The beginnings of a Visayas Republic?
INSIDE CEBU By Bobit S. Avila
The Philippine Star 07/15/2005
At 6 p.m. today, Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia will present her State of the Province Address, which should prove to be quite interesting or even seditious if she would include in her address something that the Visayan political leaders discussed yesterday, which wasn’t out as of press time. But whether you believe it or not, the Visayas Republic is an idea whose time has come. Suddenly, thanks to the current political crisis happening in Metro Manila, this has become a reachable goal.
You might ask when did this idea of a Visayas Republic surface? Ever since that Spanish Conquistador Miguel de Legazpi left Cebu and made Manila the capital of Las Islas Pilipinas, every true-blooded Cebuano began entertaining in his heart the idea of being independent from the rest of the Philippines. But no Cebuano ever dared say this in public... it was only whispered in coffeehouses or restaurants, unlike in Bohol where they are still very proud of the Dagohoy Revolt during the Spanish times, which was dubbed the longest revolt ever against the Spaniards... and they never caught Dagohoy.
I did write a few weeks ago about the lunch Canadian Ambassador Peter Sutherland had with a group of Cebuano businessmen a couple of months before the 2004 presidential elections, when I asked those around our table who wanted an independent Cebu to raise their hands and to his complete surprise, everyone did! The only difference is that until now no Cebuano political leader has come out in the open to wave the flag for Cebu. Truth to tell, we don’t even have a Cebu flag, unlike the folks in Bohol.
Anyway, the Visayan political leaders held their summit yesterday to discuss the mechanics of the creation of the Visayas Republic, which 15 of them called for in a manifesto. I’m sure that the Visayan political leaders know too well that this idea of a separate republic for the Visayas borders on sedition and may give them legal problems. But then the manifesto was crafted in such a way that this could only happen if President Arroyo is booted out of office via an extra-constitutional process... that means all bets are off if they throw out the Constitution, which would therefore free the Visayas (and I guess the same thing would happen in Mindanao) to do their own thing and create their own republic.
Call it blackmail if you wish, but then that’s the reality today. In fact, let me reprint a text message running around Cebu sent to me by my friends, which goes: "A million thanks 2 Rep. Escudero, Susan Roces, Mayor Binay et al, dahil kundi sa kanila, hindi maging Visayan Republic ang Kabisayaan at akoy dina maging pinoy! Yeheey! Kundi tunay na nga Bisak! Mabuhi ang mga Bisaya! A true peace-loving, hardworking pacific islander. Ibagsak ang Imperial Manila! Pls pass!"
Just to refresh you with a little bit of Cebu tourism history. Back in the late 70s when hotelier Anos Fonacier of Cebu Plaza fame (now, he is a Boholano, living at the Bohol Beach Club) began marketing Cebu as a tourist destination, they cleverly sold the province as "An Island in the Pacific" because if they put in their brochures that Cebu was part of the Philippines, no one would come and visit us because we had a poor reputation abroad, especially during the Marcos campaign against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Now who could forget such a catchy ad? I remember taking a cab in Tokyo and seeing brochures of Cebu as an island in the Pacific given freely in a pouch behind the headrest of the cab driver. That ad caught the fancy of a lot of Japanese tourists who were looking for an island adventure in peaceful surroundings. Cebu gave them that and soon, chartered flights from Tokyo became commonplace, and soon became thrice weekly regular flights.
Unknowingly, there was an added bonus to Cebu’s newfound tourist boom. It turned out that many of these Japanese tourists were businessmen and soon they started checking out the possibility of investing in Cebu, and the rest is history. Japanese investments became Cebu’s economic lifeblood; we were no longer dependent on what little business Manila gave us. In fact, if today Manila’s big shopping malls, SM City or the Ayala Center, have opened up in Cebu, lured by the fact that there was a huge chunk of money pouring into Cebu, that didn’t come from Manila... it was for the salaries of Cebuanos employed at the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ). Oh, yes, it was then that the Japanese finally realized that Cebu was part of the Philippines after all.
Again, let me say that when President Ferdinand E. Marcos declared Martial Law throughout the country, there was really no trouble in Cebu. Yet, like feeble sheep, we embraced Martial Law. When the People Power Revolt scared the daylights out of the Marcos Dictatorship, Cebu followed Tita Cory even if she told Cebuanos that under her administration she could not give Cebu much because the other provinces also needed funds, although Cebu flourished even under Martial Law. Now you know why Tita Cory is so unpopular in Cebu.
Did I mention the incident when super typhoon "Ruping" devastated Cebu and Tita Cory’s help came five days too late? Oh, yes, even the check for P3 million that she gave bounced! Why don’t you ask former Gov. Lito Osmeña and he’ll give you a mouthful, especially when Tita Cory ordered that all government communications must be done in Pilipino, which you and I know too well to be Tagalog! That broke the camel’s back and Gov. Lito filed a case against the Cory administration and it was then that we started singing the National Anthem in Cebuano entitled "Yutang Tabunon!"
Of course, the majority of Cebuanos today still believe that the Philippines, as a nation, can still be saved... for as long as we institute real reforms and rid this country of ugly politicians who use the name of the poor in their political parties, yet they’re the ones who get richer and richer. Alas, the poor, especially the ones in Metro Manila, still do not realize that they are being manipulated by politicians, including those Bible-reading kind.
As for President GMA, she ought to realize that the shift to a parliamentary and federal form of government should not be through a constituent assembly (con-ass) since Congress is part of the problems of this nation and we cannot trust them to monkey with our Constitution. It’s via a con-con or nothing!
