THE MARCOS WEALTH

Independent Confirmation Of the Philippines Gold! 

WHO CAN SAY THIS WEALTH WAS “ILL-GOTTEN”?

This was the “MARCOS WEALTH” that some

politicians and churchmen kept on saying was the

“ILL-GOTTEN” Marcos wealth 

From 1866 to 1898, Prince Julian Macleod

Tallano [RK: who became titleholder of OCT 01-4

in 1864] had also been frequenting the Vatican.

The document was entitled ORIGINAL

CERTIFICATE OF TITLE 01-4 PROTOCOL.

The number 01 refers to the ONE nation, known in preHispanic times as MAHARLIKA. The number 4

refers to the original four regions of this nation: (1) Luzon,

(2) Visayas, (3) Mindanao and (4) Palawan, Tagean

(now Kalayaan) Islands and North Borneo (in 1963 when

the Federation of Malaysia was created, the name was

changed to Sabah). [RK: This INCLUDED the

Spratly Islands just north of Palawan, the ownership

of which is now “contested” by six other countries.]

The British recognized the fact that North Borneo,

Sabah, was part of the Maharlika archipelago.

In 1934, under Pope Pius XII, the Vatican negotiated with

a member of the Filipino Royal Family, the Christian

Tallano clan in the Maharlika. An agreement was

reached that 640,000 metric tons of the Tallano gold

would be lent to the Pope. This was part of that gold

accumulated by the Southeast Asian Srivijayan/Madjapahit

Empire during its glorious reign of 900 years. 

In 1939, two members of the Tallano family and a Roman

Catholic priest, Fr. Jose Antonio Diaz, brought the gold

from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, to the Vatican.

After doing this, Fr. Diaz [RK: Hayes? Santa Romana?] went back to the Maharlika and resided in Cabanatuan City. 

After World War II, he facilitated the safe return of the 640,000 metric tons of gold from the Vatican to the Maharlika. Manuel Acuna Roxas (a relative of the Acuna/Tagean/Tallano clan), then a congressman, and Bishop Enrique Sobrepena, Sr, in the presence of Atty.

Lorenzo Tanada, received the gold in Manila.

[RK: There is good reason to believe, even from

further along in this account, that the young attorney

Ferdinand E. Marcos was involved in the return of

the gold. Certainly by all accounts we have seen it

was Ferdinand Marcos and Diaz/Santa Romana who

shared in the enormous 30% commission—that is

192,000 TONS of gold worth around $4 TRILLION

today (!!!)—for handling this transaction. 

WHO CAN SAY THIS WEALTH WAS “ILL-GOTTEN”?]

A lease agreement was made between the Tallano clan and the Maharlika government. A total of 617,500 metric tons of gold was deposited in the newly installed Central Bank of the Maharlika to comply with its requirement for GOLD RESERVE.

Under the terms of the contract, the Central Bank became the HOLDER of that gold. That lease agreement will expire in the year 2005.

[RK: The Tallano Foundation has given notice of

the termination of this 50-year lease following the

additional 5-year discretionary period on December

31, 2005 but remains unable to obtain an inventory

of this asset even though the Central Bank (now

Bangko Sentral Pilipinas) is no longer entitled to

HOLD the gold.]

Having gained the trust and confidence of Fr. Diaz,

the Tallano clan made him the main negotiator and

trustee of their gold. Fr. Diaz, in turn, hired the services

of Atty. Ferdinand E. Marcos, then a highly

recommended brilliant young lawyer having attained

notoriety when he successfully defended himself in the

“Nalundasan Case” in 1939. 

The Tallano clan paid commission to Fr. Diaz and Atty. Marcos in gold, 30% from the principal of 640,000 metric tons.

In 1949, the two richest men in the world

were Fr. Jose Antonio Diaz and Atty. Ferdinand

E. Marcos. Between the two of them they

legitimately earned and owned 192,000 metric

tons of gold.

Ferdinand Marcos withdrew their share of the gold

from the Central Bank and minted it “RP-CB”.

Sometime later, Fr. Diaz and Marcos brought their gold

to Switzerland, in the Swiss Bank Corporation in Zurich.

The remaining 400,000 metric tons of Tallano gold is

in the third floor basement of the Central Bank Minting

Plant in East Ave., Quezon City. 

There are 950,000 metric tons of gold (declared missing in the International Court of Justice) picked up by Yamashita from its European ally, Hitler. 

Another 250,000 tons of the Japanese loot around Southeast Asia are both now in the Maharlika. This country then became the holder of 1.6 million metric tons of gold bars. 

Some of the Yamashita gold buried in the Maharlika has been found. But the bulk of it is still buried to this day. And even now, thousands are secretly digging for it, including Japanese treasure hunters.

The [Wall] Street Journal in its November 15, 1985

issue wrote that two thirds of all the gold in the world is

in the Maharlika. One third is divided among the rest of

the countries in the world. Very few Filipinos know this.

[END QUOTING]

Let’s review some numbers at this point because

there are certainly some unexplained losses along the

way. 

The Tagean-Tallano gold started at 720,000 tons.

640,000 tons were transported to the Vatican and back,

leaving 80,000 tons unaccounted from the outset. 

Out of the 640,000 tons, 192,000 tons were paid in commission, which should leave 448,000 tons—but somehow that number has become 400,000 tons, leaving another 48,000 tons unaccounted. Following this story there are 128,000 (80,000 plus 48,000) tons of gold which somehow “slipped through the cracks” in addition to 192,000 tons earned in commissions, whereabouts unknown. Oops?

Out of the remaining 400,000 tons we do not know

how much remains. We know there was an effort to do

a major “disappearing act” when the old Central Bank

morphed into the new Bangko Sentral Pilipinas—but a

recent decision of the Supreme Court (Banco Filipino

versus BSP) has upheld that BSP is responsible for the

liabilities of the old Central Bank. 

So, how much longercan they keep these hundreds of thousands of tons ofgold hidden under the carpet and out of sight of the Filipino people while 80% live at the edge of starvation?

