THIS NEW YEAR several people asked me what my resolutions were for 2002. The same thing didn't happen last year, I guess because I wasn't working in an office last January and thus didn't have curious colleagues asking me that question. To all I replied: "None." Which was usually followed by stunned silence on the part of the questioners.

I think they probably wanted me to reply with one of the stock answers that one reads about all the time: Lose weight, spend more time with loved ones, learn a new skill, get organized. Funnily enough, I do strive to do all of the above, but I don't make New Year resolutions about them and then promptly forget them by February. For me these are goals that I must strive for year-round, and if I fail sometimes that's OK too. The point is not to forget your goals, keep working toward them, keep track of progress and the rest will follow.

For OFWs I wish a 2002 with less exploitation from recruiters, I wish that the POEA would reduce fees for those working abroad, I wish that OFWs could be reunited with loved ones, if not permanently, at least once a year. I also wish that Congress would pass the absentee voting bill this year so that OFWs will be able to vote in the 2004 elections. For Filipinos in general I wish a year with less instability, less coup plots and less backbiting. Happy 2002 to all of you!

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Freeing the kidnapped American couple

THE AMERICAN missionary couple, Gracia and Martin Burnham, have been unwilling "guests" of the Abu Sayyaf for eight months now, and the Philippine government still has the nerve to say that they are physically able to withstand a few more weeks of kidnapping!

This ridiculous and insensitive remark was being repeatedly uttered this past week in Manila during the visit of US Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kansas). Tiahrt was in Manila meeting with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the chief of the Philippine military to press for the recapture of the Burnhams from the Abu Sayyaf as soon as possible. The representative also asked if the US military could take part in a rescue operation, something that the Philippines has steadfastly refused to allow. Arroyo told reporters that for US forces to be allowed to take part in rescue operations would require congressional approval.

At this late stage in the operation I really think that Arroyo should approach Congress and ask them to approve US involvement in this specific rescue operation since it involves two US citizens, and until a few months ago another third one, Guillermo Sobero, who was also kidnapped last May along with the Burnhams from a resort near Palawan. Sobero was not as lucky as the Burnhams, having his head chopped off by the Abu Sayyaf.

Arroyo would have to specify that approval would be for US involvement in this operation alone, and would last only for a few months, subject to renewal and reappraisal by a congressional committee composed of members from both houses.

Instead of pushing for such a deal, the Philippine military has unashamedly been pushing for more US weapons, showing Tiahrt how lacking in equipment the Philippine military is. Although this is true, I hardly think now is the appropriate time to be asking for more American help when the military cannot even rescue the Burnhams from the Abu Sayyaf.

The Philippine military claims that it has more than 5,000 troops on the ground in Basilan looking for the couple, but to date hasn't found them. Can the Abu Sayyaf really be that invisible with a white American couple who do not look Asian at all?

Of course the Philippine military hasn't helped things much by announcing impossible to keep deadlines for the rescue of the couple, such as when they announced they would have them freed by Christmas Day. Dec. 25 came and went with nary a sign of the Burnhams. Instead, their young children and relatives have been making teary appeals on American breakfast television shows for the quick release of the couple, insisting that they might not survive much longer in the jungles of Basilan. Indeed, from the harrowing experiences of previous Abu Sayyaf abductees who barely survived the ordeal, being constantly on the run and eating only plain rice and grass for days on end, nearly ruined them from malnourishment and exhaustion.

With the US gearing up for a protracted war against the Al-Qaeda terror network worldwide, and the Abu Sayyaf already linked to Osama Bin Laden's organization, it would benefit the Philippines to get the Burnhams released quickly. If not, the Philippines might be next on the US list of bombing targets. Now, Arroyo wouldn't want that, would she?

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A nation of paranoid rumor-mongers

WATCHING the Filipino Channel recently I was struck by how much Filipinos love to gossip about political instability. The Philippines is a nation of people who love to text each other about rumored coup attempts and the supposed death of political figures. The news program I was watching was hyping the most recent instability coup rumor that was floating around the capital. A curious mixture of tabloid journalism and serious journalism, it was definitely not TV at its best.

The first day of this New Year saw the news that the former spokesman of the Young Officers' Union (YOU), Baron Cervantes, had been found dead with a gunshot wound to his head in Las Pinas.

YOU had been recently, as well as in the past, linked to alleged coup plots against the Philippine presidency. Cervantes had recently disclosed in a radio interview that YOU and the Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabayan (RAM) had met in Puerto Azul, Cavite, to plot "Oplan Noche Buena." Several military leaders were angry with Cervantes for his public speculation on coup plots, with several having shouting matches with Cervantes on the radio a few days before he was killed.

President Macapagal-Arroyo said cryptically that she suspected politics was at the root of his murder, but wouldn't comment further pending the police investigation.

She herself had just been subject of another whispering campaign, this one involving former President Fidel Ramos, who was threatening to run again in the 2004 elections (although constitutionally this wouldn't be allowed), thus threatening Gloria's plan to also run in 2004, since they are both from the Lakas-NUCD party. A meeting in Baguio between the two over golf settled the rift, with both smiling for the cameras.

One could say that Ramos was up to his old tricks of seeming to encourage coup rumors while upholding the law. The fact that Ramos is a former general, points to the sad fact that the Philippine military is unfortunately continuing its tradition of meddling in politics. This constant stream of coup plot rumors is the military's way of keeping the presidency and Congress on their toes and to keep them in line. It also keeps foreign investors wary of investing in the Philippines, and does nothing to boost the public's confidence in the government. The military should be made to stay out of politics once and for all, but that's easier said than done.

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Comments or questions? Email me at: [email protected]

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