For e-mail responses to this article, write to vsbobita@mozcom.com. Bobit Avila’s columns can also be accessed through www.thefreeman.com. He also hosts a weekly talk show, "Straight from the Sky," shown every Monday, at 8 p.m., only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable.
INSIDE CEBU By Bobit S. Avila
The Philippine Star 07/15/2005
At 6 p.m. today, Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia will present her State of the Province Address, which should prove to be quite interesting or even seditious if she would include in her address something that the Visayan political leaders discussed yesterday, which wasn’t out as of press time. But whether you believe it or not, the Visayas Republic is an idea whose time has come. Suddenly, thanks to the current political crisis happening in Metro Manila, this has become a reachable goal.
You might ask when did this idea of a Visayas Republic surface? Ever since that Spanish Conquistador Miguel de Legazpi left Cebu and made Manila the capital of Las Islas Pilipinas, every true-blooded Cebuano began entertaining in his heart the idea of being independent from the rest of the Philippines. But no Cebuano ever dared say this in public... it was only whispered in coffeehouses or restaurants, unlike in Bohol where they are still very proud of the Dagohoy Revolt during the Spanish times, which was dubbed the longest revolt ever against the Spaniards... and they never caught Dagohoy.
I did write a few weeks ago about the lunch Canadian Ambassador Peter Sutherland had with a group of Cebuano businessmen a couple of months before the 2004 presidential elections, when I asked those around our table who wanted an independent Cebu to raise their hands and to his complete surprise, everyone did! The only difference is that until now no Cebuano political leader has come out in the open to wave the flag for Cebu. Truth to tell, we don’t even have a Cebu flag, unlike the folks in Bohol.
Anyway, the Visayan political leaders held their summit yesterday to discuss the mechanics of the creation of the Visayas Republic, which 15 of them called for in a manifesto. I’m sure that the Visayan political leaders know too well that this idea of a separate republic for the Visayas borders on sedition and may give them legal problems. But then the manifesto was crafted in such a way that this could only happen if President Arroyo is booted out of office via an extra-constitutional process... that means all bets are off if they throw out the Constitution, which would therefore free the Visayas (and I guess the same thing would happen in Mindanao) to do their own thing and create their own republic.
Call it blackmail if you wish, but then that’s the reality today. In fact, let me reprint a text message running around Cebu sent to me by my friends, which goes: "A million thanks 2 Rep. Escudero, Susan Roces, Mayor Binay et al, dahil kundi sa kanila, hindi maging Visayan Republic ang Kabisayaan at akoy dina maging pinoy! Yeheey! Kundi tunay na nga Bisak! Mabuhi ang mga Bisaya! A true peace-loving, hardworking pacific islander. Ibagsak ang Imperial Manila! Pls pass!"
Just to refresh you with a little bit of Cebu tourism history. Back in the late 70s when hotelier Anos Fonacier of Cebu Plaza fame (now, he is a Boholano, living at the Bohol Beach Club) began marketing Cebu as a tourist destination, they cleverly sold the province as "An Island in the Pacific" because if they put in their brochures that Cebu was part of the Philippines, no one would come and visit us because we had a poor reputation abroad, especially during the Marcos campaign against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Now who could forget such a catchy ad? I remember taking a cab in Tokyo and seeing brochures of Cebu as an island in the Pacific given freely in a pouch behind the headrest of the cab driver. That ad caught the fancy of a lot of Japanese tourists who were looking for an island adventure in peaceful surroundings. Cebu gave them that and soon, chartered flights from Tokyo became commonplace, and soon became thrice weekly regular flights.
Unknowingly, there was an added bonus to Cebu’s newfound tourist boom. It turned out that many of these Japanese tourists were businessmen and soon they started checking out the possibility of investing in Cebu, and the rest is history. Japanese investments became Cebu’s economic lifeblood; we were no longer dependent on what little business Manila gave us. In fact, if today Manila’s big shopping malls, SM City or the Ayala Center, have opened up in Cebu, lured by the fact that there was a huge chunk of money pouring into Cebu, that didn’t come from Manila... it was for the salaries of Cebuanos employed at the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ). Oh, yes, it was then that the Japanese finally realized that Cebu was part of the Philippines after all.
Again, let me say that when President Ferdinand E. Marcos declared Martial Law throughout the country, there was really no trouble in Cebu. Yet, like feeble sheep, we embraced Martial Law. When the People Power Revolt scared the daylights out of the Marcos Dictatorship, Cebu followed Tita Cory even if she told Cebuanos that under her administration she could not give Cebu much because the other provinces also needed funds, although Cebu flourished even under Martial Law. Now you know why Tita Cory is so unpopular in Cebu.
Did I mention the incident when super typhoon "Ruping" devastated Cebu and Tita Cory’s help came five days too late? Oh, yes, even the check for P3 million that she gave bounced! Why don’t you ask former Gov. Lito Osmeña and he’ll give you a mouthful, especially when Tita Cory ordered that all government communications must be done in Pilipino, which you and I know too well to be Tagalog! That broke the camel’s back and Gov. Lito filed a case against the Cory administration and it was then that we started singing the National Anthem in Cebuano entitled "Yutang Tabunon!"
Of course, the majority of Cebuanos today still believe that the Philippines, as a nation, can still be saved... for as long as we institute real reforms and rid this country of ugly politicians who use the name of the poor in their political parties, yet they’re the ones who get richer and richer. Alas, the poor, especially the ones in Metro Manila, still do not realize that they are being manipulated by politicians, including those Bible-reading kind.
As for President GMA, she ought to realize that the shift to a parliamentary and federal form of government should not be through a constituent assembly (con-ass) since Congress is part of the problems of this nation and we cannot trust them to monkey with our Constitution. It’s via a con-con or nothing!
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