Okay, okay, all of you, enough with the zillion of emails, instant messages and text messages asking why I haven't posted about last weekend's failed mutiny yet. The easy answer is that I've been in California on vacation for the past week and a half, but that's really not true because I was reading about it while it happened online and watching video streams like the news junkie that I am. The reason I haven't written about it, as I've told a few of you already, is that I'm so fucking angry about the whole thing that my post draft in its entirety would've read "stupid selfish asshole motherfuckers die die die" and I'dve had to spend at least half a day in front of my laptop trying to fit a multitude of other words in to explain why. Thank goodness for my boyfriend, who sat down and wrote this piece after we talked about the situation (italics mine):
Cloupless
Many people have said that last Sunday's mutiny was stupid because of what it did and is doing to our economy, but that the rogue soldiers who staged it were kawawa because they were manipulated by the politicians. It's a pity, they say, because Filipinos are fighting against Filipinos.
Why are they kawawa when the military, when the soldiers are given so many privileges not available to other sectors of the government? They have more benefits, they're exempt from taxes. The military, thanks to the present administration, is supreme because they are fighting terrorism, the buzzword of the turn of the century (it happened 9-11)! They receive more priority than say, education and public school teachers. These rogue soldiers said that they were quite unhappy with the way things are and they were for peace but at the same time they installed more than 10 C-4 bombs in the Glorietta area. They said that they, like other idealistic Filipinos, wanted change "nagkaiba lang dahil sundalo kami," is what one rogue soldier said, meaning they have access to guns and explosives, so they can use them. We, the taxpaying public, put these soldiers through school in the Philippine Military Academy. We paid for their weapons, we armed them so that they'll protect us and their loyalties will be to the country. Last Sunday showed us these idealistic young soliders acting like terrorists. When asked by reporters if they considered how their actions would affect their economy, the officers yelled: "What economy?"
Their grievances, if I understood what I read, were administrative in nature and could have been dealt with, as former President Ramos put it, through the proper channels. Their objectives were vague so it was not surprising that they did not win the sympathy of the people, or that the masses didn't go out into Glorietta to support them as many people did 18 years ago on Edsa when several officials demanded an end to the regime. They were uncertain of their demands and of the outcome.
This is not to turn a blind eye on corruption. I'm sure they had their reasons for demanding the resignation of several high ranking officials, as well as questioning the current managerial structure of the Armed Forces. Did they have to involve the whole country? Corruption is rampant in the country, that's an understatement. But going by the logic of these rogues, the solution to the problem is bombs (for defense only) and guns. Nagkaiba nga kasi mga sundalo sila. By having guns it seems they're armed with these rights.
So what should disgruntled idealistic public school teachers like myself do who are unhappy with the present situation and the even rampant corruption in education? Horde powdered chalk and blow it on to the students in the hopes that they have severe asthma attacks? Have several senior faculty members stage a deadly mutinous professorial chair lecture that will be televised so we can bore the whole population to death unless our demands are met?
Was their gamble worth it? Kasi in the end, setbacks again. Success or no success, we're in a lose-lose situation.
