Face Off Against A Tycoon

glory!

INTRODUCTION

In my wildest dreams, I never aspired to be a corporate whistleblower, much less against a titan dreaded by all. But destiny is beyond me because the labyrinth of life is full of treacherous curves that blind one's vision.

I must admit, writing is outside my comfort zone. But circumstances in my journey on the path less traveled pushed me to author a book, as I have a meaningful story to tell for the awakening of all Filipinos from the bondage of apathy towards the worst menace to society—the venom of corruption.

It took me more than two years to painstakingly write the first edition, but modesty aside, I must have developed a bit of skill at this time—it only took six months for this latest edition. Though Filipinos do not know this, my first book, Face-Off against a Tycoon, published in 2012 was blocked by the most influential tycoon in the country, Lucio Tan, from being sold at the major bookstores. Apparently, he used his powerful tentacles to keep his skeletons in the closet, away from the eyes of the masses who were the direct victims of his bestiality that made their lives more miserable.

Thus, in the same breath as Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, I'm bringing the battle between good and evil to the land of the free. Despite scanty resources, I'm forced to write and publish this book in the US for global distribution so that the justice that has long been denied to the Filipino people and our beloved country can be obtained at last.

Hopefully, the learning shared from my humble story may bring out positive change and freedom from the bondage of the oligarchs and mighty oppressors in the present generation. It all depends on us, Filipinos, on how we respond and whether or not we continue to be apathetic to this sad reality and allow the masses to be denied justice and burdened all the more for the longest time.

The fact is, no other race will save us from the grave mess we are in. Our heroes sacrificed their lives to liberate us from the gigantic oppressors in the past. It's high time for modern heroes in the present to live their legacy. If we remain just bystanders instead of upstanders and just talk the talk without the walking the walk against the corruption that is the source of all evil, this nation can never be great again. The fact is, our country has recently dropped to 111th most corrupt out of 180 countries in the world. Shamelessly, we are one of the most corrupt in the Asia-Pacific region. No wonder the majority of our people live in dire poverty.

I'm just a messenger for truth and justice. Mine is merely a tiny voice in the wilderness that must be reverberated by all with a deafening noise in order to be heard and acted upon by the high and mighty.

The ball is now in your court and no longer mine. I've been there and done that. My countrymen, let's pray for our country and fellow men that truth and justice shall finally prevail!

Our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal said, The pen is mightier than the sword. I do believe in his wisdom—in words and deeds!

CHAPTER 1

The Awakening

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

–Martin Luther King Jr.

Despite warnings from the military and pro-Marcos groups, and even by the dictator's wife, Imelda, not to return to the Philippines, Ninoy Aquino decided to go back to his homeland no matter what. Asked what he thought of the death threats, Aquino merely smiled and replied, The Filipino is worth dying for.

True to his words, Aquino died for his country. After three years of exile in the US as the political nemesis of President Ferdinand Marcos, he fulfilled his promise to come back for good. On August 21, 1983, he fell from an assassin's bullets while disembarking from a commercial flight at the then Manila International Airport despite being escorted by a phalanx of police personnel. Many of his co-passengers screamed and cried in utter disbelief at such brutality happening in broad daylight, right in front of their very own eyes.

The entire Filipino people were shocked and outraged. Fingers pointed at the Marcos regime as the culprit, a conspiracy of people in power out to curtail real freedom among the people by whatever means. Millions of people mourned Aquino's death, and his funeral remains unprecedented in the history of the country.

That incident triggered the awakening of the people from a deep slumber and political hibernation, and thus, the birth of civil disobedience in whatever form. Consequently, the country went to the brink of bankruptcy, which ultimately shook the foundation of the Marcos regime. Feeling the intense pressure here and abroad, President Marcos was forced to call for a snap election on February 7, 1986.

Ninoy's widow, Corazon, reluctantly ran against Marcos for the presidency and was leading in the canvassing of votes based on the figures from the National Movement for Free Elections, a citizen's watchdog group. But the election results were manipulated in favor of Marcos, who was proclaimed the winner on February 15, 1986, by the Commission on Elections and the Batasang Pambansa. Congress was controlled by Marcos.

