.S., world military dominance.  This seems inevitable as China is already overtaking U.S.A. from world economic dominance.

If ever we have to sacrifice lives for our fatherland, let it not be ours but those of who are invading our land and displacing us filipinos from our source of sustenance and control of development of our nation.

What is NSSM 200 "Population Control" by Kissinger?

Posted: 2005/01/19 From: Mathaba In December of 1974, shortly after the first major international population conference was held under UN auspices at Bucharest, Romania, several of the major U.S. government agencies involved in foreign affairs submitted a detailed report on population control in developing countries. Contributions came from the Central Intelligence Agency, The Departments of States, Defense, and Agriculture, and the Agency for International Development. Their contributions were combined into one major report with the title, "Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for U.S. Security and Overseas Interests." The final study, which is more than 200 pages in length, covered many topics from the viewpoint of each of the participating agencies. The following questions and answers cover just the most basic aspects of this crucial historical document. What does the term "NSSM 200" mean? "NSSM" stands for "National Security Study Memorandum," and the number 200 identifies the order in which it was produced. The original request for a review of overseas population policies is also called NSSM 200, and was written April 27, 1974 by Henry Kissinger. The actual study, which covered 229 pages of text, represents one stage of the NSSM 200 correspondence series, and was submitted on December 10, 1974. It became the official guide to foreign policy November 26, 1975, when a National Security Decision Memorandum (NSDM 314) was signed that endorsed the findings of the study. Who actually was responsible for the study? NSSM 200 was compiled by the National Security Council, which is the highest level of command in the U.S. government. The NSC is headed by the President of the United States and his designated Security Advisor, and its purpose is to coordinate the overseas operations of all executive branches the U.S. government. Is NSSM 200 still in force? Technically, the answer is yes. It remains the official strategy paper on population until it is replaced by another of equal importance. However, the implementation of the guidelines may differ from one administration to another. Jimmy Carter, for example, showed considerably less interest in curbing population growth than did his predecessors Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. And the Reagan administration took a somewhat different approach (i.e., the Mexico City Policy that banned direct U.S. financing for abortions). The facts that funds for population control increased rapidly and dramatically during the Reagan and Bush years does not necessarily indicate a newer NSC directive was issued. Why was NSSM only discovered in 1990? NSSM 200 was originally classified as a secret document, meaning that neither the public in the United States nor the people of the developing world who were the subject of the study were allowed to know of its existence. A schedule for declassification appearing on the cover authorized its release in mid-1989. However, the document was not actually made public until almost a year later, when it was given to the U.S. National Archives in response to a request from a journalist working for the Information Project For Africa. Why was the study kept confidential so long? It is difficult to promote birth control on a giant scope unless the recipients can be persuaded that it is intended for their benefit. NSSM 200, on the other hand, acknowledged that the purpose of population control was to serve the U.S. strategic, economic, and military interest at the expense of the developing countries. Such a revelation, particularly if it were to leak out prematurely, would seriously jeopardize program goals. In fact, the declassification date on the memorandum would not necessarily be mandatory, and NSC could still have kept it from public view. But by 1990, at least two very important changes had taken place. For one thing, many of the study's recommendations for pushing population reduction policies on aid-receiving countries had been accomplished. Second, the U.S. had elected George Bush, a former Director of Central Intelligence, to the White House in 1988, which may have signalled to classification review personnel that the American public had grown more tolerant of covert activities overseas. Whose population did the security advisers want controlled? The recommendations for reducing fertility applied only to the developing world -- and to all of it. However, NSSM 200 also states that 13 countries of "special U.S. political and strategic interest" would be primary targets. They are: India, Brazil, Egypt, Nigeria, Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mexico, Thailand, Turkey, Ethiopia and Colombia (page 15 of the introduction). What were the study's main concerns about population? NSSM 200 states that population growth in the developing world threatens U.S. security in four basic ways: First, certain large nations stand to gain significant political power and influence as a result of their growing populations. Second, the United States and its western allies have a vital interest in strategic materials which have to be imported from less-developed countries. Third, societies with high birthrates have large numbers of young people, who are more likely than older people to challenge global power structures. And last, population