The POINT is that ultimately, a complete accounting

should show where ALL of the original 720,000 tons

went—not to mention the estimated 1.2 MILLION tons

of Yamashita treasure (combined German and Japanese plunder) identified above (that is very nearly TWO

MILLION TONS OF GOLD worth more than $38

TRILLION at today’s price (2006)). 

The phony, CIA backed EDSA “people power” exhibition of 1986 had one primary purpose and that was to take this

vast quantity of gold from the Philippines and the

Filipino people for the benefit of the International

Banking Cartel to enslave mankind.

What about the Santa Romana/Diaz/HayesVatican commission shared with Ferdinand Marcos?

[QUOTING, pg 186:]

When Fr. Jose Antonio Diaz, alias Severino Sta.

Romana, died in 1974 all that 30% commission in

gold became the legendary “MARCOS GOLD”.

After providing for his family in Marcos’ Letter of

Instruction, the whole wealth derived from this was

supposed to be given to the FILIPINO PEOPLE.

This was the “MARCOS WEALTH” that some

politicians and churchmen kept on saying was the

“ILL-GOTTEN” Marcos wealth 

[RK: We’ll see WHY this wealth has been labeled “ill-gotten” a

little further along in our study.] that until today is in “Marcos secret accounts”.

On April 9, 1973 Marcos said: “My earthly

goods have been placed in the custody and for

the disposition of the Marcos Foundation

dedicated to the welfare of the Filipino people.”

[END QUOTING]

The plans of Ferdinand Marcos are hinted at in

the following citation.

[QUOTING, pg 187:]

In his grand plan, Marcos wanted to re-establish

the former grandeur of the Maharlika and the

whole region of Southeast Asia, the former Malayan

Empire.

In June 1983, Marcos appeared before the

First World leaders in Toronto. He announced his plan

to boost the economy of the Southeast Asia region by

creating the ASIAN DOLLAR. This would be backed

up by the 400,000 metric tons of gold in the Central

Bank of the Maharlika and the other gold he scattered

around the region. He would also add to this his own

personal 192,000 metric tons in Switzerland.

The Asian Dollar, backed up by the “two thirds

of all the gold in the world” that was in the

Maharlika, would have made the Maharlika money

more valuable and stronger than the American dollar.

This was his vision to raise Southeast Asia to be at par

with the rest of the First World countries.

[END QUOTING]

There is very good reason to believe that Mr.

Marcos’ plans were even more far-reaching than this

suggests. There is plenty of solid evidence of a

program Marcos worked on with American President

Ronald Reagan, which is referred to as the ABL (Ang

Bagong Lipunan) program. 

Under this program some 250 sets of gold, documentation and related ABL currency were to be shipped to various countries around the world. A typical set included 3,500 metric tons of gold (worth some $70 billion at today’s price).

Does it start to make a little more sense as to why

those UN inspectors were using metal detectors in the

PALACES of Iraq while they supposedly sought

“weapons of mass destruction”? Or why Saddam

Hussein was such a threat to the powers-that-be? Or

how and why the price of gold has been depressed on

world markets? Or why former gold-bug Alan

Greenspan would come out with a statement labeling

gold a “barbarous relic”? Indeed

To understand why it was necessary to remove

Ferdinand Marcos from office in 1986 it helps to know

that the Yamashita Treasure was considered “booty”.

After the passage of thirty years without a valid claim against

it this “booty” would belong to its new possessor. That

would have been in 1976—but the International Criminal

Court (ICC) at that time extended the deadline by 10 years to 1986. 

The “someones” who had accumulated the German and Japanese plundered gold gathered in by Yamashita obviously preferred not to come forward with their claims because such claims could have revealed the source of such

wealth—which was, in all probability, quite probably

derived from illicit activities.

What became of the remaining 400,000 metric

tons pertaining to the Tagean-Tallano Clan and

where is it today?

[QUOTING, pg 191:]

To this day, the 400,000 metric tons of the

Maharlika (Tallano) gold are still in the Central

Bank in East Avenue, Quezon City. Nobody can

move it because Marcos insured it with the Lloyds

of London and its agents are guarding it. But the

present government does not acknowledge its

existence.

[END QUOTING]

Not only have successive governments of the

Philippines failed to acknowledge the existence of

the gold, they have conspired to keep this

information from being known to the Filipino people.

We assume this is because they have been working

at ways to convert the gold for their own selfish

gain, probably in conspiracy with the International

Banking Cartel. To this day, however, no one

seems to have found a legal solution. Mr. Marcos

was, after all, a brilliant attorney.

Immediately after Ferdinand Marcos was

removed from office literally by a U.S. military

helicopter, the newly installed President, Corazon

Aquino, formed the Presidential Commission on

Good Government (PCGG), purportedly to go after

the Marcos “ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH”.

IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE

CONSPIRATORS THAT THIS WEALTH

SHOULD BE LABELED “ILL-GOTTEN” even

though, as has already been shown, Mr. Marcos

was in his own right the wealthiest man on the face

of the Earth and had absolutely no need to take

anything from anyone.

[QUOTING, pg 192:]

A decision of the Federal Supreme Court of

Switzerland dated December 21, 1990 said: “… By

decision of May 29, 1986, the attorney general of

the District of Zurich accepted in principle the legal

assistance requested by the Philippines and invited

all the banks of the City of Zurich to FREEZE

IMMEDIATELY all the accounts, deposits or safes

of the persons, companies or foundations (of

Marcos) mentioned in the order …”

[END QUOTING]

The accounts were FROZEN at the

request of the government of the Philippines

and the PCGG has ensured they have

remained frozen to this day.

[QUOTING, pp 193-194:]

This is all a grand scheme (or scam). Blinded

Filipinos must keep repeating that Marcos was a

thief so that those hundreds of billions of dollars of

Marcos money will remain frozen and not be given to

them for their use. 

Consequently, they must constantly

borrow money from the International Monetary Fund

(IMF) and World Bank (WB) with so much interest

so that this country will remain a slave and

shackled to the foreign powers.