Filipinos were outraged. To show indignation, the people boycotted the businesses of Marcos cronies like banks and big corporations, specifically those owned by tycoon Lucio Tan, among others, including the media. This led to the plummeting of their shares in the stock market to record lows.

Appalled by the apparent election irregularities, Juan Ponce Enrile, then minister of national defense, and some military officials tried to set in motion a coup against President Marcos, something they had been planning for some time. However, after Marcos learned about the plot, he ordered the leaders' arrest.

Threatened with their impending arrest, Enrile and his fellow coup plotters decided to ask for help from the AFP Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos, who was also the chief of the Philippines Constabulary. Ramos agreed to resign from his position and support the plotters. Enrile also contacted the Catholic archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin, for his support.

At about 6:30 p.m. on February 22, Enrile and Ramos held a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo, where they announced that they had resigned from their positions in the Marcos cabinet and were withdrawing support for his government. President Marcos later conducted his own news conference, calling on Enrile and Ramos to surrender, urging them to stop this stupidity.

At about 9 p.m., in a message aired over Radio Veritas, Cardinal Sin exhorted the Filipinos to come to the aid of the rebel leaders by going to Edsa, between Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo, and giving moral support, food, and other supplies needed. For many, this seemed to be an unwise decision since civilians would not stand a chance against government troops. Nevertheless, many people, especially priests and nuns, trooped to EDSA.

Radio Veritas played a critical role during the mass uprising. Francisco Nemenzo, former University of the Philippines president, said, Without Radio Veritas, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to mobilize millions of people in a matter of hours. In fact, it was our umbilical cord to whatever else was going on.

At dawn on Sunday, government troops arrived to knock down the main transmitter of Radio Veritas, cutting off broadcasts to people in the province. The station switched to standby transmitter with a limited range of broadcast. The station was targeted because it had proven to be a valuable communications tool for the people supporting the rebels. It was the main source of keeping them informed of the movement of government troops and for relaying requests for food, medicine, and supplies.

People from all walks of life came to EDSA until the crowd swelled to hundreds of thousands of unarmed civilians. The mood in the streets was actually festive, with many bringing their own families. Performers entertained the crowds, nuns and priests led prayer vigils, and others set up barricades and makeshift sandbags and lined up vehicles in strategic places along EDSA and intersections like Santolan and Ortigas Avenue.

Everywhere, people listened to Radio Veritas. Several groups emotionally sang Bayan Ko (My Homeland), which, after the death of Aquino, had become a patriotic anthem of the opposition. The laban (fight) sign, done by forming an L with the thumb and the index finger, became the trademark of the opposition.

Shortly after noon on Feb. 23, Enrile and Ramos decided to consolidate their position. Enrile's group crossed EDSA from Camp Aguinaldo to Camp Crame amidst cheers from the crowd. In the mid-afternoon, Radio Veritas relayed reports of marines massing near the camps in the east and tanks approaching from north and south.

A contingent of marines with tanks and armored vans, led by Gen. Artemio Tadiar, was stopped along Ortigas Avenue about two kilometers from the camps by tens of thousands of people. Nuns holding rosaries knelt in front of the tanks, while people from all walks of life linked their arms together to block the troops. Gen. Tadiar asked the crowd to make way for them, but they did not budge. In the end, the troops retreated with no shots fired.

By evening, the standby transmitter of Radio Veritas had failed. Shortly after midnight, the staff was able to go to another station to begin broadcasting from a secret location under the moniker Radio Bandid (Bandit Radio). Media personality June Keithley, along with Angelo Castro, continued Radio Veritas's program throughout the night and in remaining days.

At dawn on Monday, February 24, the first serious encounter with government troops occurred. Marines marching from Libis in the east lobbed tear gas at the demonstrators, who quickly dispersed. Some three thousand marines then entered and held the east side of Camp Aguinaldo.