growth in relatively-disadvantaged countries jeopardizes U.S. investments. Which countries would benefit politically from population growth? The memorandum cites Brazil as one example. Brazil "clearly dominates the continent demographically," the report says, noting that Brazilians could outnumber U.S. residents by the end of the century. Thus it foresees a "growing power status for Brazil in Latin America and on the world scene over the next 25 years" if population programs were not successful at curbing fertility (page 22). Nigeria was also given as an example of a nation that can benefit from population increase. "Already the most populous country on the continent, with an estimated 55 million people in 1970, Nigeria's population by the end of this century is projected to number 135 million," says the formerly-classified report. "This suggests a growing political and strategic role for Nigeria, at least in Africa south of the Sahara" (page 21). How does population control help the west acquire minerals? The study explains, first of all, "The location of known reserves of higher-grade ores of most minerals favors increasing dependence of all industrialized regions on imports from less developed countries. The real problems of mineral supplies lie, not in basic physical sufficiency, but in the politico-economic issues of access, terms for exploration and exploitation, and division of the benefits among producers, consumers, and host country governments" (page 37). It then advises, "...the U.S. economy will require large and increasing amounts of minerals from abroad, especially from less developed countries. That fact gives the U.S. enhanced interest in the political, economic, and social stability of the supplying countries. Wherever a lessening of population pressures through reduced birth rates can increase the prospects for such stability, population policy becomes relevant to resource supplies and to the economic interests of the United States" (page 43). What have youthful populations got to do with it? Young people have historically been advocates for change, and are more prone to confront imperialism. NSSM 200 quotes a June 1974 State Department cable from Bangladesh to make this point: "Bangladesh is now a fairly solid supporter of third world positions, advocating better distribution of the world's wealth and extensive trade concessions to poor nations. As its problems grow and its ability to gain assistance fails to keep pace, Bangladesh's positions on international issues likely will become radicalized, inevitably in opposition to U.S. interests on major issues..." (page 80). How are U.S. commercial investments affected by birthrates overseas? The document points out that growing nations need to provide for their growing needs. Thus, it warns, they are likely to make increased demands of foreign investors. Under such circumstances, western corporate holdings "are likely to be expropriated or subjected to arbitrary inter- vention." The report adds that this could be a consequence of "government action, labor conflicts, sabotage, or civil disturbance," and concludes: "Although population pressure is obviously not the only factor involved, these types of frus- trations are much less likely under conditions of slow or zero population growth" (pages 37-38). Did the Americans really think they could get away it? NSSM 200 repeatedly acknowledges suspicions about U.S. motives on the part of "LDC" (less-developed country) leaders, and recommends a strategy to deal with these reactions. "It is vital that the effort to develop and strengthen a commitment on the part of the LDC leaders not be seen by them as an industrialized country policy to keep their strength down or to reserve resources for use by the `rich' countries," says the study. "Development of such a perception could create a serious backlash adverse to the cause of population stability..." (page 114). The next page adds: "The US can help to minimize charges of an imperialist motivation behind its support of population activities by repeatedly asserting that such support derives from a concern with: (a) the right of the individual to determine freely and responsibly their number and spacing of children ... and (b) the fundamental social and economic development of poor countries...." (page 115). How were NSSM 200 s population goals to be pursued? In addition to disguising hostile intent by "repeatedly asserting" that birth control is useful to development, the writers demand that the United Nations and other multi-national institutions be used as fronts to conceal the extent of the U.S. involvement. They argue that the U.S. should "[a]rrange for familiarization programs at U.N. Headquarters in New York for ministers of governments, senior policy level offi- cials and comparably influential leaders from private life" (introduction, pages 20-21). In some countries, the memo reported, "U.S. assistance is limited by the nature of political or diplomatic relations ... or by the lack of strong government interest in population reduction programs (e.g. Nigeria, Ethiopia, Mexico, Brazil)." In these cases, it would be wise to channel population assistance should through "other donors and/or from private and international organizations (many of which receive contributions from AID)" (pages 127-128). Did NSSM 200 mention compulsory population policies? It clearly does. It recommends, for example, that the World Bank take the lead. "Involvement of the Bank in this area would open up new possibilities for collaboration," the document says (page 148). The study also advises that the U.S. government played "an important role in establishing