Andal vs Toto
Imagine this.
You are Ampatuan patriarch Andal.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has bowed to international outrage and had you and over a hundred of your sons, nephews, and other relatives and loyal retainers arrested for mass murder. You, who were instrumental in Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s 2004 hook-or-by -crook election. And yet she has succumbed to international outrage and dared to detain you. Of course you’ve been assured by trusted intermediaries that this was temporary, and that Arroyo would find a way to get you out of this fix, but its been months and you and your family are still in jail.
Growing impatient, irritated, and perhaps a bit suspicious, you send word to Arroyo that if she doesn’t do something soon to get you out of this mess, you may be tempted to make trouble for her. Perhaps spill the beans on some of the dirt you have on her, particularly what you did for her in the 2004 election? Or maybe some other skeleton she has that you can rattle.
Word gets back to you that the message is received and to watch for development sin the next few days. It won’t all be resolved yet but a major sign of her intentions will be given. Enough for you to reconsider your threat to spill the beans on her.
Then comes Justice Secretary Alberto Agra, ordering the dropping of charges against your son Zaldy and nephew Akmad. You’re satisfied. At least for now.
Now, imagine you are Toto Mangundadatu.
Your wife and relatives have been massacred by the Ampatuans, but you have been assured that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will not allow this crime to go unpunished. After all, you have been an ally of hers for years and have never given her any trouble. As a sign of your faith in her, you have not bolted the Lakas Kampi party despite an earlier plan to join the Liberal Party. Of course you know that the Ampatuans are closer to her than you are but the gravity of their crime should force Arroyo to take action, and so far she has managed to put them in jail. Not to mention that you are aware of some skeletons in Arroyo’s closet and there is the implicit threat that if she bails the Ampatuans out you can always spill the beans on her.
Suddenly, Justice Secretary Al Agra drops charges against Zaldy and Akmad Ampatuan. To you it looks like Arroyo has succumbed to pressure from the other side.
Quickly you send through your intermedaries: reverse or undo Agra’s decision and remove the SOB or you will rattle whatever skeletons you have found in her closet.
Now imagine you are Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
You got the Ampatuans on one side, the Mangundadatus on the other, both threatening another political shitstorm unless you do what they say.
What do you do? Reach for that bottle of Tylenol.
April 23rd, 2010 10:55
Very nicely done Ricky… What does she do? Well, once the person at the top get nervous, then the dominoes begin to fall.
April 23rd, 2010 11:26
“Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.” MLK
April 23rd, 2010 11:34
makes for a good plot: a heck of a situation. most likely the case though.
. . . how about: now, imagine the situation room in malacanan right now:
makes for even bigger money for her spin doctors. they must be very happy.
… and while the public awaits with anticipation for the susunod na kabanata — the media has its hands full feeding on.
another meal ticket!
… gosh, gloria could be such a cash cow-360!
BUT then again, that’s just me and my own brand of imagination in a moment’s frenzy
.
April 23rd, 2010 11:51
Nice headshot of GMA, she looks lika a basket case.
A bottle of Tylenol wouldn’t be enough to quell her headaches, she should be asking for a cyanide pill for it to go away.
April 23rd, 2010 12:02
Very nicely written. Big trouble for GMA then. She will need more than Tylenol.
April 23rd, 2010 12:54
or she can just appoint her labandera a cabinet position
April 23rd, 2010 12:57
Ricky, your scenario can be duplicated in all her transactional political relations.
The woman is in a bind. She is actually being controlled by the people she is supposed to control.. a detente situation with the following shady characters:
“Borjer” Abalos
Garci
Romy Neri
Esperon
Bangit
Ermita
Mendoza
The two Gonzalezes
Pichay
The Pinedas
The Garcias
The list is only partial. Who else..Oh, yes..
Villaroyo!
April 23rd, 2010 13:47
somebody screwed up the script in Andal’s first of two jailcell presscons.
April 23rd, 2010 14:12
In terms of intellectual competency, I think GMA is right up there with the best. she’s very smart. I might be wrong, but I think her economic plans have been pretty good.
But what she is not, is a leader. She is the very definition of a politician. She puts all her effort into deal-making and trading favor for favor. she doesn’t have an ounce of leadership skill within her.
She also doesn’t seem to have an ounce of honor.
The situation she finds herself in right now is a result of that. She made deals with both sides, playing one against the other. Now she finds herself indebted to both, and she doesn’t know what to do.
What a shame. If she had just put country before self when she became president, the Philippines could have turned out to be a real nice place.
April 23rd, 2010 17:28
Simple, set ampatuans free and pay mangundadatu, that is after you appoint your manicurista in pag-ibig.
April 23rd, 2010 18:47
Tito Boy,
That probably would’ve worked if they hadn’t killed all those journalists, lawyers, and innocent bystanders. Not sure if they’d accept a payoff.
