Satur’s Plane Ride
Written by Major Tom
Filed under: Philippine Politics
March 20, 2007
Days after making Internet history (for that momentous YouTube testimony before a U.S. Congress committee panel), and becoming a momentary fugitive, Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo got the ride of his life—the plane ride that got the Philippine Daily Inquirer bannering how he ‘was taken for a ride’. I can probably surmise how Satur Ocampo should wish that in fact he was just ‘taken for a ride’—where in street parlance could mean to be lied upon—and none of these recent occurrences are true; that policemen suddenly knock on his cell and inform him that they were sorry for the lengthy inconvenience and all this was just a huge mistake and that he should ready himself and go home as soon as possible.
But actually, the murder charges against him remains and it is no lie or merely a result of what one calls a huge mistake. The plane to Leyte suddenly turnaround halfway from its destination because the judge in Leyte (the one that issued the warrant of arrest against him) had ordered the authorities to return the on-flight Ocampo to his original place of detention, citing the ongoing certiorari protest which the latter had filed with the Supreme Court the other day.
It could possibly be among the most unforgettable plane ride that Ocampo had ever had in his entire lifetime. Inside the plane—while navigating the skies between Manila and Leyte—there were some dramatic conversations that had arose; including the one when police officials aboard had urged him to wear a bullet-proof vest. Ocampo refused it and said to them ‘Who will shoot me? You are all here.’’
I am not putting malice upon anyone who have participated in this latest political drama, but the above conversations immediately reminded me of the slain national hero Ninoy Aquino, and the circumstances before his horrendous death, where he was wearing a yellow bulletproof vest inside a Korean airliner moments before shots rang out in the sky above the airport that is already named after him, and conversing similarly in the same dramatic and pointed dialogues with the people around him then.
It is a relief that nothing like that had happened, as what had occurred on that fateful August day in 1983 and that Rep. Ocampo is safely back in his cell in Manila. Or else, the headlines on all dailies today would have been dreadfully wicked.
para sa kin, kailangang bantayang mabuti yang pagkakadakip kay Satur Ocampo, mahirap magtiwala sa mga taong ganid sa kapangyarihan, baka mamaya dumating ang oras na pati ang mga walang kaalam-alam mabansagan na namang subersibo, magigising na lang tayo isang araw na martial law na naman pala.
Comment by melai — March 20, 2007 @ 4:57 pm
Wow, I’ve just read the link and watched YouTube!
People following blindly, not surprised. What a ride! Yes, it was a waste of fuel - people’s money right? Was he arrested because of that YouTube testimony? Now, technology is getting better. Ha! The government’s mistakes will just be uploaded for the whole wide world to watch.
Killings are still continuing when the person they want to put blame on is languishing in jail. The government needs a fall guy to meet the deadline to show the world that the government can make things happen even if it’s done without due process huh. Shame on them. I want to read what Malacanang said of this “Joy Ride” careof the people’s money.
Ha! Beware, any anomaly is just a UTube away. Now, this is a dent on the government’s anti-terrorism programme. Shame on them.
Whoever thought of U-Tubing this is brilliant.
Comment by ipanema — March 20, 2007 @ 5:37 pm
pwede pala mangyari yun na yung eroplano ay pwedeng lumiko pabalik hanbang nasa himpapawid dahil ang pasahero ay di pwedeng lumapag sa kanyang pupuntahan. ang alam ko lang kasi A to A (airport to airport)
Comment by iskoo — March 20, 2007 @ 8:37 pm
I guess the Leyte judge got spooked. Imagine the wave of protesters that would land on his town if the trial is to be held there…
Comment by snglguy — March 20, 2007 @ 9:30 pm
A dangerous precedent.
Comment by Sidney — March 20, 2007 @ 10:12 pm
sorry, i dont want to pretend that i understand what’s behind this all. im just not updated about phil. news especially politics. what was the charges against him? ignorance doesn’t mean stupidity, ok?
Comment by curacha — March 21, 2007 @ 6:36 am
When Police acting to protect the security of a person under its responsibility, requesting such person for proper preparation like wearing of a kevlar vest for protection is a reasonable pre-caution. Of course Ocampo can refuse, but making an issue against the people just doing their job is sometimes creating more animosities.
Remember Satur Ocampo, whatever his status that may soon be decided by the courts, had made a lot of enemies during his underground years and a society where political killings have attracted the attention of observers inside and out of the countries, and another one under police protection is surely an embarassment no one, not even his enemies would like to put the country in.
Comment by vic — March 21, 2007 @ 9:53 am
To melai: Hindi naman sa hindi tayo nagtitiwala pero mahirap na magsabi; kasi me mga pamgyayari nuon sa kasaysayan ng ating makabagong panahon, just in recent times ika nga, na ang ikinalalabasan ay hindi kapanipaniwala at hindi katanggap-tanggap.
To Ipanema: I was too in fact gladdened that the Internet, thru YouTube has greatly done some official undertaking, like the US Congress investigation into miltant killings hereat, some good and it shows how the net can actually change our ways of life, for good that is.
By the way, he wasn’t arrested for that online testimony but for a murder charges for the killings of a number of rebels in the middle of the 80’s, those that were killed by the NPA’s on suspicion of being military agents. There were witnesses who had testified that he was physically present at those times in Leyte and he had in fact oversaw it (the killings). All these are but allegations aright now but the judge in Leyte had seemed to have found reasonable cause to charge Ocampo with the said murders. Let’s wait and see how the trial goes.
To iskoo: Yung nga parang eksena sa pelikula, yung mala-hollywood ang scene…
To sngl: That could be the case since hordes of people were waiting just near the airport carrying anti-Ocampo banners like “Berdugo Ng Leyte”. Those are eaxctly grave words for the man. I wonder why, despite the seeming stealthiness of the flight, at dawn at that, those protesters came ready with their protests, to meet him at the airport.