the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) to spearhead a multilateral effort in population as a complement to the bilateral actions of AID and other donor countries" (page 121). And it says that, "with a greater commitment of Bank resources and improved consultation with AID and UNFPA, a much greater dent could be made on the overall problem" (page 149). Moreover, the report asserts that "mandatory programs may be needed and that we should be considering these possibilities now" (page 118). It also finds that there is already "some established precedent for taking account of family planning performance in appraisal of assistance requirements" and concludes that "allocation of scarce PL 480 resources should take account of what steps a country is taking in population control as well as food production. In these sensitive relationships, however, it is important in style as well as substance to avoid the appearance of coercion" (page 106- 107). What about propaganda? NSSM 200 concentrates mostly on efforts to get heads of government to adopt population policies against their own people. In this context, it says that U.S. diplomatic and embassy officials should "be alert to opportunities for expanding our assistance efforts and for demonstrating to their leaders the consequences of rapid population growth and the benefits of actions to reduce fertility" (page 128). It also notes: "There was general consternation [at the 1974 population conference in Bucharest when] the Plan was subjected to a slashing, five-pronged attack led by Algeria, with the backing of several African countries; Argentina, supported by Uruguay, Brazil, Peru, and, more limitedly, some other Latin American countries; the Eastern European group (less Romania); the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] and the Holy See" (page 86-87). Thus the study emphasizes the need to convince foreign leaders to drop their objections: "The beliefs, ideologies and misconceptions displayed by many nations at Bucharest indicate more forcefully than ever the need for extensive education of the leaders of many governments, especially in Africa and some in Latin America. Approaches [for] leaders of individual countries must be designed in the light of their current beliefs and to meet their special concerns" (page 96). How about the mass media? At the time NSSM 200 was written, U.S. policy makers gave only passing thought to wholesale propaganda operations, apparently concluding that this course of action would be too difficult and too controversial. "Beyond seeking to reach and influence national leaders, improved world-wide support for population-related efforts should be sought through increased emphasis on mass media and other popula- tion education and motivation programs by the UN, USIA and USAID," says the formerly-secret memorandum. "We should give higher priorities in our information programs world-wide for this area and consider expansion of collaborative arrangements with multilateral institutions in population education programs" (page 117). But it also makes reference to the risks involved: "First, there is widespread LDC sensitivity to satellite broadcast, expressed most vigorously in the Outer Space Committee of the UN. Many countries don't want broadcasts of neighboring countries over their own territory and fear unwanted propaganda and subversion by hostile broadcasters. NASA experience suggests that the US must treat very softly when discussing assistance in program content" (page 191). Is NSSM 200 the only important policy document on population trends? Certainly not. The Central Intelligence Agency had a population and manpower subcommittee at least as far back as the 1950s. Over the past 40 years, hundreds of reports have been prepared by the Defense Department, the Department of State, the CIA and others about population control and U.S. national security. Many of them remain partially or entirely classified. To give just one example, a February 1984 CIA report called "Middle East-South Asia: Population Problems and Political Stability" warns that "one-fourth to one-third of the populations of all Middle Eastern and South Asian countries is in the politically-volatile 15 to 24 age group, a consequence of high population growth rates during the 1950s and 1960s." These young people, the intelligence analysts continued, "will be ready recruits for opposition causes [such as] Islamic fundamentalism, which currently offers the principal ideological haven for Muslim youth." Similarly a study done in 1988 for the Pentagon calls upon high-level security planners to ensure that "population planning" is given the status of weapons development (see "Global Demographic Trends to the Year 2010: Implications for U.S. Security" in The Washington Quarterly, Spring 1989). And a 1991 report to the U.S. Army Conference on Long- Range Planning warns that current population trends -- extremely low fertility in developed countries and rapid growth in the southern hemisphere -- raise serious concerns about "the international political order and the balance of world power." The document -- reprinted in Foreign Affairs, Summer 1991 as "Population Change and National Security" -- says that these changes "could create an international environment even more menacing to the security prospects of the Western alliance than was the Cold War for the past generation." Military and intelligence assessments such as these do not change the importance of NSSM 200, however, but merely update its message to address current concerns. Web sites and blogs DO NOT link to this print page, the original article is at: http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=90207

WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF THE TRAGEDY IN BASILAN?

19 soldiers slain in Basilan

MILF: Our forces had edge, went for the kill

By Julie Alipala
Inquirer Mindanao

12:18 am | Thursday, October 20th, 2011

 37share1027 986

‘THEY KEPT COMING’ A soldier carries a wounded comrade airlifted by helicopter from Al-Barka, Basilan, for treatment in Zamboanga City on Tuesday. At least 19 soldiers of the Special Action Forces were killed in a clash with Moro rebels. A survivor of the ambush said they were outnumbered and overwhelmed. AP

The soldiers were running out of magazines preloaded with bullets and yet Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters kept on coming, said a member of the Army’s Special Forces who survived a nine-hour clash in Al-Barka, Basilan province.

The encounter on Tuesday left 19 soldiers dead.

Private First Class Arnel Balili said that while some 90 Moro rebels were advancing, he and 39 other members of the Special Forces had to spend time loading fresh bullets into empty magazines so they could return fire.

The soldiers were overwhelmed. “We were only 40. There were more of them,” Balili, who was among the 11 wounded soldiers, said from a hospital bed in Zamboanga City.

When the smoke cleared, ... read more at http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/78739/19-soldiers-slain-in-basilan#disqus_thread

Status of Our National Defense

This is already a decades old cycle of brother filipino soldiers of the government among us being clobbered by brother filipino soldiers of whatever region or ideology among us, and vice versa.  

Let us remember the rape cases the north americans committed against our filipinas as well as the deaths of our filipino brothers like Gregan Cardeño inside the facility of a U.S. organization- Liason Coordination Elements in the Philippines yet have not found closure until now due to blocks from the north americans.  Take note of the mysterious death of Captain Javier Ignacio of the Philippine Army who was the recruiter of Cardeño for the U.S. organization, who was gunned down while he was about to meet a filipino group investigating the Cardeño death.   This is also a decades old deficiency of filipino soldiers among us of being impotent in defending our brother filipinos against foreign aggression.⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾

How many decades have we been under what the U.S. term as, tutelage, protection, training, technological support, and guidance of the mighty protective north americans since the 1900s?  In all those years, our defense system could not proceed at any direction of development other than that under U.S. control, tutelage, protection, training, technological support, policies, guidance and dependence on. How many decades have we been at war against brother filipinos in what the the U.S term as insurgency? How many years have been our defense system been functioning as defense against brother filipinos the situation of which is equivalent to the autoimmune disease of the immune system of an individual human entity? In all those years, have we ever been able to develop a defense system capable of defense against foreign invaders?

In all those years that other nations like France, Germany, Israel, Japan, and Vietnam, developed their nation, how have been their status of economy and defense? Did they let their economy and defense be controlled by and dependent on the U.S.?

If we let the U.S. continue their tutelage, protection, training, technological support, guidance, and control of our nation as what they have always been doing, how many more years will it take before we will this time be able to end being at war with brother filipinos? How many more years will it take before we will finally be able to have the economic and defense status of nations mentioned who have never been controlled by nor dependent on the U.S.?

These are just symptoms of a pathological national defense development.  

The AFP is part of the defense system of our nation.  No matter how strong the defense system is, if for its major function, it destroys the people of its own nation and defends more the foreigners before a situation that is in conflict with its own people, it will remain dysfunctional.  Thus it is impotent or a mutant.

Our defense system has a deficiency.  It is supposed to follow like normal biological entities that when a defense system is owned by a certain entity, it defends that entity against foreign organic or non-organic entities.  Once it destroys part or the whole of the entity to which it belongs to, the defense system has become auto defense.  In a human being entity, this becomes an autoimmune disease.  Such deficiency or dysfunction is merely a symptom of the underlying cause.  There was an infection at some point of development of the entity.

Birth of Our Nation

  

Conception of the filipino nation developed in the 1700s to the 1800s as a result of a developmental intercourse of events in the 1500s to the 1600s involving the iberians under the Spanish Government and the natives and separate tribes of the islands on the Southeast Asia and Southwest Pacific.  This developed into a revolution that drove us to a separation from the womb of Madre España and be born as a Filipino Nation in 1898.  From tribes and petty kingdoms, to a colony, to a revolutionary social organism, we became a nation.

We inherited the organic national Determinant of National Actions from the founding fathers of our nation. This unwritten code was the factor inherent in us, in: producing a national character and identity that binds us, as a nation; driving the direction of our development; and providing cohesion and continiuity of development thru generations.

Carrying that unwritten code within us, as a nation, we developed a system of politics, defense, judiciary, economy, and education.  Being an infant nation, we struggled to be united, to adapt to the situation, and to control our resources and direction of our development. 