April 23rd, 2010 23:43
PS/Sideshow: must say the character shots — hilarioÜs!
. boy, whoever said “the eyes are the windows of the soul” mÜst be, eherm, rolling on his grave right now 
. ridiculoÜs (-ly incriminating)!
this guy ricky sure has a fÜnny way of presenting things. the angle,word- and visuals-choice — cutting edge. modern day pen-precision. the situation is bad enough but heck ‘makes for a fine (& funny) read. makes one laÜgh… while thinking.
April 24th, 2010 00:17
about the question…
how about… call the manicurista? — (hoping she’s bright enough for an idea? what’s the use of letting her sit on some agency’s board afterall?
.
been mullin’ over it over minibreaks… [(seems like my grey matter's melted as 'm incidentally finding myself with the same brand of splitting headache tita glo must be feeling right about now given the scenario (... how about passing that Tylenol pls =).]… but however i look at it, she’s sure to dig deeper her own grave. looks like any move she makes now leads her to her own checkmate.
under stress, girls do glam up, so why the hell not — enter the manicÜrista, pls
.
April 24th, 2010 01:26
Excellent piece, Ricky !
April 24th, 2010 02:16
We have descended into such an evil precedent that it is okay to massacre and rape people. Can Gloria Arroyo sleep at night? She seems to have lost her conscience already.
April 24th, 2010 10:43
After People Power 1, they discovered a dialysis machine and all those medical equipment at the Palace..which kept Marcos alive.
What will they discover this time should there be another People Power? A roomful of Tylenols and brandy?
April 25th, 2010 19:12
Its brilliant Ricky !
Gloria needs more than a gallon of Lysol and it wont wash!
April 26th, 2010 14:53
We have descended into such an evil precedent that it is okay to massacre and rape people. Can Gloria Arroyo sleep at night? She seems to have lost her conscience already.
That is if, she ever had one…
April 27th, 2010 05:01
……give all the resources and all the means to have manny villar elected as president……that’s the only and the easiest viable solution she has on hand for now……with villar elected as president with the help of the ampatuans and mangudadatu, of course, pressure on her by the two warring clans will be neutralized, and give her ample time to put into place her plan B of changing the form of government into a parliamentary one and have herself installed prime minister….and presto she’s got 90M people under her midget persona again…….
April 27th, 2010 16:34
Gilbert Remulla’s reason for visiting Ampatuan Sr. at the hospital just doesn’t wash.
Remulla says “I think, (it was for) my own personal safety. I think anybody would do that. I think as a parent (I have to protect my family).”
This wanna-be-senator doesn’t deserve to be one. Takot. No balls. So what was all that huffing and puffing against the Ampatuans for? So many others also condemned the Ampatuans like he did. But he was the only one who made a deal. He’ll make a deal anytime pala. The guy can’t stand pressure from criminals.
He’s No. 12 on the senatorial surveys. Barely hanging on. But this incident of mysteriously making deals with the Ampatuans will eject him out of the Magic 12.
By the way, Remulla later appealed to the media not to make an issue out of it.
ohh..so young and yet so Villar-like already.
April 27th, 2010 21:19
Very good analysis Ricky. Question is how much more can the people take before protesting in the streets?
In Thailand they went to the streets for much less!
April 28th, 2010 00:19
Blind Obedience like in the time of Hitler in Nazi Germany was the call of the Nazi Regime. This is the reason at Nuremberg Trial. The Nazi War Criminals invoked their defense: “We are just following orders from our Superiors.” The defense was not accepted in the Nuremberg Court. The War Criminals hung…If it is against you conscience. Do not follow the order. Some of Hitler’s Generals did not follow his orders. Like his General in the Eastern Front; Russian Campaign. The General surrendered his Army to the Soviets…
April 28th, 2010 09:55
@ricky
question, sorry, i’m taking the opportunity to ask you here, coz there is no way to ask ABS or GMA this.
why dont we have a debate between aquino and villar?
which camp doesnt want to participate? could the media push this debate, shame whichever camp that drags its feet?
i think this is very important and can do so much to raise the level of political discourse — i.e. instead of focusing on crying mothers, and fake psych reports.
April 28th, 2010 10:04
GabbyD,
Both sides say they want a debate, but neither seems to be willing to sit down with us and plan it.
April 28th, 2010 11:20
GabbyD, I don’t think ABS and GMA would consent to hosting a debate between the two top contenders. Flash Gordon will start wailing again and sue the two networks for leaving him out.
April 28th, 2010 11:32
thanks for the quick reply.
my request as viewer, voter and filipino is that these two be convinced, cajoled, shamed, into spending 3-4 hours talking about issues one last time.
talking about psych reports, life in tondo — while interesting — ultimately is useless.
