CHICAGO (JGL) – There are only very few palindromes – words, phrase or even numbers — that can be read either forward or backward. Words like “Eve,” “pop” or “noon;” phrases like “Evil olive” or “No lemon, no melon” or numbers like “11,” “121” and so on are palindromes.
But there are fewer still when it comes to names of cabinet officials. The closest in American politics to have a palindromic name was former President George H. W. Bush’s Chief of Staff John Henry Sununu. Closest because you have to add an “s” at the end of the last name to make it a figure of speech as in “sununus.”
In Philippine politics, you don’t have to go far. The government of blunt-talking President Rody Duterte has its very own with a perfect palindromic name – Yasay – as in Perfecto R. Yasay, Jr. – the former chair of the Philippine Security Exchange Commission, who is winding up his short-lived but remarkable, one-year stint as Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary.
Mr. Yasay will probably head back as professor of the Richardson School of Law in the University of Hawaii where he was plucked out by President Duterte to be a placeholder for the cabinet post reserved for Mr. Duterte’s losing vice presidential running mate, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. Mr. Cayetano has to cool his heels for a year before he could hold a government position after his loss.
It was also in Hawaii where I personally met Secretary Yasay in 2006 (please see our photo) during the international convention of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), some of its members formed the U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance (USP4GG), headed by Filipino American Atty. Loida Nicolas Lewis.
In that meeting Mr. Yasay was very jolly and cordial host to NaFFAA leaders, including Mrs. Lewis, who was the organizer-in-chief of the Fil Am convention that was trying to project a positive image for the almost invisible Filipino American community in the United States.
Mr. Yasay is not newcomer in politics either. He ran but placed a dismal sixth as vice presidential candidate of Bangon Pilipinas Party (Rise Up Philippines) led by Eddie Villanueva in the 2010 elections won by President Noynoy “Tuwid-na-daan (straight path)” Aquino.
But Mr. Yasay also has an outstanding claim to fame, according to his personal website (http://perfectoyasay.com/about/), as “former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman,” he was “the first public official who stood up against the President of the Philippines on the issue of corruption, cronyism and abuse of power, disobeying and then exposing his unlawful commands and directives. He was one of the principal witnesses who bravely testified in the historic impeachment trial against President Joseph Estrada, that eventually led to his (Estrada’s) removal.”
YASAY, CORY BISHOP APOLOGIZED TO ERAP
But a video clip provided to me by Mr. Estrada showed Mr. Yasay joining President Cory and Catholic Bishop Antonio Tobias in apologizing to Mr. Estrada for leading the downfall of Mr. Estrada during EDSA II. (Please attached videoclip)
But what bothered me was Mr. Yasay’s pronouncement last Jan. 11 in the front page of Philippine Star, where he said, “’A person who is part of a sinister plot to forcibly remove a lawfully elected president of the Republic, albeit for noble reasons, is not a patriot, but a despicable traitor and an enemy of the state,’ Yasay said in a post on Facebook.”
How can “noble reasons” be attributed to “despicable traitor and an enemy of the state” if the expression is overly ambivalent?
When Mr. Yasay touted his effort for causing the removal of Mr. Estrada and later apologizing for his action, he just trivialized the significance of EDSA People Power I that paved the way for him to be Mr. Duterte’s spokesman abroad.
Without People Power I, I believe, there would not have been People Power II! Nor could Filipinos have elected Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Arroyo, Noynoy Aquino and finally and Rody Duterte. Had Marcos survived EDSA I and had died in 1989, Bongbong Marcos, at 32, had the reins of power to keep. And there was good chance that Bongbong would have been still our president today at the young age of 60 as president-for-life like some dictators in the Middle East!
But if you are proud of EDSA I, then, you should also be proud of anti-Marcos Filipino community in the USA. This community which Marcos loyalists at that time called “steak commandos” also played a big role in educating their kababayans (fellow men) abroad about the Philippine abuses. They also hosted opposition leaders like Sen. Ninoy Aquino when Ninoy was on medical leave from his detention, Senators Raul Manglapus, Rene Saguisag, Heherson Alvarez and many others, who had been calling for the resignation of Marcos!
These opposition leaders could not express their indignation at home in the Philippines as they are in danger to be jailed or tortured by corrupt policemen and military men loyal to Marcos if they were arrested with warrantless ASSO (arrest, search and seizure order).