The Maharlika—the Richest Country in the

World Today

The original 720,000 metric tons of gold left by the

Filipinos’ benevolent forefather, Luisong Tagean,

MAHARAJAH OF THE MAHARLIKA, is mindboggling. From this, the 640,000 metric tons that was

brought to the Vatican in 1939 and back to the vault of

the Central Bank of the Maharlika (617,500 metric tons) on January 7, 1949 could have made the

Maharlika a First World country. 

The Marcos-Diaz

alliance deposited their earned 192,000 metric tons

of gold in one Swiss bank and not stashed away in

54 countries, as some individuals in government

want the people to believe. 

[RK: There is, however, evidence to indicate that the ABL

packages were delivered out to many countries.

Some of these countries appear to have

“activated” their gold holdings. For instance,

look at Dubai and the tremendous construction

boom occurring in that nation. From whence

came the great wealth to do this?] From that, the

daily interest earned for this country should be more

than enough so that Filipinos need not borrow from

the oppressive IMF and WB or leave their families

and go abroad to earn dollars.

History will show that the money was not

stashed away and inaccessible but available to truly

deserving Filipinos. 

There was nothing secret

about the Marcos accounts. These accounts were

only made secret by some people in the

government so that the public would not know its

real story. 

But, nowadays, some of them are

secretly trying to withdraw from the Marcos

accounts for themselves. However, each time they

attempt to do this abroad they end up in jail.

Here is another mind-boggling food for thought. In

15 Japanese banks alone, the Marcos-Diaz consortium

deposited 44,000 (part of the remaining 720,000) metric

tons of gold (also minted RP-CB) and made liquid to a

total of US$518,559,000,000.00 (518.6 billion dollars)

between 1962 to 1974 earning an average of 1.5% noncompounded interest per year. There are more tons of

gold in other banks around the world.

[RK: Gold can only be “made liquid” by

liquidating it and we are NOT sure this was done, not

even with 44,000 metric tons, because there is no

evidence of that kind of “money” ever being made

available to the Philippines, which has a total money

supply of just around $30 billion today.]

Gold for gold, dollar for dollar, this country, the

Maharlika, is the RICHEST COUNTRY IN THE

WORLD. 

During a talk show in a U.S. TV the week

following the bombing of the New York Twin Towers,

Pres. Bush was asked this question: Which is the

richest country in the world today? With a smile

he said: “The Philippines.” Marcos knew it, but he

could not talk. 

The thirty-year period (starting 1946) for

the gold claims of the “Claimants of World War II

Loot” (as determined by the International Court of

Justice in Hague) was extended by ten more years.

That was to be the year 1986. 

At that time they made sure that Marcos would no longer talk. After kidnapping him from Malacanang, they put him

in a golden prison in Hawaii.

So much about the ‘sarsuela’ of the 1986 EDSA

People Power Revolution, the Roman Catholic

Archbishop, his priests, the seminarians, his nuns and

his blinded followers who just PRAY, PAY AND

OBEY. These traitors on the Filipino people did a

good job in favor of those two foreign almighty powers.

Demolition Campaign Against the Filipino People

The invisible and long arm of the foreign powers

are now exposed and brought to light so that everyone

will see the real, greater and hidden

MANIPULATORS and AUTHORS of the miseries

of this country today.

On February 28, 1986 (two days after Cory

Aquino was sworn as president but before the

proclamation of her Revolutionary Government through

Proclamation No. 3 on March 25, 1986), Cory Aquino

created the Presidential Commission on Good

Government (PCGG) through her Executive Order No.

1. Section 2 says: 

“The Commission shall be charged with the task of assisting the President in regard to the

following matters: 

(a) the recovery of all ill-gotten wealth

accumulated by the former President Ferdinand E.

Marcos, his immediate family, relatives… 

(b) The investigation of such cases of graft and corruption…”

So far, the PCGG had succeeded in sequestering

eighty-eight billion (P88,000,000,000) pesos, allegedly

the “ill-gotten wealth” of Marcos. Unfortunately for

the PCGG, the gold of Marcos has, so far, eluded it.

[END QUOTING]

President Ferdinand E. Marcos had a wonderful

vision in mind for his people and for the people of the

world, as can be presumed from his efforts to

implement the ABL Program mentioned above. But

he had some problems.

Marcos could not announce possession of the gold

plundered by the Germans and the Japanese during

World War Two until some time after 1986 because

of the ruling of the International Criminal Court in

1976. 

That gold was “off limits” even until the day he

was removed from Malacanang by a U.S. helicopter.

The existence of the ABL Program provides solid

evidence of his intention to redistribute (at least some,

initially) of the plundered gold for the benefit of many

other nations—BUT he was compelled to work

outside of the existing world banking system and he

took on a partner (the supposedly “freedom loving”

United States).

The Money Masters could hardly approve of such

plans because they ran contrary to the wicked agenda

of enslaving mankind with fiat, non value-based

currency. Under the fiat-money scheme, the

International Banking Cartel have complete control of

the world’s monetary system along with freedom to

plunder the resources of any nation at will through

control of the value of that nation’s currency.

Perhaps the greatest problem Marcos faced was

that the people themselves were not yet ready. They

did not know the issues because for the most part it

was not wise at that time for him to tell them. By

1986 conditions in the Philippines were not that bad: the

national debt was small and manageable; the economy

was growing; the people were productive; wealth was

more evenly distributed then than it is now. It was not

heavenly because the country was still subject to the

chokehold of the International Banking Cartel—but it

has only gotten worse since.

Today the people are ready, made so by the

experience of the intervening twenty years as

administration after administration has operated

under IMF/WB constraints and “conditionalities”.

Today there is the example of Venezuela, Malaysia,

China and others—throwing off the yoke of the

international bankers to a certain extent; in some

cases tying the value of their own currencies to the

value of the “world reserve currency” (the U.S.

dollar) to prevent further depredations. 

Today, the truth can be made known and shouted from the

rooftops: THE PHILIPPINES IS THE RICHEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!