Later, helicopters manned by the 15th Strike Wing of the Philippines Air Force, led by Col. Antonio Sotelo, were ordered to head to Camp Crame from Sangley Point, south of Manila. The squadron had secretly defected, and instead of attacking Camp Crame, they landed in the campgrounds and supported the people. Crowds cheered and hugged the pilots and crew members. A Bell 214 helicopter had joined the rebel squadron in the air. The presence of the helicopters boosted the morale of Enrile and Ramos's group, which had been continually encouraging their fellow soldiers to join the opposition movement.

In the afternoon, Mrs. Aquino arrived at the base where Enrile, Ramos, and men of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) were waiting.

At around that time, Mrs. Keithly received reports that Pres. Marcos had left Malacanang Palace and announced this to the people of EDSA. The crowd celebrated, and both Enrile and Ramos came out of Camp Crame. The jubilation was short-lived, however, as Pres. Marcos later appeared on government-controlled Channel 4, declaring that he would not step down.

During this broadcast, Channel 4 suddenly went off the air. A contingent of rebels under Col. Mariano Santiago had captured the station. Shortly thereafter, Channel 4 was put back on the air with a voice declaring, This channel is serving the people again. The people who were manning the broadcast were the likes of June Keithley, Fr. Aris Sison, Fr. Efren Datu, Fr. Bong Bangayan, Jose Mari Velez, and Orly Punzalan, and the programs were directed by Johnny Manahan.

In the late afternoon, rebel helicopters attacked Villamor Airbase, destroying air assets. Another helicopter went to Malacanang, fired a rocket, and caused minor damage.

This was then followed by the defection of most of the officers who had graduated from the Philippines Military Academy. The majority of the armed forces had already changed sides.

On the morning of Tuesday, February 25, at around 7 a.m., a minor clash occurred between loyal government troops and the RAM. Snipers stationed atop the government-owned Channel 9 building began shooting at the reformists. Many rebel soldiers surged to the station.

Later that morning, Corazon Aquino was inaugurated president of the Philippines in a simple ceremony at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, about a kilometer from Camp Crame. She was sworn in as president by Senior Associate Justice Claudio Teehankee. Her running mate in the elections, Salvador Laurel, was sworn in as vice president by Justice Vicente Abad Santos. The Bible on which President Aquino swore her oath was held by Aurora Aquino, the mother of Ninoy.

Ramos, who was then promoted to four-star general, Enrile, and many politicians attended the oathtaking ceremonies. Outside Club Filipino and all the way to EDSA, hundreds of people cheered and celebrated. Bayan Ko, the national anthem of protest, was sung after President Aquino's oathtaking. Many people wore yellow, the color of her campaign for the presidency.

An hour later, President Marcos also had his own inauguration at Malacanang. Loyalists attended the ceremony, shouting, Marcos, Marcos, Marcos pa rin. At the palace balcony, Marcos took his oath as president. None of the invited foreign dignitaries attended the ceremony for security reasons (although Moscow sent a congratulatory message). The Marcos couple and family stepped out in the balcony of the palace in front of around three thousand loyalists, who were shouting to President Marcos, Capture the snakes! First lady Imelda sang Dahil Sa Iyo (Because of You), the couple's theme song, rather tearfully.

After the inauguration, the Marcos family and their close associates hurriedly left the palace. The broadcast of the event over TV stations 13 and 7 were also cut off as the rebel troops successfully captured the stations.

By this time, hundreds of people had amassed at the barricades along Mendiola, only a hundred meters from Malacanang. They were prevented from storming the palace by loyal government troops securing the area.

At 3 p.m. Monday, President Marcos talked to U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt, asking for the advice from the White House. Senator Laxalt advised him, Cut and cut cleanly, much to the disappointment of Marcos.

In the afternoon, President Marcos talked to Enrile, asking for safe passage for him, his family, and close allies like General Ver. Finally, at 9 p.m., the Marcos family was transported by four U.S. Navy helicopters to Clark Air Base in Angeles City, Pampanga, about 83 kilometers north of Manila. Then they boarded U.S. Air Force-130 planes bound for Anderson Air Base in Guam, and finally to Hickam Air Base in Hawaii.

When the news of President Marcos's departure reached the people, the entire nation rejoiced. Over at Mendiola, the demonstrators were finally able to enter Malacanang Palace, which had long been denied to the Filipinos in the past decade. Looting by overly angry protesters occurred, but mostly, people wandered inside, looking at the place where all the decisions that had changed the course of Filipino history had been made.