April 28th, 2010 17:19
I would like to see them in the ring, Noynoy vs Villar. I would pay for that bout. The winner of the bout also gets my vote.
April 29th, 2010 08:59
Here’s another “off topic” comment Ricky.
I watched your interview with this guy Guido Delgado last night. He presented the media with a document and asked them to authenticate it. You investigated and found no reason to believe to believe it was a credible document. The guy who supposedly signed the document was not a doctor, which automatically makes it a fake.
But Delgado kept refusing to accept that.
At a certain point, I think you just have to say “Sir, this is a non-story. Please come back to us if you have any new information. Thank you and goodbye.”
April 29th, 2010 10:59
The person who deserves real credit here is Adel Tamano (Senatorial candidate) who has taken a firm stand against what he regards as “Black Propaganda” by distancing himself from his own team in the NP and their supporter Guido Delgado, who deliberately released fake documents designed to discredit Noynoy Aquino. Adel Tamano also openly and rightly criticized Gilbert Remulla for visiting Ampatuan Snr.
As a man of integrity and principle, Adel Tamano will get my vote for the Senate. By involving themselves in these two issues, Manny Villar and Gilbert Remulla have shot themselves in the foot.
Noynoy Aquino should file a case for slander and Defamation of Character against Guido Delgado.
April 29th, 2010 12:56
sorry, off-topic… can’t help but comment…
also watched the rundown last night (so love love your show btw)… i totally agree with Michael’s comment… although i enjoyed watching Ricky and Ces grill Guido Delgado and Adel Tamano in their own lard, the media should stop making this black op even an issue to talk/write about. Delgado kept saying that the media deems it an issue that’s why the media picked up the story. he’s trying to make “pa-importante”… i hope that our electorate will be more discerning this time around…
i disagree with the above comment of Alice though… i don’t and won’t give Adel Tamano credit for this… it’s impossible that he doesn’t have a part in NP’s propaganda (not just the fake psych report but all other props or black props of NP)… Adel kept saying that he keeps on urging NP to ‘up’ the campaign and talk about platform etc… isn’t it that villar himself said that a platform is just made by speechwriters? i pity Adel, he can’t even represent his boss well… Adel “denounces” this now in the hope that his political career won’t end with him just being a senatorial candidate. it’s too late baby!
this issue just shows NP’s desperation to overshadow Enrile’s expose about Villar’s stock manipulation
this is a preview of Villar’s presidency… they will just hurdle anything and everything about everybody and just issue disclaimers and denials afterwards.
when GMA became president after edsa2. i gave her the benefit of the doubt that she might be a good leader considering her credentials etc. it’s just sad that she used her wits in the wrong way and committed wrongdoings one after the other. i can’t say this of Villar. without any tinge of doubt, he doesn’t deserve to be our president, he doesn’t even deserve any seat in gov’t, as he’s not worthy of our TRUST
April 29th, 2010 13:04
to add, if there’s any truth to the psych reports, so what if noy was diagnosed with depression from way before??? does this hinder his capacity to lead our country???
April 29th, 2010 15:25
Adel Tamano became a big question mark when he joined Villar’s slate and as spokesman at that.
This personal effort to extricate himself from all their bungling and mudslinging is a tough job.
How does one clean up his image when he is constantly at the side and is spokesman for one of the most corrupt businessmen and politicians in the country?
Tough, indeed. Sayang.
April 29th, 2010 17:18
we are so beggarized by the sleeze and shamelessness of the politicians that, being
beggars that can’t be choosers, most of us would settle for the barest minimun na lang muna- simple decency.
April 30th, 2010 15:14
Great write-up, Ricky! Is there was a way to share this on Facebook?
May 1st, 2010 11:36
Don’t know Migs. I’m not on Facebook but feel free to copy and paste it.
May 1st, 2010 12:23
Meek Observer,
It seems that you and I both made the same mistake in backing Gloria Arroyo in 2001. I am sure that many Filipinos now regret what has turned out to be a fatal error of judgment.
Adel Tamano did a splendid job as Spokesman for “GO” in 2007, which is presumably why Manny Villar asked him to be Spokesman for the NP ticket this time around.
But if, as you suggest, Adel Tamano was fully involved in all the ‘Black Propaganda’ and Gilbert Remulla’s visit to Ampatuan Snr.,why would he bother to speak out so openly against the NP on these issues? Surely, it would have been much easier for him to keep his mouth firmly shut?
Whatever the outcome of this election, I feel that Tamano will eventually emerge as a capable and successful politician, for he has obvious potential and, unlike many pTrapos, strong principles. It takes courage, as a Muslim, to speak out against the Government’s botched efforts to achieve peace in Mindanao by surrendering sovereignty. Tamano has strong convictions, as you would see if you looked more closely at his record. I agree with you that he made an error of judgment in backing Manny Villar, but then you and I made the same mistake in 2001.