Today, with the land titling issue in an absolute mess manufactured from the avarice and greed of a few, the

protections of OCT 01-4 can be invoked. And

today, GLOBAL ALLIANCE INVESTMENT

ASSOCIATION stands ready, willing and able to

assist with the provision of banking collateral as

necessary to stabilize the situation and ensure the

best outcome.

How soon will the promise of the Golden Age

materialize? Just as soon as perceptions change to

a sufficient extent. 

Accordingly, anything YOU can do to spread this factual information far and wide throughout the Philippines—and the rest of the world—brings that day closer to reality. 

THE PHILIPPINES (A FOOLED NATION)

By: Bryan

I’m actually studying International Trade Law and Economics here at Busan National University South Korea. My Professor once said that one of the economic models of East Asia as well as the South during the post war era particularly in the 1960’s are based on Japan and the Philippines. He added that the Philippines is one of the richest nations next to Japan in that time and also once envied. Having said all these I was actually proud and happy seeing all my classmates of other nationalities looked at me with smiles on their faces.


But, what struck me the most is when my professor asked me, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR COUNTRY? I couldn’t answer back. From this, I saw the sudden shift of emotions in the class. I went home having this in mind. I was quite puzzled of what really happened.


Then one day, my wife, a Korean national found a documentary about the late Pres. Marcos and his wife Imelda made by a Korean film company. He is actually very famous here in Korea and is known to be a great president.


In the documentary I saw a lot of things I couldn’t imagine happened during those days. I was surprised to see the prosperous and peaceful life the Filipinos back in those days were enjoying. I saw people wearing formal clothes (suits), a clean and magnificent city, happy people walking on the old streets of Manila, thriving communities and places everywhere and many more.


An interesting as well as quite controversial part of the documentary is the part wherein Bong Bong Marcos was interviewed. He was asked, the same question my professor asked me, WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS COUNTRY? He said, "My father loved and cared for this country a lot and my mother as well. While saying this, suddenly he paused with teary eyes and said, “We were betrayed by the Americans”. He believes that his father trusted them but they put him down. He also thinks that they used his mother’s (Imelda) lifestyle to further destroy their reputation. Though he admitted she is living an extravagant life, she also did a lot of accomplishments, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, Kidney Institute of the Philippines, Nayong Pilipino; Philippine International Convention Center, Folk Arts Theater, and the Coconut Palace are all Imeldas' brainchildren. Nonetheless, all major social and public buildings and institutions in the country today were actually built during the Marcos’s reign.

What inspired me the most is the time when I heard the story of the late president of Korea Park Chung Hee who visited the Philippines once in the 1960’s. Mr. Marcos and Mr. Chung Hee were believed to be good friends. Pres. Chung Hee and Marcos once visited the Radial Road 8 now called North Luzon Expressway. I heard that Mr. Chung Hee literally cried on Mr. Marcos’ shoulder saying “ I wish my country would be just like the Philippines”.


Right after he came back to Korea he started a plan to create expressways similar to what he saw in the Philippines to literally connect the cities all over Korea which were divided by tall mountains. He succeeded on doing this. And, it is said that this move is one of the keys of the Korean economic boom. Unluckily, he was assassinated. Some say that the Americans were behind the assassination.


I know Marcos cared for his country a lot that he wanted to put it on the map. He even bought properties at Wall Street at that time because he wanted the Philippines to be known and dominate the world market. He also initiated a group of powerful south East Asian nations (SEATO) and is believed to have been headed by the Philippines and some countries to strengthen their economic relations further which is also one of the models of economic integrations (G2, G3,G7, ASEAN, and so on) these days. Another international diplomatic accomplishment of Mr. Marcos was the joint effort of Japan and the Philippines to form the Asian Development Bank in 1966 with headquarter in Mandaluyong. Some say that it somewhat became just like the world bank of Asia and its sole purpose is to give foreign aid to poor countries at that time. Unfortunately, the Philippines is the one receiving aid nowadays.


For me, I think Marcos is the best president the Philippines ever had. During his time the economy was at its peak, unemployment was low, peso against the dollar was at its lowest, poverty rate is not that high (compared today), in short the Philippines was at its finest.


But, not until the West came to realize that the Philippines will grow strong and powerful as time goes. Some say they were afraid it will take over the Wall Street as it already started buying properties and putting up state owned investment firms on its soil. One, thing is for sure, that they should stop this. Then it all began. They had their plan of destroying Marcos’ reputation and putting him down using the media and some manipulated social and political entities whose dark aim is to privatize Mr Marcos' nationalistic legacies. The sad part is they succeeded.


And, the saddest part is, we were fooled as well.

Ph Congress: The country’s ‘Biggest Criminal Syndicate’ according to BizNews Asia

The shame of being governed by what many now regard as a den of thieves is hitting fever pitch! BizNews Asia Vol.11 No.14 featured a photo of Philippine Congress in session with the caption in big bold letters “The Philippines’ Biggest Criminal Syndicate.”

The Manila Bulletin cited it in its article Magazine labels Congress ‘biggest criminal syndicate’ and featured what seems to be a legit photo of a saleslady holding up the same magazine edition showing this cover. The article reports…

The September edition of the weekly business and news magazine zeroed in on the controversial multi-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of lawmakers that went to bogus non-government organizations, as well as the key agencies and personalities involved in the alleged scam.
The magazine cover was first shared by journalist Ira Panganiban on Facebook, and was captioned : “And this is how we look to the world! Downright embarrassing.”
The photo has been shared 4,656 times as of this posting, and has been repeatedly shared by other Facebook users.

In late August of this year, no less than Philippine Senate President Franklin Drilon himself proposed that Congress be abolished as public outrage over the corruption scandal intensified

 Senate President Franklin Drilon said that while the PDAF would be abolished as declared by the President, each lawmaker would still retain their right to direct a portion of the annual budget (P200 million for each senator and P70 million for a representative) to a hospital or a road project that they desired.

“What will happen if we will not take a direct hand (in the identification of projects)? Let’s just abolish Congress then,” he said.
Drilon said the only difference from the reviled pork barrel system and the President’s plan was that these allocations would be made during the regular public hearings on the budget in Congress and that the funds would go directly to the implementing agency and not to nongovernment organizations. The NGOs handle the implementation, monitoring and reporting under the current system.

