Chaos, Charisma and Curfew: Reflections on yet another failed mutiny

So as I have mentioned in my previous post, the government calls all the shots. All efforts to go against it are futile and waved off like flies. Yesterdays bold attempt to do so, ended up peacefully, with the defectors arrested along with the media men who covered the event.

Earlier that day 1,500 policemen were deployed on the scene, they have with them a tank that stormed the lobby of the hotel. It reminds me of a scene in the movie “Lords of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”, wherein the fellowship wanders through the mines of Moria only to find that they are trapped in a room, and the orcs stormed in with a huge Rock Troll leading the front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But what happened yesterday was not fiction, it was very real and the events after added more to the confusion. So it happened, the group that barricaded the Manila Pen, headed by a Senator and a General, earlier called to the public for support before marching on to the hotel. Unfortunately, people here are so used to these events that no one bothered to leave the comfort of their sofas and watch the news unfold on the boob tube. Hours have passed, and still no supporters, well at least not enough to stage another “People Power Revolt”. Government troops begin to amass outside the hotel as per order of the president. The media folks were covering the story right from the start, not knowing that they will be caught in a different kind of crossfire later that day.

Images of tanks, a battalion of soldiers storming the hotel, swat teams everywhere. And then later that night, the defectors surrendering, civilians smiling on camera, media men in handcuffs and are taken in as witnesses and suspects, the president appearing on national TV stating that everything is under control. And to cap the day off, a curfew was announced. These events, as the news anchor on a local channel puts it, are the same events that lead to the dark days of martial law.

Well, all we can do is wait as the events unfold, and follow orders from the powers that be, after all it is us who controls our destiny, and we decided through our right to vote, that this is the life that we wanted.

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Here are some excerpts from BBC News:

Michael Whiting, the vice-chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Manila, told the BBC News website that his Filipino colleagues seemed “pretty apathetic”.”Most people have grown weary of attempts to overthrow the government,” he said.

The Philippines has a history of insurrection and popular revolt.

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COUPS AND COUP ATTEMPTS

Feb 1986
President Ferdinand Marcos steps down following a coup led by government ministers and army officers

Aug 1987
Rebel officers occupy army headquarters, 53 people killed

Dec 1989
6,000 troops stage a week-long mutiny during which the presidential palace is bombed

Jan 2001
Gloria Arroyo comes to power after a popular church-backed revolt against her predecessor, Joseph Estrada

July 2003
Nearly 300 soldiers seize control of a luxury apartment in Manila but surrender without a shot being fired

Feb 2006
Failed plot by rebel soldiers to grab power during weekend reunion of military academy

*** note: This is the third time that an attempt to overthrow President’s Arroyo’s regime failed.

For the rest of the story follow this link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7119123.stm

Mutiny in Manila: Act 2

I just don’t know what is happening to this country?  Just as when we are gaining strength over the dollar, something like this always happens. 

I woke up just in time to see a flash report on TV, stating that a group of soldiers took hold of the Manila Peninsula Hotel, led by a general and a senator, who four years ago also attempted to overthrow the government in a “peaceful” protest.

What they don’t understand is that the government is calling all the shots, everything that was thrown against it were thrashed and labeled as heresy.  There is nothing much we can do about the current situation of the country.  Not only do we gain international recognition negatively, but our economy will soon plunge again deeper to the crap that we have been in for decades now.

A new president does not solve the issue, we are on a rally of impeaching presidents, and it’s starting to become a habit if not already.  The real problem here is integrity, and such we simply don’t have.

We are a people who love and will die for freedom, and so as our strength is in unity, it is also our primary weakness.  Time and again we have seen people in power used this to their advantage, they feed the minds of the people that what they say is true and promotes to the betterment of society.  But we have seen, time and again, that we are merely pawns in their quest for power.  For their minds are corrupted and they have been shackled by greed.  And these are the leaders that we have elected and trust with our lives.  For me, the only true and legit “People Power” was the one made to oust the dictator and that’s it.  Everything after are nothing but shells, a shadow of it’s true glory and purpose.

During the last barangay polls, I have witnessed SK candidates being pushed for the position by their relatives and peers, urging them, not to serve, but to take advantage of the funds that could be channeled down to them.  I don’t know if their consciously teaching their sons to “steal” from the money of the people or that it is just percieved as such.

We all know that, to be in government is to serve the country and it’s people.  But look at what’s happening, thieves and robbers ask permission from us to do their job.  And they do it so blatantly, that the whole world knows what is happening here, while we turn our heads the other way and don’t give a darn thing at all.  We even teach our children how to get it done.

There’s no one to blame here but ourselves, but we have to understand and try to make a conscious effort to uphold integrity in our daily lives.  As for the men in uniform holding the hotel, all of us have bones in our closets, so please if you succeed, make sure that you cultivate the nation of what is right and not what seems to be right.

Here’s the link to the story: http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=16242&wpage=&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1718&hn=pacificnewscenter&he=.com

Call Center Tsunami

I have been working for a contact center for four years, I don’t know if that’s a big deal or not, but here in our country, this is the most lucrative industry pulling in around 3.4 billion pesos (around USD75M) in 2005 and is expected to double in the next four years.

This industry seems to be at least a partial solution to the ever growing problem of employment, wherein each company hoards in as much as 200-300 agents in a span of 3-4 months, and that’s only for a single client, and each company has at least 3-5 clients to serve.  Last I checked, we curently have more or less 75 call centers here in Manila.  So, yes they do help lessen the unemployment rate to some extent.

True enough the youth here saw this as a fashion statement and a lifestyle very different from what they have experienced before.   And this made them into another being, giving life and light to the night.  Establishments saw a boom when the Call Center industry started to come alive, bars, clubs and disco houses were full to the rafters as the era saw the rebirth of social Filipino youth.  Even during the day, some of these shops were still open to serve those that has just came off from their shift to grab a booze and relax a bit, before they head home to sleep.

Indeed, it is a great industry where you can earn money way above, what the government calls, the minimum wage, along with a couple of privileges and benefits on the side, this soon sounded like the perfect job for every Filipino.  Even Headhunters (firms that acts as recruitment) saw this as a golden opportunity.  On the classifieds section of the sunday paper, there are several institutions that are now offering call center training and extends their services to find the right company for you, and I heard on the local news, that the government is planning to incorporate it in the university curriculum by next school year.

The reason that we have this on our shores, is because, its really cheap to get this kind of work here.  In reality, the salary that we’re getting paid here in a month, is equivalent to a day’s work onshore (the US or any other country that outsources here).  And that’s actually their main purpose. to cut costs, literally, hundreds were laid off because of outsourcing and a lot of us Asians benefitted from it, but what do you think would happen in the coming years as other countries that carries cheaper price tags, opens up their doors to outsourcing.  

So if we want to keep their business, mind your tongues and learn the skills of the trade.  Check my future posts here, I will share with you my experiences and secrets on how to become visible and successful in this career.