The estimated GDP per capita for the Philippines in 1900, the year Spain left, was of $1,033.oo.  That made it the second richest nation in all of Asia, next to Japan ($1,135.oo), and far ahead of China ($652.oo) or India ($625.oo).⁽³⁾

Development of Our Original National Defense System

At the birth of our nation in 1898, we had a still infant but normal and even a vibrant national defense system.  It was clear who our defense system belongs to, for it was clear who we were, not as individuals, not as tribes nor petty kingdoms, but as a nation.

At that stage, we through Gen Antonio Luna developed the Academia Militar.  He recruited quite a number of officers from the Spanish Army to form the core group of the academia.  He transformed the different and assorted standards of fighting volunteers for the revolutionary stage of our nation into a professional standard of regular soldiers for the newly born nation.

Our newly developed but infant defense system underwent the ultimate test of its class and potency when a foreign entity, the north americans, violated our newly born nation in 1898 by their invasion.  Without any aid from any nation, our defense forces engaged the aggressor forces of the most powerful nation in the world in 1899.   It was our first encounter with a foreign aggressor force as a filipno nation.  We lost in many battles but we also defeated them in a number of documented battles like Balangiga, Mabitac, Pulang Lupa, etc.  

Down south, the north americans tampered with the development of that area of our nation, with their Bates Agreement of 1899.  It established a kind of national development that mutated into one of disintegrating development of one part of the nation from the development of the other parts of the nation.  It was a masterful divide and rule stroke of the enemy forces to disintegrate the whole of our national defense system.  It has a profound consequence to our national development including national security, today.

Yet, so potent were our defenses that by 1903, the aggressor forces were not yet able to break our resistance.

Ellis G. Davis, Company A, 20th Kansas of the U.S. occupational forces in the Philippines, wrote about us in the 1900s: "They will never surrender until their whole race is exterminated. They are fighting for a good cause, and the Americans should be the last of all nations to transgress upon such rights. Their independence is dearer to them than life,…". 

The aggressor forces of the most powerful nation in the world had to resort to what terrorists today do- hostage-taking of civilians among us.  But at that time, it was on a massive scale which included extermination of the civilians among us.  According to just the documented reports, among the places where these form of terrorism took place were in Marinduque, Rizal, Bulacan, Batangas, Laguna, Albay, and  Samar.  Their demand: surrender of those of the defense forces among us.  It was because of such terroristic acts that the defense forces among us were compelled to give in to their demand.  It was because of such terroristic acts that 800,000 to 1,000,000 of us filipinos died.⁽⁴⁾

Developmental Heredity Injuring Virus

As a result of our having a weakened physical defense system, the north americans took over without resistance from us, control of our resources and development of our systems including our political, defense, economic and education.  These resulted to our organic Determinant of National Actions code within our systems, being cut off from us.  They replaced it with a developmental code they synthesized which directed our development towards functioning to sustain the growth of the north american of the United States.

At their initial penetration of our defense system, they took brother filipinos into the Philippine Constabulary, their auxilliary corps to engage brother filipinos of the filipino defense force.  Gradually, their auxilliary corps, Philippine Constabulary later transformed into the Armed Forces of the Philippines.  Later, more soldiers among us either died or surrendered that we were cut off from our organic filipino defense forces- our original defense system.

Developmental Defense System

Having lost our physical defenses, we still mounted a defense at the developmental level against another foreign invader at another front.  We engaged the chinese invasion and taking over of our economic bases in the 1900s, at the sociological level.  However, the north american government and the chinese government in their homeland, intervened and blocked all our moves to check the chinese overruning our economic bases.  Under U.S. protection, the chinese in our country have secured legal status over our economy and over our land.  After several years of maneuver, they have developed a strong sociological and economic clutch over us, impoverished filipinos including the new generation of materialistically molded political and military leaders.  The chinese have secured covert but strong influence over the direction of our economic, political, and defense system.  

This further weakened our economy enough to render us filipinos perpetually economically dependent. This resulted to our having become perpetually impotent in defending our nation against foreign occupation.

