Giggling About the "All Out War" With Tina Monson Palma

Number of Philippine soldiers killed: 57
Number of Philippine soldiers beheaded: 10
Number of Arrest Warrants Issued by Basilan RTC: 130 (mostly MILF)
Number of Arrest Warrants Served: ZERO
Number of Ambush/Killing/Beheading MILF/MNLF/ASG Suspects Arrested : ZERO
Number of Abu Sayyaf "crushed": 42 claimed, but only 3 bodies recovered.

Soon after General Ben Muhammad Dolorfino took over as the Marine Commandant, it was announced that the military situation on Basilan Island is now "stable", two Marine Battalions were pulled out, and the President announced a humanitarian offensive.

Tonight Tina Monson Palma was having some nice giggles with DSWD twins Cabral and Lozada, At one point they were laughing (I don't really know why) over the fact that the doctors often treat wounded Abu Sayyaf and just let them walk out the tent back to fighting the Philippine Military. The gal from DSWD boasted of supplying food and medicines even to "the enemy." They alternated between that and how terrible it is for the civilians on Basilan, having to live with the all-out war military offensive of the government. Oh those bad, bad soldiers! Trying to serve arrest warrants on beheaders and murderers! Can't they see the poor are suffering?

And when Mr. Sergio Ortiz Luis representing business federations said that the worst situation is like now when the government doesn't actually support the Military and its fighting men are criticized far far more for the possibility of "collateral damage" than the "purely intentional damage" done by the rebel ambushmen and beheaders, Tina chimed in something indignant about Mahatma Ghandi because she realized he wasn't staying in line. Ngek! Ortiz told her to tell that to the Abu Sayyaf, muttering something about India and Pakistan. Tina just giggled some more and suggested that the businessmen would find a way of doing business anyway.

(Oh but they had nice tearful violins playing in the show's opening number, which showed just a tiny glimpse of the real world of closed, flag-draped caskets and grieving relatives. That was enough. Then the giggling started.)

Dhimmitude is setting in hard and heavy. And giggles will be few and far between.

The next big deal is the resumption of the peace talks and the big Peace Legacy of the President: the Muslim Juridical Entity of 1000 villages in Maguindanao and Sulu. The MILF will take over ARMM. The MNLF will probably go back to being rebels. And it will start all over again. Giggling and all. (The really serious folks from South Waziristan are probably giggling too as they pack for archipelagic tropical climates and leave their heavy winter coats behind.)

Indeed, from the heart of what may become the new Bangsamoro "homeland" in Maguindanao, MILF rebels just attacked a Philippine Military patrol base wounding two soldiers. (via Zamboanga Journal). Those are our "partners in the peace process" (as Jess Dureza keeps crowing), and the future rulers of that Muslim Juridical Entity. They haven't gotten it yet and already they are attacking the Military. Dureza should go jump in the Maranao Lake.



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