The legislative body along with the country’s Executive branch led by President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III from whose office the inclusion of the pork barrel in the national budget proposal originates is under increasing pressure to abolish this practice.

Filipino Voters should be Blamed for the Philippines’ Problems

I don’t think there is a point in holding elections in the Philippines. It’s so expensive and the whole process just disrupts normal activities and keeps Filipinos from moving forward. What is the point in going through something that won’t even change or improve how things are being run in the country anyway?

Before every election, the candidates use literally the same song and dance routine to entertain the voters. After the election is over, the candidates go back to doing everything they can to protect their family’s interests and virtually nothing that could benefit the rest of the population. It’s just ridiculous.

If the Filipino voters are going to choose and elect their public servants from candidates who come from the same families who have been ruling the country for decades, then these families ought to just take turns in having a go at those lucrative positions in government; something like a contractual term will do. That’ll save us from bearing with all the empty slogans, campaign jingles, and adolescent mudslinging in the months leading to Election Day.

It’s getting harder and harder to feel sorry for Filipinos nowadays. They keep blaming others for their miseries when the fact is they are the ones who vote for the same people who cause much of their miseries. One can be forgiven for saying that Filipino voters are simply stupid, arrogant and just a bunch of losers.

At the moment, there are 178 dynasties ruling 73 of the 80 provinces in the Philippines. Now, that’s a lot. Who voted for these people? The answer: the same people who continue to complain about their wretched lives. Even a convicted plunderer can run again and again for public office. As long as he is popular, he and the rest of his family’s chances of winning are strong. It’s so pathetic.

Every three years the voters have an opportunity to vote for someone new and yet they still choose to vote for the same bozos. If Filipinos are tired of the same families who are running the country, why can’t they demand the end of the ruling of the dynasties? It should be easy enough to do if the clamor to end it is loud enough. The clamor for better candidates should culminate on Election Day, when voters choose someone who doesn’t belong to a ruling elite and someone who holds a true vision for the country.

Some Filipinos think that blaming the candidates is the way to go. Yes, majority of the candidates are taking advantage of the voter’s ignorance. These candidates deserve the scrutiny and some of the valid criticism. However, let us not ignore the fact that the voters are responsible for choosing the candidates.

Take a candidate like Nancy Binay. She is using her father’s popularity to win the election. Some of her critics are actually too harsh on her when they should be directing their anger at the voters. Nancy Binay or Bam Aquino would not even think twice about running if they knew they didn’t have a chance to win – if they knew the voters use their heads. But they know that having a popular family name is enough for them to win. What Nancy or Bam are doing may be unethical or wrong but they are comforted by the fact that it was the people who want them to win.

According to Bobby Tuazon who is the director for policy studies at the Centre for People Empowerment in Governance, the country’s political landscape is ‘getting worse’. Here’s what he had to say about the mid-term elections:

Tuazon projected that when all votes are counted, 21 of the 24 Senate seats will fall under the control of political families. That includes former President Joseph Estrada’s two sons from different mothers. In the House of Representatives, about 80 percent of the 229 seats will also be dominated by dynasties.

“The government will remain under the control of the traditional political parties,” he said.

‘These are the same elites who control the economic resources of the country,’ Tuazon said. What is even more alarming for him is that clans are no longer content in fielding two or three family members each election cycle.

In the province of Maguindanao, where 34 journalists covering a campaign were killed in 2009, about 80 members of the Ampatuan family, which has been implicated in the massacre, are running for office.

I can’t help but think that Tuazon is letting the Filipino voters off the hook with regard to the worsening state of Philippine politics. It’s as if the Filipino people are not free to choose. Filipinos are free to vote for the right candidate but they choose the wrong ones most of the time. President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino is proof of this. I mean, why would the voters in Maguidananao still want to put any of the Ampatuan family in power after senior members of the clan allegedly massacred 52 innocent people? It’s so inconceivable.

Shaming the members of political dynasties does not even work. They have become dense and do not seem to have any shred of decency left. Since that is the case, shaming the voters could work instead in changing the political landscape in the Philippines. If the voters still prefer giving up their right to have a decent life, then members of the dynasties should just take turns ruling them, indeed. At the end of the day, Filipino voters should be blamed for how the public servants they voted for run the country.

Vote Buying is a Win-Win Transaction for the Average Filipino Voter

You gotta love free enterprise. Filipinos will steal and sell anything that isn’t bolted to the floor. So no surprise in these recent reports following the latest barangay elections. Votes are certainly not the heaviest of objects to make off with. And there are lots of buyers.

Why do Filipinos sell their votes?

There’s really no need to over-intellectualise the answer to that question. The answer is quite simple: Filipinos don’t see themselves as having much of a stake in their votes. They have no use for a wise vote. But they do find value in a sold vote. Think about it. Di nakakakain ang “wise” vote. Why worry about voting wisely when your immediate concern is where the money to pay for your next meal — or your next celphone load — is coming from?

The concept of an ‘intelligent vote’ is an oxymoron in the Philippines.

Indeed, why should Filipinos care? Politicians steal them blind from right under their noses. These are politicians who are products of the Filipino Vote. Perhaps the thinking of the average voter is that since they will be stolen from anyway, might as well make them pay up front for the privilege of being voted into office. If you stop to think about it, the equation balances out. Filipino voters make their candidates pay for their vote, then the candidates recoup their “investment” once they’re in office. This has been a well-known age-old covenant between Filipino voters and politicians. This is really not news.

Consider too how much tax (if any) many of these enterprising voters pay to begin with. Vote buying is really a win-win situation for many Filipino voters. They make the odd-thousand pesos every election day and don’t really have much invested in whatever the politicians they elect steal from the public coffers.