Foreign Invasion Spreads at the Developmental Level

Except for Carlos Garcia, we never had any president who could not be controlled by the United States of North America and stay long as president.  All these presidents are products of U.S. tampered development of our educational system.⁽⁵⁾

  

Today, we the mass of filipinos are loosing our legal status over our economy and our land.  The only legal status remaining for us, mass of filipinos are that of OFWs, squatters, employees, and laborers.  Today, our defense system only functions against law breakers who happen to be filipinos, but not anymore against foreign invaders.

  

Alienation Impotency Dependency Syndrome

This has become the characteristics of the soldiers among us: fierce and potent against brother filipinos who happen to be criminals, and even against brother filipinos resisting the puppets of the north americans; but impotent against foreign invasion and control. 

This was how our defense force, an external defense force was replaced by an auxilliary armed corps of the north americans in the Philippines.  It has been castrated to perpetually remain and not grow beyond counterinsurgency capability.  As a result, our nation has perpetually remained impotent in defending ourselves against foreign control.  For decades, we have never been able to be independent.

The Abu Sayyaf situation is just the result of the CIA creation of religious fighters from muslim regions including Mindanao to fight a proxy war against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s.  This is the cause of why many lives of filipino soldiers among us have been lost to fighting the Abu Sayyaf terrorists.

Recovery 

We can break this decades old chronic disease of our defense system.  We have identified the underlying cause and the process.  We are aware that a status of a vibrant, world class defense system, did exist for our nation during the time of our forefathers.  It is ours by inheritance from our forefathers.  Therefore, it is ours to recover.

_________________________________________

References:

  

1.  http://natoreyes.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/us-troops-in-mindanao-and-the-mysterious-deaths-of-gregan-cardeno-and-capt-javier-ignacio/

2.  http://bulatlat.com/main/2010/11/13/the-vfa-a-history-of-abuses/

3.  http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_gdp_per_cap_in_190-economy-gdp-per-capita-1900

4.  Francisco, L. 1973. The First Vietnam: The U. S. – Philippine War of 1899

5. http://thefilipinomind.blogspot.com/2006/03/making-of-americanized-filipino-minds.html

Pangasinan family: 2+21 -5+5+48 and counting

By Marla Viray
Inquirer Northern Luzon
2:47 am | Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 

FULL HOUSE The Ceras kept growing, some of them crammed 
inside their house in Pangasinan. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANGALDAN, Pangasinan—No regrets for Mensita Edano Cera, 56, who could be your poster girl for or against the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill depending on how you view her story.

Cera, who has given birth to 21 children, said she could have produced more “had I not gone into menopause.”

Only 16 of her 21 children have survived, but she adopted five more and her extended family now also includes 48 grandchildren.  Most of the Cera children have only reached high school.

Nana Mensi to her fellow villagers in Barangay Guilig here, Cera lives with husband Emilio, 59, and their two youngest children, aged 17 and 14, in a shanty near a private farm.

Married in 1969 at the age of 15, Cera said she and her husband were aware of family planning programs and contraceptives.  “We never tried any of those; we were not interested,” she said. “Although it is difficult to have many children, we do not regret having them.  God gave them to us, and we raised them properly.”

Their first child, Delia, was born in 1971 and is now 40. The youngest, Carl Edmund, was born in 1997 and is now 14. Cera also bore twins, Jesse and Mary Ann, in 1973.

Five children—Jun, born in 1972; Maribel, 1976; Pedrito, 1979; Marc Michael, 1983; and Emilio Jr., 1984—have died of either accidents or illnesses.

The rest of the brood include Nestor, born in 1975; Melanie, 1978; Marites, 1981; Ricky, 1982; Angelo, 1985; Michael, 1986; Randy, 1987; Gary, 1988; Mariz, 1989; Maricel, 1990; Dennis; 1991; and Jeffrey, 1994.

“Honestly, had I not gone into menopause, I would have probably had more children,” she said.

Cera gave birth to all her children at home, first aided by a traditional midwife (hilot) and later by a professional. Not once did she suffer complications.

Her surviving children and grandchildren, she claimed, had all grown up healthy. “They rarely get sick. Even though they look thin, they are healthy. They eat regularly and don’t go hungry,” she said.

A diabetic, Cera neither drinks nor smokes.

But to Dr. Ophelia Rivera, health officer of Mangaldan, a mother like Cera may be prone to gynecological problems and heart disease. She may also be susceptible to tooth loss and her bones could easily grow weak.

Birth spacing

“The Department of Health’s (DoH) mandate on family planning is on birth spacing, for the woman to regain her nutritional and physical status,” Rivera said.

