I was snapped out of my Zen state (I had been on vacation and recently returned from abroad) upon seeing yesterday's Philippine Daily Inquirer front page, it leading with the Hayden Kho story. The Inquirer, as well as your other local daily newspapers, has not given the same level of coverage to the outrageous and illegal imposition of customs duties on books imported to the Philippines. Sex sells, of course, and it is the misfortune of book lovers of the Philippines that Dr. Kho did not film himself having sex with an imported book. Thus, here we have another trivial matter with our cause, competing for newspaper space and the attention of the members of Congress. We don't yet have our own Nate Silver to assess the comparative quantitative impact of the Hayden Kho story with the Book Blockade, though perhaps the number of followers in the respective Facebook causes may provide an idea of the level of outrage, at least in the Filipino online community.
What next steps should be taken in connection with the Book Blockade Crusade? As Manolo Quezon points out, some members of Congress, newspapers, and even a few government officials have spoken out, virtually unanimous in condemnation (except this guy). Yet despite the acquisition of mainstream cred, the outrage has yet to translate into positive results. Obviously, the Department of Finance remains intransigent.
The problem, I fear, is that it has yet to be acutely demonstrated to the people behind the policy or in a position to reverse the same, that their self-interest will be damaged; their hopes and dreams wrecked, should they persist. Fortunately, there are ways to inflict pain and damage on people who are in a position to do something, and who have definite plans for the future which hinge on the consent of the people. If these people and their interests are specifically targeted, there is a greater chance for the junking of the book import duties. For as long as we are not impaired by the proposed right-to-reply,
1) Finance Secretary Gary Teves. As anyone who saw the GMA 7 coverage of Pacquiao-Hatton very well knows, Mr. Teves is running for the Senate. It would not help his chances if a sufficiently outraged and organized sector, such as the Philippine reading community, would actively sabotage Mr. Teves's electoral career because he has aided and abetted the book blockade.
The advertisements against Mr. Teves virtually write themselves. Example # 1:
What next steps should be taken in connection with the Book Blockade Crusade? As Manolo Quezon points out, some members of Congress, newspapers, and even a few government officials have spoken out, virtually unanimous in condemnation (except this guy). Yet despite the acquisition of mainstream cred, the outrage has yet to translate into positive results. Obviously, the Department of Finance remains intransigent.
The problem, I fear, is that it has yet to be acutely demonstrated to the people behind the policy or in a position to reverse the same, that their self-interest will be damaged; their hopes and dreams wrecked, should they persist. Fortunately, there are ways to inflict pain and damage on people who are in a position to do something, and who have definite plans for the future which hinge on the consent of the people. If these people and their interests are specifically targeted, there is a greater chance for the junking of the book import duties. For as long as we are not impaired by the proposed right-to-reply,
1) Finance Secretary Gary Teves. As anyone who saw the GMA 7 coverage of Pacquiao-Hatton very well knows, Mr. Teves is running for the Senate. It would not help his chances if a sufficiently outraged and organized sector, such as the Philippine reading community, would actively sabotage Mr. Teves's electoral career because he has aided and abetted the book blockade.
The advertisements against Mr. Teves virtually write themselves. Example # 1:
EXT. A backyard patio. Two housewives are hanging laundry. A child, around 8, is running around at a very high speed. Within sight of the two women, the child runs headfirst into a pole, falling flat on his back.Example#2:
Woman#1: Mare, bakit ang tanga-tanga ng anak mo?
Woman#2: Hindi ko nga alam, pinapaliguan ko naman ng iodized salt araw-araw. Pero di bale na lang. Sabi naman ni Kuya Gary, hindi naman importante yang dunong na iyan. Basta maraming pera ang gobyerno, aalagaan naman tayo. Kaya sang-ayon si Kuya Gary sa pag-pataw ng buwis sa mga libro tulad ng pag-buwis ng suka. Para dumami ang pera ng gobyerno!
(The child sees a live electric wire adjacent to a sign that reads: “Panganib! Huwag hawakan!” The child reads the sign then touches the wire.)
Woman#2: (screaming) Rico!!!!
(Scene fades to black, then reveals a tall thin man at the center of the screen)
Gary V.: Ako si Gary Valenciano, ang Kuya Gary na may tunay na nag-aaruga sa inyong kapakanan. Ako ang Kuya Gary na naniniwala na ang karunungan ay masyadong mahalaga para patawan ng buwis, dahil sa edukasyon lamang tayong aangat bilang isang bansa. Ako ang Kuya Gary na naninindigan na ang sining at panitikan ay ang kaluluwa ng isang bayan, at hindi pupuwede itong patungan ng buwis tulad ng suka o silyang rattan. Tutulan ninyo ang mga huwad na Kuya Gary, ang mga Kuya Gary na walang pakialam sa kapakanan ng kabataan at ng sambayanan.
(Gary V. sings the chorus of Natutulog Ba ang Diyos while Woman #2 cradles Rico Pieta-style)
(INT. Fort Santiago, 29 December 1896. Jose Rizal and Josephine Bracken are together in Rizal's damp dark cell for some quality time.)
Josephine: Joey, you seem irate.