To sidney: A grave one indeed if really bad things happen.
To curacha: It was for murder of several people, whose skeletal remains were found on a shallow mass grave in 1996, and were purportedly killed in 1985, when Ocampo was allegedly present in Leyte. It was a crime done some 27 years ago but in law, under the rules of prescription, a crime can still be prosecuted within 25 years from its discovery which in this case was in 1996, when the mass grave were discovered.
To vic: I know vic and that was my first thoughts, but some thoughts were just playing in my mind, as images of Ninoy Aquino, before he fell on the tarmac, and those pointed conversations he had with reporters inside the plane. Just being reminded that is…
Comment by Major Tom — March 21, 2007 @ 2:30 pm
Hi Major Tom
I also don’t know much about this. Dinakip si Satur Ocampo kasi he’s a suspect in killing a lot of people? Tama ba? But they were saying that during Marcos’ time as well as sa time ni Ramos parang nabigyan na daw sha along with other personas ng..uhhmm..dont know the term. Basta parang in a way “napawalang sala” or something sila thats why daw dapat hindi hinuli si Satur Ocampo. My apologies…mali-mali ata nababalitaan ko
Comment by verns — March 22, 2007 @ 2:20 pm
I think you meant to say about amnesty and yun nga ang nagpawala sa kanila kasama ang kanyang asawa at iba pang mga rebelde noong araw. I think that mostly the amnesty was for the crime of rebellion; siguro baka magiging isyu yung sa korte, like ma-alledge ni Satur Ocampo na absolve na siya sa crime of murder kung ma-eestablish na ang mga mass killings na yun, if for example proven, would have been part of the amnestied act in general, because that wasn’t a personal act of murder, kasama siya sa act of rebellion, like killing in war is not murder at all, but an of war…
However that was just for purposes of discussion, for me any killing, if found to be true, should be meted the right punishment.
Comment by Major Tom — March 22, 2007 @ 3:05 pm
oh yeah…now I understand. Because I cannot fathom when this guy said that they were given amnesty for the mass murder. I didn’t know that it was part of an act of rebellion.
Hmmm what would be the right punishment? I mean like your examples…soldiers in Iraq…how are you gonna punish them? di ba?
Comment by verns — March 23, 2007 @ 11:48 am
Pardon my digression and ignorance but whatever happened to the Ninoy Aquino case - was anyone one ever convicted of that henious crime?
Comment by bw — March 23, 2007 @ 11:56 am
Some people in government are really abusing their powers. What they did to Ka Satur is a poor reflection on them. Walang ka-laban laban yung tao tapos gaganunin nila.
Comment by ladybug — March 23, 2007 @ 6:25 pm
To verns: Medyo kumplikado nga ang circumstances, where you could say that a soldier’s act of killing an enemy would be an excusable act kasi that is his sworn duty, to delibilitate or erase the enemy completely.
Now, since the alledged crime was in relation to the NPA’s campaign against the government, this could be possibly establish as an act of war, which is not always considered as murder. But that is just the technicality of law. In my opinion, the mass killing of suspected military infiltrators are despicable by nature and very grave, if proven to be true. And we know that mostly, kangaroo courts could be part of this and that is just unacceptable; especially when the dogma of beyond reasonable doubt is easily set aside.
Comment by Major Tom — March 23, 2007 @ 10:17 pm
To bw: Actually a group of ex-military men were convicted for the crime, the ones who were adjudged to be in connivance with the late Rolando Galman, who was killed in that airport scene and was adjudged as the main gun man.
However, there are still qualms about this case like some believed, like the Aquino family mebers themeselves, that the mastermind is still out there.
To ladybug: Despite the possibility of a proper judicial issue–like the existence of a probable cause to institute the murder case against Ocampo–it couldn’t be help for many to see this as a lionization of the opposition, especially the left-wing sectors, and also especially with that episode of the five sectoral representative ordered to be arrested by the police for rebellion. This is a case that stemmed from a crime committed some 25 years ago and such thing of course give us the suspicion that this may just be merely to unduly bring back to life some past issues.
But opf course, it could be a very proper judicial action, like I said before, but the perception becomes so patent where the government seem to be out for a major witch hunt againts its political enemies.
Comment by Major Tom — March 23, 2007 @ 10:36 pm
Ah, ok. I thought they want to question him. Thanks for the explanation.
Comment by ipanema — March 24, 2007 @ 3:46 pm
ang drama ng pulitika naten. yahoooooo!!!
Comment by duke — March 24, 2007 @ 7:09 pm
hey major tom, thanks for visiting my blog again after a long long time, truly appreciated (pero ba’t parang nawala ata ang link ko dito? hehe!)
sorry i have no knack in politics, usapang gamot pwede pa ahihi. have a happy weekend nimo diha nong!
Comment by nao — March 25, 2007 @ 12:37 pm
To ipanema: It was really for a graver offense ipanema.
To duke: You said it duke, parang masyadong eventful na parang sa spy novels ni Robert Ludlum.
To nao: I am so sorry for that nao, sometimes me mga ganun nagyayari like how come I’ve not been visiting this blog, I used to be a regular, parang Matrix circumstance, it’s mysterious sometimes. The link was alos like that, thru many template changes, nakakaligtaan yung mga unang links. I’ll put back the your link as soon as possible.
But now buti na lang we have contact again.
Comment by Major Tom — March 26, 2007 @ 11:48 am
it’s ok nong, i’ll be your regular visitor na ulit here. Thanks and have a great great day
Comment by nao — March 26, 2007 @ 1:54 pm