According to Rivera, the DoH currently recommends spacing births by five to six years—longer than the previously suggested interval of two to three years—to ensure the health of both mother and child.

Told of Cera’s case, particularly her having no regrets about having that many children, the doctor said: “In this case, are (parents like her) really able to provide the basic needs like food, shelter, education? If they live in the slums, then I think not.”

At one point in the Inquirer interview, Cera likened one birth control method to tying a string around a finger and pulling it tight till it causes pain and swelling.

This kind of thinking, Rivera said, was just an example of the common misconceptions on the use of intrauterine devices, or IUDs.

These wrong notions persist because people tend to believe what friends or neighbors say rather than what doctors and health workers tell them, she added.

Hard sell

“Family planning is difficult to sell to those who have limited literacy or educational attainment because no matter how (often) we conduct an information campaign, somehow many still do not understand,” Rivera said.

A DoH survey had shown that many poor people did not avail themselves of family planning services even though these were readily accessible, she said.  The town doctor attributed this not to religious beliefs but to misconceptions on the physical effects of family planning methods as well as objections coming from husbands or male partners.

Cera’s eldest child, Delia, and fourth child, Nestor, have seven children each.  Her younger children each have five or less.

Cera said the first 10 years of their marriage was a struggle because of the growing brood. “I tried many ways to earn money, mostly by selling any food I can prepare, while my husband worked in the slaughterhouse and took care of farm animals,” she said.

Cera finished high school, while her husband only completed grade school.  Now retired, Emilio had worked as a partidor, or butcher—the same job now taken by his sons and sons-in-law.

“Being a partidor then, my husband was able to bring home pieces of meat enough for our growing family, and now that is also what our children do.  I think being a partidor is really in our blood,” Cera said.

While the men in the family work at the nearby abattoir, the women are mostly in the food business: tending a small canteen, catering, or preparing rice delicacies and processed meat.

Simple living

Cera used to own a canteen herself but decided to hand it over to one of her daughters. She also taught her girls how to make sweets and delicacies, engage in direct selling, or do manicure so they could augment their husbands’ incomes.

“I raised my children to live simple lives while being able to provide for themselves. I told them that even though they may not get rich, as long as they work hard and provide for their own families, a simple life is enough,” she said.

When family members gathered for a reunion in 2009, most of them stayed outside since not everyone could be accommodated inside the house.

“My husband and I had a pig slaughtered (for the celebration) but it wasn’t enough to feed everyone so we had to cook some more dishes,” Cera recalled

Most of her married children live near their parents’ house.  When they leave home for work, Cera and her husband take care of grandchildren.

Nothing for herself

Cera currently earns a living selling bananas, mangoes and santol—with the earnings almost always going to the care of her grandchildren.

“If you give a peso to one of them, the rest will ask for money, too … So at the end of the day, I barely have anything left for myself,” she said.

But Cera maintained that life was not that hard now.  “When I see (my grandchildren) play, I am happy. When they fight or cry all at the same time and I don’t know what to do, I end up laughing because they are so many,” she said.

With a soft spot for children, Cera had even earned an unofficial role as the village “consultant” when it came to parenting.

When Cera once served as barangay council member, a pregnant woman asked if she could shoulder the bills for her forthcoming childbirth.  In exchange, Cera could keep the baby.

“I’m really surprised why people think I could be easily convinced to adopt their children when I have so many already.  My children also ask me why I always accept them. You see, I am very fond of children,” she said.

Adopted sons

Aside from her 21 children, Cera adopted five more boys.  During the Inquirer interview, however, she could only remember the complete names of three: Nardy Estrada, Roger Ballesteros and Jeffrey de Guzman.

Asked why she agreed to take them all in, Cera said it was probably because of her past experience as a social worker under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).  “Those boys were only 6 or 7 years old when I took them in from the DSWD.  Some ran away from home, some were abandoned by their parents.  I got them circumcised, clothed and fed them, and they never left (my care) until they all got married,” she said.

“I only take care of them but I don’t give them [our] family name.  They keep their own surnames.  In fact, one of my daughters married one of my adopted children,” she said.

Cera admitted having difficulty remembering the names and birth years of all her children and grandchildren.

But then, she said, she had made a choice—and that was to raise a full, crowded house, with all its joys and struggles.