Big taxpayers are the real victims here. The average Filipino vote-seller does not pay enough tax to really care how much of it politicians steal. But big taxpayers like you and me do care. Trouble is, we don’t get much of a say around who gets to “lead” us in Malacanang and “represent” us in Congress. Because we chose to be a “democracy”, we’ve effectively handed over this important selection mechanism to the million-odd starstruck ignoramuses and their idiotic notions of who should be leading and representing them.

There’s nothing fun about paying tax to a government composed of people voted into office by idiots. But that’s pretty much the Philippines for you. Southeast Asia’s most “vibrant” “democracy”. It’s no wonder that former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had this to say about Philippine “democracy"

When people think only of the freedoms of democracy and know nothing of the implied responsibilities, democracy will not bring the goodness that it promises. Instead it will result only in instability and instability will not permit development to take place and the people to enjoy the benefits of freedom and the rights that democracy promises.

Elder Singapore statessman Lee Kuan Yew called ours “a soft forgiving culture”

Only in the Philippines could a leader like Ferdinand Marcos, who pillaged his country for over 20 years, still be considered for a national burial. Insignificant amounts of the loot have been recovered, yet his wife and children were allowed to return and engage in politics. They supported the winning presidential and congressional candidates with their considerable resources and reappeared in the political and social limelight after the 1998 election that returned President Joseph Estrada. General Fabian Ver, Marcos’s commander-in-chief who had been in charge of security when Aquino was assassinated, had fled the Philippines together with Marcos in 1986. When he died in Bangkok, the Estrada government gave the general military honors at his burial.

I beg to differ slightly. It’s really not that Filipinos are a forgiving lot. Filipinos are just forgetful and apply a lazy and sloppy approach to thinking. When not enough thinking prevails in a democratic nation’s politics, you get idiotic results. Leadership in administration and representation in legislation in a democratic nation merely reflects the quality of the Vote.
That’s about as simple as the science gets when trying to understand why the Philippines continues to fail as a nation.

Mahathir Mohamad on why the Philippines may suffer from a case of Mediocre Political Leadership

Mediocre political leadership. These are the words Malaysian former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad used to describe a key possible pitfall of “unbridled democracy”. This he said in a speech he delivered on the occasion of his being conferred an Honorary Professor Title by the University of Santo Tomas. Mahathir also added that free-wheeling democracy can make countries unstable and made the interesting point that, “We cannot assume majority of the people must be intelligent.” Almost as if directly alluding to the the last two and a half decades of the Philippines’ history, Mahathir also said…

“Democracy works only when the people understand the limitations of democracy. When people think only of the freedoms of democracy and know nothing of the implied responsibilities, democracy will not bring the goodness that it promises. Instead it will result only in instability and instability will not permit development to take place and the people to enjoy the benefits of freedom and the rights that democracy promises. No sooner is a Government elected when the losers would hold demonstrations and general strikes accusing the Government of malpractices.”


Indeed, Filipinos have been suckered wholesale into believing the following:

1. Democracy is all about elections.
2. Democracy is all about freedom.
3. Democracy is a pre-requisite to prosperity

We simply bought the application off-the-shelf and failed to read the small print.


Elections are not the whole point of a democracy.

Elections are expensive and a necessary evil of a democracy. The fact that our elections are, for the most part, a mockery of the concept of democracy, ironically, is therefore no laughing matter. We invest a huge amount of public funds on elections not to mention the cost associated with discontinuities in governance and policy focus, disruptions in the peace, and reduced labour productivity during the uncertain environment whenever elections are in the air among others. These elections are a national security risk as well. Imagine an imminent military threat suddenly emerging in the middle of a Philippine-style election!

In short, the costs of the practice of democracy must be justified! And for this to be done, one must first understand the true place of the freedom (of which elections are just one form of expression) we enjoy under democracy.


Freedom is not the whole point of democracy.

Democracy is not for the sake of freedom. Freedom is a priviledge of practitioners of democracy and a by-product of this system. The true essence of democracy lies in responsibility and accountability.

The Electoral Process is just one element of the democratic equation and should be put in the proper perspective of our democratic duty. It is our duty to:

(a) Select the right leaders;
(b) Use the system to hold them accountable; and,
(c) Hold ourselves accountable for the quality of the leaders we choose using the system.

It would be fair to hazard a guess that this whole “love of freedom” sloganeering associated with the practice of “democracy” is the work of a political machine averse to accountability. The point of democracy is not freedom as many of us were foolishly led to believe. The point of democracy is the practice of a system that enables us to hold our leaders to account. One can therefore understand why this, by now, puzzling obssession with “freedom” is prevalent today. Who else but our politicians are the biggest trumpeters of the “freedom” we enjoy under “democracy”?

We are, of course, a free society from the perspective of our freedom to be an unruly lot. It is an artificial freedom at best for a society that wallows in squalor is not truly free. We even use this “freedom” to run a publishing industry that capitalises on the stupidity of the masses; allowing it to scrimp on journalistic talent and integrity. Worse and most sickening of all, we use this “freedom” to define ourselves — the only true democracy in southeast Asia. Surely the international community are in on this joke on us as well.

Democracy is not necessarily a pre-requisite to prosperity.

It is the other way around. Prosperity is a pre-requisite to democracy. If we cannot make an off-the-shelf system of governance (one that took hundreds of years for its successful practitioners to perfect) work for us, then we should consider alternatives.

Economic success and wealth-surplus must exist before a truly working democratic system (and not just a sham that is a cover for oligarchic anarchy) can be put in place. Well before the establishment of the United States of America, the Protestants and Puritans (pilgrims) who first settled there already had the so-called Protestant Ethic (a term coined by Max Weber to refer to the combination of Frugality, Hard Work, Discipline, Prudence, Pragmatism, etc of those people which made them economically succeed and accumulate surplus.) This so called “Protestant Ethic”, by the way, is in essence, the same as the Confucian ethic that many Oriental East Asian societies had when they went on in their onslaught towards economic success. (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and today even China). They too possess Frugality, Hard Work, Discipline, Prudence, Pragmatism, and other similar traits. Externally, they look and act differently. But intrinsically, their attitude vis-a-vis economic (wealth accumulation) and societal development followed parallel paths.

Here’s the difficult question:

Are Filipinos collectively known to possess these qualities?

The present day Philippine style Democracy is slightly modified carbon copy of the American System. But economic and cultural realities point to the fact that our society has not yet evolved to the point that using an American-derived system would be appropriate. We have a long way to go before we can start mimicking their system. If anything, our social, economic, and cultural evolution is still at a stage that resembles the Middle Ages.

Mahathir himself had made quite clear what he believes is the fundamental issue with Indo-Malayan cultures like that of the Philippines and Malaysia. The solution does not lie in political change but in cultural change. He cites as case-in-point the challenge his own country faces…

The answer lies in the culture of the Malays. They are laid-back and prone to take the easy way out. And the easy way out is to sell off whatever they get and ask for more. This is their culture. Working hard, taking risks and being patient is not a part of their culture. It should be remembered that in the past the Malays were not prepared to take up the jobs created by the colonial powers in their effort to exploit the country.
[...]
To succeed, the Malays must change their culture. They must look towards work as a reward in itself. They must regard what they achieve through work as the true reward. There should be some financial reward but this must not outweigh the satisfaction obtained from the result of their work. ….
…. Changing culture is far more difficult than changing the policies of government. It is easy enough to propose affirmative action but it is not easy to implement it. The recipients must have the right attitude if the results are going to be obtained.

Mahathir’s contemporary, Singapore Elder Statesman and former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had his own view about how the entrenched social caste system of the Philippines all but locks its society in a prison of abject wretchedness in his book From Third World to First…

There was no reason why the Philippines should not have been one of the more successful of the ASEAN countries. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was the most developed, because America had been generous in rehabilitating the country after the war. Something was missing, a gel to hold society together. The people at the top, the elite mestizos, had the same detached attitude to the native peasants as the mestizos in their haciendas in Latin America had toward their peons. They were two different societies: Those at the top lived a life of extreme luxury and comfort while the peasants scraped a living, and in the Philippines it was a hard living. They had no land but worked on sugar and coconut plantations. They had many children because the church discouraged birth control. The result was increasing poverty.

But even within Lee’s formidable mind, all roads still led to the cultural issue that underlies it all…

Filipino professionals whom we recruited to work in Singapore are as good as our own. Indeed, their architects, artists, and musicians are more artistic and creative than ours. Hundreds of thousands of them have left for Hawaii and for the American mainland. It is a problem the solution to which has not been made easier by the workings of a Philippine version of the American constitution. 

The difference lies in the culture of the Filipino people. It is a soft, forgiving culture. Only in the Philippines could a leader like Ferdinand Marcos, who pillaged his country for over 20 years, still be considered for a national burial. Insignificant amounts of the loot have been recovered, yet his wife and children were allowed to return and engage in politics. They supported the winning presidential and congressional candidates with their considerable resources and reappeared in the political and social limelight after the 1998 election that returned President Joseph Estrada. General Fabian Ver, Marcos’s commander-in-chief who had been in charge of security when Aquino was assassinated, had fled the Philippines together with Marcos in 1986. When he died in Bangkok, the Estrada government gave the general military honors at his burial.

 Does the solution to the chronic failure of the Philippines to prosper lie in politics? Most Filipinos seem to think so considering the sheer chunk of their narrow collective attention their politics seem to routinely capture. It is ironic that the Philippines fancies itself a democratic and supposedly “free” society considering it is trapped in the grip of a more odious form of tyranny — the tyranny of the popular sentiment harboured by a largely Ignorant Electorate.

THE PHILIPPINES (A FOOLED NATION)

By: Bryan

 I’m actually studying International Trade Law and Economics here at Busan National University South Korea. My Professor once said that one of the economic models of East Asia as well as the South during the post war era particularly in the 1960’s are based on Japan and the Philippines. He added that the Philippines is one of the richest nations next to Japan in that time and also once envied. Having said all these I was actually proud and happy seeing all my classmates of other nationalities looked at me with smiles on their faces.


But, what struck me the most is when my professor asked me, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR COUNTRY? I couldn’t answer back. From this, I saw the sudden shift of emotions in the class. I went home having this in mind. I was quite puzzled of what really happened.


Then one day, my wife, a Korean national found a documentary about the late Pres. Marcos and his wife Imelda made by a Korean film company. He is actually very famous here in Korea and is known to be a great president.


In the documentary I saw a lot of things I couldn’t imagine happened during those days. I was surprised to see the prosperous and peaceful life the Filipinos back in those days were enjoying. I saw people wearing formal clothes (suits), a clean and magnificent city, happy people walking on the old streets of Manila, thriving communities and places everywhere and many more.


An interesting as well as quite controversial part of the documentary is the part wherein Bong Bong Marcos was interviewed. He was asked, the same question my professor asked me, WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS COUNTRY? He said, "My father loved and cared for this country a lot and my mother as well. While saying this, suddenly he paused with teary eyes and said, “We were betrayed by the Americans”. He believes that his father trusted them but they put him down. He also thinks that they used his mother’s (Imelda) lifestyle to further destroy their reputation. Though he admitted she is living an extravagant life, she also did a lot of accomplishments, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, Kidney Institute of the Philippines, Nayong Pilipino; Philippine International Convention Center, Folk Arts Theater, and the Coconut Palace are all Imeldas' brainchildren. Nonetheless, all major social and public buildings and institutions in the country today were actually built during the Marcos’s reign.

What inspired me the most is the time when I heard the story of the late president of Korea Park Chung Hee who visited the Philippines once in the 1960’s. Mr. Marcos and Mr. Chung Hee were believed to be good friends. Pres. Chung Hee and Marcos once visited the Radial Road 8 now called North Luzon Expressway. I heard that Mr. Chung Hee literally cried on Mr. Marcos’ shoulder saying “ I wish my country would be just like the Philippines”.


Right after he came back to Korea he started a plan to create expressways similar to what he saw in the Philippines to literally connect the cities all over Korea which were divided by tall mountains. He succeeded on doing this. And, it is said that this move is one of the keys of the Korean economic boom. Unluckily, he was assassinated. Some say that the Americans were behind the assassination.


