Left Flank

Implausibly, from a country like the Philippines, comes not one, but two suggestions about how to improve Myanmar's plight.

Firstly, RP President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo believes «woman power» will do the trick, and puts in a good word for perennially detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

But, yesterday Fr. Robert Reyes extolled the «activism» of the Philippines' catholic hierarchy, and recommended that Myanmar's «quiet» Buddhist monks » '...work against oppression and violence' «

Quoting a story from the Ucan Catholic news service, Reyes said a Burmese Catholic nun tried to organize her fellow religious but no one responded because they were «afraid to tell the truth.»

According to the report, the nun said in a text message to her friends in Manila that she hoped Church leaders in the Philippines and other countries would lead the universal Church «in prayer and in action, since the Church in Myanmar is so afraid.» «Our Catholic Church is so quiet. Our people do nothing but pray individually, privately,» the nun reportedly said.

The Catholic bishops' conference in Burma issued a statement on Sept. 26 saying that it had been praying for peace and urging the people to offer prayers and sacrifice for the peaceful resolution of the situation in the country.

The Burmese bishops' conference said that while its priests and religious were not involved in party politics and in the recent protests, Catholics were «free to act as they deem fit.»

Reyes said Filipinos were molded by an «active Christian ethic against corruption and oppression.»

?People, I think, in the Philippines, being Christian, have that Christian ethic against corruption and oppression. That is an active ethic. There is a tendency in Buddhism to look at salvation from within,» he said.

Reyes said monastic communities in general exude a «very passive ethic» by their emphasis on «withdrawal from the world.»

?(But) it's not enough to say «Let us pray.» You (just) don't pray against injustice. You work against injustice. You work against oppression and violence,» he said. But now that the Burmese Buddhist monks and nuns have found their voice and actually initiated the pro-democracy protests, Reyes said the world should not forget them.

If only Myanmar could be like the Philippines!

I can find three reasons why the NBN {National Broadband Network)-ZTE ( Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation) scandal in the Philippines is so compelling. Yesterday's Inquirer editorial, comparing NBN-ZTE to America's Watergate, almost makes the question obligatory.

Philippines' President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's visit to inform PRC President Hu Jintao of the project's cancellation looks like «kowtowing», as if GMA were reporting to a superior for the actions of her subordinates in the Congress for the delays in implementing the deal. GMA suspended two Chinese-supported projects on September 22, after bribery allegations surfaced against Benjamin Abalos, which is the second cause for concern. Abalos' legal and political status, whether he resigned or not, or whether he is still impeachable, is uncertain.

Finally, there's the impact the scandal will have on the Philippine's reputation:  «...poor governance and our weak institutions are a guarantee that ZTE will not be the end of corruption scandals here.»

Bribery, China, and a woman president seemingly more respected abroad than at home make for a story that might not yet have reached its climax!

Devon Stewart and Joshua Kurlantzick at BHTV take a little time to mention the subject of Chinese investment in the Philippines IT sector.

In the ongoing series of articles investigating the National Broadband Network (NBN) project, the latest fireworks in Manila come from Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago (which is one of the best names I've ever heard):

An embarrassed Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago Thursday apologized for saying that China «invented corruption» during a heated hearing on the allegedly overpriced National Broadband Network (NBN) project that the Philippine government signed with a Chinese company.

«I will write a formal letter of apology to the Chinese ambassador,» Santiago, head of the Senate foreign relations committee and a close ally of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, told reporters.

Santiago, famous for her mercurial temper, berated China in Wednesday's nationally televised hearing on the $329-million NBN project that was awarded to China?s Zhong Xing Telecommunication Equipment (ZTE) Corp. amid allegations of bribery and overpricing.

Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri and businessman Jose «Joey» de Venecia III, whose company lost the NBN contract, testified that they were offered bribes by Commission on Elections Chair Benjamin Abalos to clear ZTE for the contract, which has since been suspended.

Abalos denied the allegations but admitted that ZTE officials were his «golfing buddies» and had paid for his trips to China.

«China invented civilization in the East, but as well it invented corruption for all of human civilization,» Santiago said during the hearing.

She also admonished witnesses at the hearing for «just fighting over your kickbacks.»

That's just the beginning of good quotes in the article, and each a compelling argument. Yes, it does happen once in a while. Politicians and other public figures do achieve some sort of vocal competence, but it's probably just good staffwork.

The Chinese Embassy gives as good as it gets.

«We believe that the Philippine government and the people of the Philippines will not agree to that. It is known to all that anticorruption is a common task faced by all the countries of the world. Corruption exists not only in China, nor was it created by China,» the embassy said.

«The Chinese government has all along devoted itself to the building of an honest and clean government and combat against all forms of corruption,» the statement said.

«In recent years, the Chinese government has adopted even tougher measures in combat against corruption and achieved prominent results. [We] think people of insight can all see it.»

Aside from the philosophical issues, I think this is why China will always at least stymie the force of international opprobrium against it. It's just a savvy rejoinder. Not only does China have a line to sling, which in someways rivals western universalism (whatever you or I think about that), but it does it such a polite manner. None of the Toxic Texan Two-Step's bravado or the Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc's sarcasm.

Finally, for sheer straightforwardness, there's Senator Manuel Roxas II:

«The problem is not China. The problem is that Philippine officials, every time they enter into a deal with China, they use that as an excuse to bypass the regular procurement laws which require bidding. That's the problem, it's not our transactions with China...»

Concerning the particulars of the NBN deal (via The Daily Dose), I'm reticent to comment. I find Philippine politics exhilarating, like a rat on methamphetamines, but the details are a bit blurry still. But, if i have to commit, why reinvent the wheel. especially if it costs more the second time?

But, the two above-mentioned quotes from Defensor-Santiago and Roxas II are worth a really good thunk.