The world congratulated and admired the entire Filipino nation, which had finally regained its lost pride and sense of identity. Bob Simon, an anchorman at CBS said, We Americans like to think we taught the Filipinos democracy. Well, tonight, they're teaching the world.

In a speech before the United States Congress seven months after her inauguration, Pres. Aquino said, Ours must have been the cheapest revolution ever!

CHAPTER 2

Humble Beginnings

You must shatter the vase to spread its perfume, and smite the rock to get the spark.

–Dr. Jose Rizal Humble Beginnings

My father, Teofilo Abelgas Pacaña, whom I fondly call Papa Pilo, was a descendant of a local revolutionary hero named Jacinto Pacaña.

Jacinto Pacaña, an ex-Kapitan and a prominent figure in the San Nicolas community, was one of the organizing members of the local chapter of the Katipunan, which was headed by Pantaleon Villegas aka Leon Kilat. Jacinto had a big house made of wood (tisa) in Labangon, a district in the southern part of the city, where meetings of the rebels were secretly held. The house was eventually converted into a headquarter and served as the infirmary for the wounded combatants. His main role was to supply weapons to the members of the group.

On April 3, 1898, Leon Kilat and his group launched the first uprising against the abusive Spanish regime in the province of Cebu, called the Battle of Tres de Abril. Leon Kilat was known to have an amulet, a handkerchief with corrupted Latin and Spanish words on it, which people believed could make him invisible from enemies and invincible against firearms and bladed weapons.

On the afternoon of April 3, which was a Sunday, at the intersection of Tres de Abril and V. Rama streets, the first encounter erupted. While the locals only had bolos (bladed weapons) against the rifles of the Spanish soldiers, both camps engaged in a fierce battle, leaving several wounded and dead combatants on both sides.

The Spaniards, led by Capt. Monfort, later fled to their headquarters at Fort San Pedro, where Gen. Montero was waiting. While charging, the locals shouted, Viva Katipunan! Viva Filipinas! but the Spaniards on the retreat shouted back, Viva España, to save face and show that they were not yet beaten.

With the seized rifles from the retreating Spanish forces, the locals gained more weapons, which renewed their confidence to win the war. The victory and control over the city were short-lived, however, lasting for only three days.

By early morning of April 7, a reinforcement of Spanish troops headed by Gen. Celestino Tejeiro arrived from Manila aboard a chartered merchant steamer, the Churruca. Immediately thereafter, Gens. Montero and Tejeiro planned a massive counterattack. Poorly armed and devoid of firepower against the heavily armed Spanish forces, the Katipuneros were forced to retreat to different areas in the countryside.

In the dawn of April 8, which happened to be Good Friday, Jacinto, together with the wife of Candido Padilla and Eugenio Gines, escaped from Labangon. The group went directly to Jacinto's farm in Barrio Bukawe and then transferred to another corn barn in Biasong, where Pedro Abarca joined them.

Thereafter, Jacinto and his sons, Felipe, who later became one of the first city council members of Cebu, and Dalmacio and others joined the Tabal family in the mountains of Sudlon, where they continued their crusade against the Spanish troops using guerrilla tactics. There, Jacinto got in touch with other leaders of the revolutionaries using trusted couriers, which led to the regrouping of around three hundred Katipuneros, now led by Arcadio Maxilom and Luis Flores. It was in the Sudlon Mountains, west of the city, that the Katipuneros were finally able to consolidate their forces against the enemy.

The skirmishes against the Spanish forces in various parts of the countryside (Bitlang, Sudlon, Talamban, Tuburan, Li-loan, etc.) continued from time to time, with the locals mostly gaining the upper hand by applying guerrilla warfare. The Cebuano heroes stood their ground until mid-morning of December 24, when the Spanish forces vacated Cebu for good.