Attorney Lewis is just following the footprints of Filipino leaders in the U.S., who not only expose abuses by Filipino leaders at home also but also foreign tyrants like China, which is encroaching on Philippine maritime territory.
LEWIS FRIEND WITH AGUIRRE
A Lewis friend, Marlon L. Pecson (please see photo), who visited his long-time friend Secretary of Justice Vitaliano N. Aguirre in his office in Manila the other day, told me that he told Mr. Aguirre that the noise created by Mrs. Lewis is nothing to be concerned about. Mr. Pecson said Mrs. Lewis was merely calling the bluff of Mr. Duterte that he would resign if he could not solve the unsolvable drug problem within six months. “’Resign did not come from Mrs. Lewis’ mouth but Mr. Duterte’s,” Mr. Pecson explained. Mr. Pecson told Mr. Aguirre that he cross-supported in the last election Mr. Duterte and Rep. Leni Robredo. Mr. Pecson told Mr. Aguirre that Mrs. Lewis is willing to host Mr. Aguirre to a dinner in New York in case Mr. Aguirre is planning to attend the inaugural of President-elect Trump. In turn, Sec. Aguirre invited Mrs. Lewis to a meeting if she is in Manila. But there was no word yet if Mr. Aguirre had accepted Mrs. Lewis’ invitation.
Although, I call Mrs. Lewis demand for Mr. Duterte’s resignation at this point “premature,” I would like to tell Mr. Yasay and Secretary Martin M. Andanar that such call by Mrs. Lewis for resignation is constitutional. Calling for resignation is actually another word for “recall” that is enshrined in the Constitution inspired by the People Power I Revolution.
Before Marcos, the options to change the leadership were thru impeachment, election, death or disability. But after the People Power I, the 1987 Constitution introduced “recall” or “people initiative,” which are akin to resignation. According to Article XVII under Amendments or Revisions, Section 2 says, “Amendments to this Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least twelve per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of the registered voters therein. No amendment under this section shall be authorized within five years following the ratification of this Constitution nor oftener than once every five years thereafter.”
If only the 12-million Filipino overseas will unite by registering and going out to vote, with 22 percent out of the 54-M total registered Filipino voters, the Overseas Filipinos can easily exceed the “12 per centum” threshold required by the Constitution to petition for people initiative or recall of any political leader as this amendment is self-executing.
The call of Lewis and company for Mr. Duterte to keep his word to resign is nothing compared to call of a California man, who threatened to assassinate President Obama. The man named Walter Bagdasarian posted a violent, racist message about Obama on an online message, saying, “Shoot ____” using a racial slur to describe and another post saying, Mr. Obama would end up with a “.50 caliber in the head soon.” Bagdasarian was tracked down by the Secret Service and arrested for possession of a .50-caliber rifle and five other hand guns and ammunition when they found him. He was arrested, and after waiving his right to a jury trial, Bagdasarian was convicted by a federal judge of two felonies for threatening to kill a presidential candidate.
But a federal appeals court in San Francisco, California by a 2-1 decision overturned the lower court decision, saying Bagdasarian’s actions were protected by the First Amendment and that while his words were “alarming and dangerous,” they were not illegal. The court also said Bagdasarian expressed no intent to act of his words himself.
expect all criticisms, even resignation or assassination threats. After all, they have their own government media, police and military security protection at their disposal. (Contact columnist: jglariosa@hotmail.com)
Photos:
YASAY WITH NAFFAA FRIENDS:
FORMER HAWAII Professor-turned Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto R. Yasay, Jr. (center) exchanges pleasantries with some Filipino Americans who attended an international convention of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) in Honolulu, Hawaii in 2006. Mr. Yasay now calls former NaFFAA leaders who formed US Pinoys for Good Governance (USP4GG) led by Filipino American Atty. Loida Nicolas Lewis as “despicable traitor and an enemy of the state” after Mrs. Lewis called President Rody Duterte’s bluff that if he could not solve the unsolvable drug problem in six months, he would resign. Others in photo from left are journalist Joseph G. Lariosa, USP4GG member, Marlon L. Pecson, Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Conrado de Quiros and Bart SG. Tubalinal of Fil-Am Megascene. (JGL Photo)