Jose: Nanaginip ako Josephine, isang nakakakilabot na panaginip. Namuo nga ang isang malayang Pilipinas, ngunit ito ay pinamumunuan ng isang tribo ng barbaro, na walang paki-alam sa pag-babasa, na naniniwala ang aking Noli, El Fili, na wala silang saysay sa edukasyon. Sabi ito ng isang Estela Sales, alipores ng isang Gary Teves.
Josephine: Oh Joey, it was just a bad dream.
Jose: Anong kabuluhan sa pag-kitil ng aking buhay kung ganoon lang ang kahihinatnan ng aking minamahal na bayan. Wala.
(Rizal holds up a copy of the unfinished Mi Ultimo Adios and burns it with the flame in the gas lamp.)
(EXT. Fort Santiago courtyard. Rizal begins marching towards Bagumbayan. Josephine is with him)
Josephine: Oh Joey, do not let them shoot you in the back. Let the whole world know that you did not face death like a coward.
(EXT. Rizal at Bagumbayan, the firing squad preparing to fuego)
Rizal: (interior monologue) Matamis nga ba ang kamatayan kung ang aking pamana ay maiiwan para sa mga hindi makakakilala sa kahalagahan ng pagbasa? Mas masahol pa ang Gary Teves na iyan sa mga...
(gunshots. Rizal does not turn around to meet the volley. Instead, he falls flat on his face, in comical fashion but dead. The soldiers cheer, the band plays on)
You get the gist. Network TV will probably refuse to air these kinds of ads, but post them on YouTube, send around the link, and they may work their magic. Better, subtitle these ads, and send them around to the other finance ministers of Asia whom Mr. Teves had beat out as "Asia's Best Finance Minister" way back in January. Even if he loses in his bid for local electoral office, make this guy unemployable in the international finance community.
An organized campaign to defeat Gary Teves, if it gains traction, may not necessarily force him to change his mind on the duties. And the people who would be involved in the campaign will most likely not vote for him even if he reverses course. But if he were smart enough to become "Asia's Best Finance Minister", he should realize that he stands a better chance for election without an emotionally-charged group actively seeking his defeat. It is widely believed that the active efforts of the U.P. community helped thwart John Osmena's re-election bid in 2004 because of his irrational objection to modernizing the U.P. Charter. Mr. Teves does not need a similarly organic campaign against him.
2) Jose Mario Bunag, former Commissioner of Internal Revenue. This one is a bit of a stretch, since he is the former Commissioner. But during his tenure, now Finance Undersecretary Estela Sales was one of his Assistant Commissioners at the B.I.R. Sales of course has been the public face of villainy during this entire affair, going as far as to comment that novels are not educational. That Bunag would have someone like Sales as a deputy at the B.I.R. does not speak well of him.
Here's the catch. Bunag is currently a nominee for the Supreme Court of the Philippines. The Judicial and Bar Council will soon deliberate on the shortlist for the two vacant seats on the Supreme Court. Imagine if each of the 18,000+ members of the Facebook group against the book importation duties were to mail a letter to the JBC, objecting to Bunag's nomination because of his association with Sales. Question you may whether such association should disqualify him from the Supreme Court, but such action, I promise you, will partake the greatest public response ever before the Judicial and Bar Council against a Supreme Court nominee. It will be a force that Bunag could not ignore, and may very well impel him to make a phone call to Sales
There are of course many other means by which to effectively propagate the quest against the import duties. The beauty of a crusade in the name of creativity is that it will spur on creative, even novel ways of protest.
An organized campaign to defeat Gary Teves, if it gains traction, may not necessarily force him to change his mind on the duties. And the people who would be involved in the campaign will most likely not vote for him even if he reverses course. But if he were smart enough to become "Asia's Best Finance Minister", he should realize that he stands a better chance for election without an emotionally-charged group actively seeking his defeat. It is widely believed that the active efforts of the U.P. community helped thwart John Osmena's re-election bid in 2004 because of his irrational objection to modernizing the U.P. Charter. Mr. Teves does not need a similarly organic campaign against him.
2) Jose Mario Bunag, former Commissioner of Internal Revenue. This one is a bit of a stretch, since he is the former Commissioner. But during his tenure, now Finance Undersecretary Estela Sales was one of his Assistant Commissioners at the B.I.R. Sales of course has been the public face of villainy during this entire affair, going as far as to comment that novels are not educational. That Bunag would have someone like Sales as a deputy at the B.I.R. does not speak well of him.
Here's the catch. Bunag is currently a nominee for the Supreme Court of the Philippines. The Judicial and Bar Council will soon deliberate on the shortlist for the two vacant seats on the Supreme Court. Imagine if each of the 18,000+ members of the Facebook group against the book importation duties were to mail a letter to the JBC, objecting to Bunag's nomination because of his association with Sales. Question you may whether such association should disqualify him from the Supreme Court, but such action, I promise you, will partake the greatest public response ever before the Judicial and Bar Council against a Supreme Court nominee. It will be a force that Bunag could not ignore, and may very well impel him to make a phone call to Sales
There are of course many other means by which to effectively propagate the quest against the import duties. The beauty of a crusade in the name of creativity is that it will spur on creative, even novel ways of protest.
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