Weeping for Maguindanao victims

Today is the last day for Land Transportation Office head Arturo Lumibao to file his certificate of candidacy. The question inevitably arises: who is the best person to replace him?

The question assumes particular significance in the light of the fact that the LTO handles the registration of all land vehicles of which, according to their records, currently number 5.5 million cars, trucks and buses, and about two million registered motorbikes. As far as we know, this number does not include colorum vehicles. So the figure can run higher.

There are people in the LTO who contend that the person best suited for the job is Alberto Suansing, who used to head the agency before he was moved to DOTC as undersecretary and chief of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board or LTFRB. They say that Suansing had gone hammer and tongs at problems that plague the agency for the longest time, like red tape fixers, registration of stolen or smuggled vehicles and illegal operation of colorum public utility vehicles.

Those rooting for Suansing claim that it was he who effectively implemented the LTO’s information technology project that had enabled the agency to monitor the registration of imported vehicles without the corresponding legal papers.

The system does not only detect connivance between some unscrupulous LTO personnel and smuggling syndicates, but also pinpoints where and when it was committed. This is because the IT project has a built-in monitoring and audit system that detects users who altered or tampered with records within a specific time period. Known as the Certificate of Authentication and Verification System (CPAVS), it attests to the fact that the owner of an imported vehicle has paid the necessary taxes and duties to the Bureau of Customs.

Under the CPAVs, the BOC is able to transmit the certificate of payment in real time. It has a distinct feature whereby each certificate of payment is assigned a unique ID number to prevent duplication of engine and chassis number, and a scanned copy is kept for physical verification. So people who think they can register a Hummer or a Jaguar without paying the right duties, will have to think twice.

Reportedly, it was Suansing who transformed the LTO into an extremely hostile ground for fixers, the bane of motorists transacting business with the agency. This he supposedly accomplished by enforcing the ISO 9001:2000 certification of LTO’s licensing procedure. Simply put, this procedure sets forth a quality assurance system that improved the registration process while at the same time making it that much more convenient for drivers and vehicle owners to meet LTO requirements.

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I join the Silliman University community in grieving over the loss of one of us journalists in the most horrendous massacre ever committed in Maguindanao. Alumni from many parts of the country and the world have expressed their grief and fury over the senseless killings of 57 innocent people and demand for the execution of swift justice.

One of the victims was lawyer Concepcion Jayme-Brizuela, who graduated from Silliman in 1975 with degrees in creative writing and journalism.

Two of the victims were Eduardo and Cynthia Lechoncito, parents of Silliman medical technology student Stephanie. The couple was on their way to town for a medical check-up in a red Vios. They were gunned down so ruthlessly, so mercilessly.

Here is part of a letter being circulated among Sillimanians:

“What took place in Maguindanao was an act of political desperation. It paints a gruesome picture of abject neglect of basic human rights and of despicable abuse of power.

“To the families of the victims, the killings were a deliberate attempt at advancing personal interests. It was a daring reinforcement of the impediment to the practice of journalism, one aimed at curtailing press freedom, and killing our democracy. To us as a Filipino nation, it is yet another reason to be outraged at how our collective sense of self is yet again assaulted and violated by political and government leaders who, for narrow self-interests to hold on to power, willingly, routinely and wantonly betray public trust.”

An indignation rally was organized by the university November 27 at the Ravello Field.

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The National Council of Churches has issued a statement on the massacre. It runs thus:

“It is a massacre most foul, gross, and utterly repugnant!

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines joins the people in mourning. We reach out in prayer and solidarity to the families of the victims of the massacre in Maguindanao. The  death toll of 46 people as of this writing, includes members of the media and two lawyers known for their human rights advocacy. We also reach out to the relatives of those missing. May the Holy Comforter be with them.

Yet even as we grieve and mourn, we are outraged. We are outraged that government has not acted with dispatch. Two days after news of the carnage broke out, the suspected mastermind has not been taken into custody. From day one, the spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines already identified the suspected mastermind – a known staunch ally of the President and undeniably a political warlord in Maguindanao. We join the demand for the Government to take action but, we are appalled that a state of emergency has been declared in Maguindanao. For so long, Mindanao has been militarized and used to justify more military hardware and budget. What other more powers does the government need?

This massacre is a grim reminder of the pervading culture of impunity and the lack of respect for human rights that has been in our midst and that has turned for the worse since 2001. We are indignant of this continuing culture of impunity and the lack of political will of the government to stop these killings. What government has been doing is the swift perpetuation of injustice and the slow if not hollow dispensation of justice.

The gruesome massacre of unarmed civilians is also a painful reminder that government statements to the dismantling of political warlordism have been mere rhetoric. Government has either turned a blind eye or entered into alliances with these warlords for political expediency at the expense of creating democratic space. Political warlordism is a manifestation of a feudal social order and we join the call that it should now be a thing of the past.

To our partners around the world, our deep gratitude for upholding us in your supplication and affirming our calls. We pray that peace and justice be given a chance in Mindanao and elsewhere in this country. We pray that all the resources that have been poured in Mindanao bail the people out from the mire of poverty, neglect and human indignity. We pray that we all rise from this blasphemy for the sake of the God who loves us all and calls us to be one people and for the sake of our children and the children yet unborn.