I know Marcos cared for his country a lot that he wanted to put it on the map. He even bought properties at Wall Street at that time because he wanted the Philippines to be known and dominate the world market. He also initiated a group of powerful south East Asian nations (SEATO) and is believed to have been headed by the Philippines and some countries to strengthen their economic relations further which is also one of the models of economic integrations (G2, G3,G7, ASEAN, and so on) these days. Another international diplomatic accomplishment of Mr. Marcos was the joint effort of Japan and the Philippines to form the Asian Development Bank in 1966 with headquarter in Mandaluyong. Some say that it somewhat became just like the world bank of Asia and its sole purpose is to give foreign aid to poor countries at that time. Unfortunately, the Philippines is the one receiving aid nowadays.


For me, I think Marcos is the best president the Philippines ever had. During his time the economy was at its peak, unemployment was low, peso against the dollar was at its lowest, poverty rate is not that high (compared today), in short the Philippines was at its finest.


But, not until the West came to realize that the Philippines will grow strong and powerful as time goes. Some say they were afraid it will take over the Wall Street as it already started buying properties and putting up state owned investment firms on its soil. One, thing is for sure, that they should stop this. Then it all began. They had their plan of destroying Marcos’ reputation and putting him down using the media and some manipulated social and political entities whose dark aim is to privatize Mr Marcos' nationalistic legacies. The sad part is they succeeded.


And, the saddest part is, we were fooled as well.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/12827/lee-kuan-yew-on-philippines

 http://www.istorya.net/forums/politics-and-current-events-25/367756-lee-kuan-yews-reply-mr-marcos-statement.html

TAKE OVER SABAH

GOVERNOR SAKUR TAN AND SULU GOVERNMENT’S OFFICIAL RECOGNITION TO HIS MAJESTY SULTAN FUAD A. KIRAM I AS THE SULTAN OF SULU AND SABAH ON 19 SEPTEMBER 2011 DURING SULU’S 100 YEARS ANNIVERSARY!

Jolo, Sulu, Monday, 19 September 2011: His Excellency Governor Sakur Tan of the proud unconquered Tausug province of Sulu, scene of many battles during olden times will now reverberate once more as the 100 years of Sulu’s foundation as a Philippine province celebrates its colourful history and the resolute brave Tausugs headed by its illustrious governor, honorable provincial board members and the 19 illustrious Mayors of Sulu, coupled with the representatives of the Philippine national and local government units like the barangay chairmen and kagawad, senior officers of the Army, Navy, Marines and Police in Sulu province will attend this joyous celebration with mass media attending – highlighting in the official recognition of His Majesty Sultan Muhammad Fuad A. Kiram I, The Sultan of Sulu & The Sultan of Sabah, Head of Sultanate and Head of Islam, the 35th Reigning Sultan of Sulu and Sabah.

It is the purpose of our Patriots group and all our sister groups such as Worldwide Christian Filipinos; Royalty, Nobility; Global Heroic Basques; Sabah Claim Society; United Alliance;  Support the Royal Hashemite and other groups to educate and enlighten not only our esteemed Filipinos but the world on the issue of the unquestioned ownership of Sabah by the Royal Sultanate of Sulu, as from 1658 to this day, and the Philippine sovereignty rights and claims on Sabah, enshrined in the Sabah Sovereignty Transfer from the Royal Sultanate of Sulu to the Republic of the Philippines, on 12 September 1962, which was signed sealed and delivered by His Majesty Sultan Muhammad Esmail E. Kiram I (Sultan of Sulu & Sabah 1947 to 1973), Head of Sultanate, and was duly signed by Emmanuel Pelaez concurrent Philippine Vice President and Foreign Affairs Secretary on consent by H.E. President Diosdado Macapagal.

His Majesty Sultan Muhammad Esmail E. Kiram I was the beloved Royal father of our current 35th Reigning Sultan of Sulu & Sabah — His Majesty Sultan Fuad A. Kiram I, and being the last son of his father, His Majesty Sultan Fuad A. Kiram I inherited all the rights, titles, ranks, positions and prerogatives of his father as the only anointed, true and legitimate Sultan of Sulu and Sabah.
On being crowned in 2004 HM Sultan Fuad A. Kiram I, The Sultan of Sulu & The Sultan of Sabah, Head of Sultanate and Head of Islam, the 35th Reigning Sultan of Sulu and Sabah, pronounced these historic words as a Royal Edict:

“Sabah is not only the land and property of the nine (9) Royal Kiram Family heirs but also of the Tausug people and the Filipinos as well as per Royal Edict of our father HM Sultan Esmail E. Kiram I (Sultan of Sulu and Sabah 1947 to 1973) and contained in the 12 September 1962 Sabah Sovereignty Transfer from the Royal Sultanate of Sulu to the Republic of the Philippines.”

We aim to recover Sabah from the unlawful occupation of Malaysia so that from Sabah’s GDP of over $50 billion a year, we can use such annual GDP for social and economic developments of our people in Sulu and Sabah and for Filipinos, who will distinctly benefit from our free hospitals and free medicines, free education, free housing for the widows, orphans, homeless, aged and infirm, as well as underprivileged and the poor in our midst.

We will also provide for electricity, clean drinking water, sanitation systems, telecommunications, etc., and to foster, create and enhance jobs and industry beneficial to all.
Let us all support and pursue the Policies of His Majesty Sultan Fuad A. Kiram I on Sabah recovery from Malaysia, plus equal respect, understanding, harmony, brotherhood, equality and stability between all races, and of Muslims and Christians, Jews, Buddhists and other religions leading to eternal dividends of peace and prosperity for the Tausugs and the Filipinos and our beloved nation.

Long live His Majesty Sultan Fuad A. Kiram I, the Royal Sultanate of Sulu and Sabah, the Republic of the Philippines, the Tausugs and the Filipinos.  God bless them all.  God is with us we will win.  God Defend the Right.  Dieu Defend le Droit.  Allahu Akbar!

http://claimsabah.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/governor-sakur-tan/

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