The year 1898 was the best and most memorable Christmas ever for the Cebuanos. It was a God-sent miracle for them to be completely freed from the bondage of oppression suffered for centuries from the Spanish colonial yoke. In a letter addressed to the new revolutionary government of Cebu, the brains of the Philippines Revolution, Apolinario Mabini, enjoined them to prevent and repel all foreign invasion at whatever sacrifices.

For whatever modest contributions and descendants of the Pacaña clan may have shared in molding Cebu City to what it is today—the Queen City of the South—we are deeply humbled by the recognition as an Outstanding Clan bestowed by the city government during its 75th charter anniversary celebration on February 4, 2012.

My Papa Pilo was second to the youngest of five children of Lolo Guillermo Pacaña and Lola Cirila Abelgas Pacaña. Lolo belonged to the prominent Pacaña clan, original settlers of Tisa, while Lola hailed from the nearby Punta Princesa as a descendant of the Abelgas clan. Papa Pilo worked as a young assistant to a dentist who had a clinic in the remote seaside barrio of Biasong in San Remigio, a sleepy seaside town approximately 120 kilometers north of Cebu City.

My mother, fondly called Inday Saling, was a 14-year-old beauty queen and only daughter of a prominent couple in Biasong. My father was also a sixth-grade elementary school teacher where my mother was a student. Beautiful as she was, Papa Pilo was fascinated by her, and he boldly asked for her hand in marriage from Lolo Moises Pitogo and Lola Isay Yray Pitogo. They were migrants from Liloan, Cebu, a town in the north that was roughly less than 30 kilometers away from Cebu City.

A few months after my parents' wedding in 1941 came the Japanese invaders during World War II. To survive, the couple went into crude soapmaking and distributed their products by small boat to the nearby islands. It was in Tudela, Camotes Island, where my parents decided to stay for the time being. There, Papa also worked as an elementary school teacher for years until the end of the war.

In 1944, when peacetime came, my parents decided to move to Cebu City, bringing their firstborn, Dodong. Thereafter, Papa landed a job at the city hall as a clerk and was later promoted to be assistant to Mayor Rafinan in the 50s. Mama got a job as market collector in Taboan, but eventually stopped to become manager of a small store on the ground floor of their newly built two-story house in Tisa.

While working, Papa earned a Bachelor of Arts at the Colegio de San Jose Recoletos, and he later pursued schooling at the College of Law at the University of Visayas. As a student leader and an eloquent debater, he was president of the Supreme Student Council, which made him a very popular figure in the campus.

Papa once shared with me that a beautiful schoolmate, Gloria Sevilla, who eventually became a famous movie star in the country, was the subject of jealousy by my mother while I was still inside her womb. Mama frequently nagged Papa about her and ordered him to go home immediately after classes.

At times, my mother would wait for him in front of the school to make sure he wouldn't gallivant. My father got fed up with her constant nagging out of jealousy and eventually was forced to quit school during his third year of law proper out of disgust.

That why I want you to become a lawyer someday, he seriously told me.

I must admit that even today, I still bear the guilt of having failed Papa's wishes. Likewise, the frustration of not having fulfilled my dream of becoming a legal luminary someday still haunts me every now and then. At 63, it's too late and no longer practical to make it a reality.

While I took up law at the University of San Carlos in 1989 after I became a certified public accountant, I was also a quitter like Papa. In my first year of law proper, I was afflicted with chicken pox that forced me to be absent from classes for three weeks. After that, I had a hard time catching up with the backlog of lessons since I was also working as bank audit manager, which required frequent out-of-town travels.

Like Papa, I'm still hopeful that someday, one of my eight children will eventually fulfill our dreams.

Our house in Tisa was squatting on a four-hundred-square-meter lot owned by the Borromeo Brothers Estate Inc., which had a big chunk of prime property in that area. Papa was requested by the owner to be their trusted collector of the lot rentals in the neighborhood, though he was not an employee. In return, our lot rentals were for free. Then came a twist in the family's destiny.

Dona Salud Borromeo, whom we fondly called Nyorita Saling, the biggest shareholder of the company, was so impressed with Papa's services that she offered him a key job as farm manager of their hacienda (more than one thousand hectares of raw agricultural property) located in a very remote and sleepy town of San Isidro, Leyte. The offer was so tempting since the compensation