The world’s modern democracies started their trek to modernization through land reform. Either they implement land reform or the landed classes may make a comeback and ruin the democratic republics. Thus, it can safely be said that the main democratic content of the revolutions that resulted in the setting up of republics worldwide is land reform. Land reform freed the peasant majorities of these republics, dispossesed the old ruling classes of the economic basis of their political power and prepared the nation for industrialization.

The development of capitalist republics into imperialist states made it necessary for the latter to invade other smaller and weaker countries and transform them into pseudo-republics, neocolonies and colonies. They function as bases for military attacks, markets for surplus goods or sources of raw materials.

Today’s Philippine elite dates back to the old Philippine revolution of 1896 when the ilustrados revolted against Spanish colonialists to establish a republic. At that time, the local Filipino elite led by the intelgentsia were truly progressive and revolutionary. They expressed and articulated the national and democratic demands of the entire Filipino people starting with the Propaganda Movement until the aborted declaration of independence in the tail-end of the Philippine revolution.

The liberal elite however started to rot when they miserably failed to understand the coming of US imperialism which killed the infant Republic proclaimed by Emilio Aguinaldo. They substituted national democracy with various shades of collaboration with the Americans and abandoned the struggle for national liberation from foreign rule. They cast their lot on the Americans, in the vain hope that imperialist America was still the America that was founded on anti-colonial liberalism. Of course, by that time, America had become an imperialist power.

Thus, the long rotten colonial mentality began to take hold of the minds and hearts of the Philippine elite. Since that time, they have made Filipinos believe in American imperialism and helped made the public believe benevolence. Of course, some kept bannering the call for independence during the so-called Commowealth period, but the pro-independence call was blunted by subservience to America and impressed on the public and the world that Filipinos will rather wait for a grant of independence rather than to fight for it, as what other self-respecting countries (including the America of old) did.

I would not have written about it altogether but certain reactions to efforts to introduce Jun Lozada and Among Ed Panlilio as bloggers need to be confronted head on.

At the moment, I won’t link to these bloggers and their posts (because I’m sure you know them and they know themselves). What is important for me is to say that the Pinoy blogosphere aristocracy are just behaving as expected: aristocratic and elitist. Some would cry “repression!” only when its their own voices that are being muffled or muzzled. Some would gladly lay down a virtual red carpet for their own online writing projects on Philippine issues, but would demean the efforts of others. At other times, these clowns cry for “democracy” when all they really want to say is “listen to me only” or “listen to me first”. Some are fans of a near-total absence of online accountability. As to the threat of repression, the question of the need to fight repression is set aside by insinuations that the new ones may be inviting harm all by themselves (ain’t that the same “blame the victim” outlook which they also detest in posts elsewhere).

President Arroyo’s deputy spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo issued the following statement yesterday regarding the death of Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran:

Our condolences to the family of the late Cong. Beltran. We share their grief in this time of great personal loss. While congressman Beltran and the Armed Forces may have stood at opposite poles in the pursuit of our respective mission, we regarded him with respect. Like many of our soldier-heroes, he stood for what he believed in. And in my personal view, he is a true Filipino.

Crew members of the Bloggers Kapihan today sat down with Senate star witness Rodolfo Noel “Jun” Lozada at the comfy lounge of the La Salle Greenhills‘ Brothers’ House. Attendance: JM, Sarah, Mong, Jhay and me.

Lozada was relaxed and comfortable during our two-hour sit-down with him. He spoke intensely about the important role of young people in finding out the truth, and small and big things that have happened since he dared spoke out the truth and was –to his surprise — proclaimed a hero for doing so.

Young people, said Lozada, should step up and stake their claim the truth. He said that like political freedom, truth is not simply handed down to us. We must ask for it. We must fight for it.

Lozada said that he intends to hit the ground running at the start of the new school year; forums are now being organized in scores of schools.

My impression is that Lozada has practically launched his own movement for truth. His call is for the people to abandon the ideology of hopelessness and selfishness that is being spread by the status quo, and lay claim and build the bright future we all aspire for. His aversion to talk about any plan to run for public office sounded sincere, and stressed by way of example, that he merely wants the young people to discover that they may — or should — act and be the leaders themselves. He said he was so happy one time when he saw shirts printed with this question: “Sino ang ipapalit?” and right there on the same shirt was the answer “ako!”

Lozada was not alluding to himself. He was just saying that young people should lead the movement for change.

Below are more pictures I took during the talk: