THE TRUTH ABOUT MAY 1,1898

To the Seeker of the Right
Dr. Norberto L. Mercado, MNSA, Sigma Rho '73
President, Philippine-American Writers Society 


THE TRUTH ABOUT MAY 1,1898 :  WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO THE PHILIPPINES IF THE AMERICAN NAVY DIDN'T COME, OR IF IT LOST TO THE SPANISH ARMADA IN THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY ?

        (This article is a continuation of my previous article titled "THE TRUTH ABOUT JUNE 12,1898" which was published in this e-column . Dr. Norberto L. Mercado, MNSA,RC 21, Youngest Graduate in the History of  NDCP - the War College of the Philippines) .

       I had a very pleasant evening  conversation with my Sigma Rho brod JP Quimpo recently, and among our topics was the coming of the American navy to the Philippines on May 1,1898.

       We had dinner at KFC in UP-Ayala Techno Hub, and then a cup of brewed coffee in a nearby Starbucks. And after we  discussed myriads of issues about the constructive and  positive effects of the Sigma Rho Alumni  countrywide unification, JP and I found ourselves discussing Philippine history when I thanked him for re-posting my article "THE TRUTH ABOUT JUNE 12,1898" to the FACEBOOK Account of the Sigma Rho ( non-Diliman/Manila account ) .

       JP asked this question : "What if the Americans didn't come ?"

       It's an intriguing question. What if the American navy under Admiral George Dewey didn't come to the Philippines and fought the Spanish Armada in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1,1898 ? Or if Dewey's battleships lost to the Spanish navy ?

       From the coming of the  Spanish Conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi to the coming of American Navy Admiral George Dewey was a span of three centuries and more than three decades. The Philippines, described by Dr. Jose "Rizal" Mercado ,who was a nephew of my great grandfather,  as the "Pearl of the Orient Seas", was a prized Spanish possession.

       Spain would not give  up the Philippines  to the Filipino revolutionaries led by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. The Spanish crown would give it up only to a superior conqueror, and that is the United States.

       To prove my point, I will cite to you two clear historical incidents : 

       1. IN REALITY , THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES  WON OVER THE FILIPINO REBELS UNDER GEN. EMILIO AGUINALDO IN " THE 1896 PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION" .

        Again, the "nationalist whatevers" will bamboozle me for this statement . But this is the truth . Between Spain and the Philippines, I will choose the Philippines anytime because it is my homeland . But between falsehood and the truth, I will choose the truth anytime. 

        What really happened? Simple. Through Pedro Paterno, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo agreed to surrender his forces, including their firearms, for a relatively huge amount of  eight hundred thousand (800,000) Mexican pesetas in the "Treaty of Biak-na-Bato" . The amount would be paid in three installments by the Spanish government in Manila.

         In short, and sad to say it , the Filipino rebel leaders under Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo  sold their revolution !  This is a hard statement, but it is the truth, and the truth hurts . 

        It is also stipulated in the said treaty that Gen. Aguinaldo and the Filipino  rebel leadership would agree to be exiled  to a foreign land of their choice. Aguinaldo and his circle chose Hong Kong. His group would later be called the "Hong Kong Junta" .  They were all under surveillance by the Spanish Consulate in Hong Kong on the first  day they arrived in that British colony. ( I  did business in Hong Kong for almost 10 years ). 

       What the "nationalist whatevers" were saying that the "Hong Kong Junta" would use the money for purchasing firearms was purely speculative. Granting for the sake of argument that such purchase of firearms  was Aguinaldo's intention . The Spanish Consulate in Hong Kong would have known such purchase thru its numerous agents that included "bellas hermosas" . 

      And the Spanish Crown could have asked its fellow European colonizer Great Britain to arrest and imprison the Hong Kong Junta for conspiring to overthrow Spain inside a British territory. That would have been treason by the "Hong Kong Junta" against their host - the English crown . Let us not forget that the Spanish royals and the English royals are blood relatives!

2. THE SPANISH CROWN ASKED THE HELP OF GERMANY AND FRANCE IN  ITS WAR AGAINST THE FILIPINO REVOLUTIONARIES . 

       The Spanish royals, the German royals, and the French royals are also related by blood through inter-marriages ! 

       This is the reason why Germany and France sent their battleships to Manila Bay - to block any enemy ship which would carry firearms to the Filipino revolutionaries . The German ships and French ships were all docked in Manila Bay when  Admiral Dewey's fleet destroyed all warships of the Spanish Armada in the Battle of Manila Bay ! 

      Why didn't the Germans and the French join the fray? Well, they knew the firepower  of the US battleships, and they didn't have the go signal from their respective governments to fight the United States. 


        And so, I  answered  my Sigma Rho brod JP Quimpo's question : "What if the Americans didn't come?" 

        I told him : " The Philippines would have remained a Spanish colony until the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in World War 2".

        And even if  Dewey's fleet came, but it lost to the Spanish Armada in Manila Bay, Spain would have continued its centuries-old  colonial rule - until the Japanese Imperial Army came in December 1941.

        By the way, there was no "Philippine Republic" during the ruthless Japanese rule. There was  the "JAPANESE GOVERNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES" . The PRESIDENT of the JAPANESE GOVERNMENT  IN THE PHILIPPINES is  Jose P. Laurel .He was a Japanese collaborator . There were other Japanese collaborators with Jose P. Laurel. He nearly died in an assassination attempt by the Filipino guerillas.

        My father, Aurelio Mercado Sr., was a guerilla officer during World War 2. My uncle, Gadong Lacierna , brother of my mother Francisca Lacierna of San Clemente, Tarlac, was a Bataan veteran and Death March survivor. Sick and emaciated, he decided to escape  in Pampanga  because the Japanese forces were bayonetting Filipino and American "death marchers" who were too sick to  walk.  Another brother of my mother, Quirino Lacierna, was a member of the Philippine Scouts . When Bataan fell, he joined the guerillas. Uncle Gadong later joined him.

        From them, my family members,  I learned love for my poor  country. This is the main  reason why I have remained in the Philippines until now.  That doesn't mean though that Filipinos who have migrated to the US don't love their country. I believe they do. 

        I love living with my family - my wife June, our children John Mark, Jerusalem Angela, and Joanne - in our homeland - the Philippines . 

       When my Heavenly Father  says that  my time and work on earth  is up, I want to die in my homeland, and not as an "economic exile"  in another country. 


                                                             Dr. Norberto L. Mercado 
                                                             Quezon City, Philippines
                                                             Posted on  June 26,2012

To the Seeker of the Right
by Dr. Norberto L. Mercado

THE TRUTH ABOUT JUNE 12,1898 : AGUINALDO'S DECLARATION OF PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE NOT POSSIBLE WITHOUT AMERICAN VICTORY OVER THE SPANISH NAVY IN MANILA BAY ON MAY 1, 1898


                                 "You can not cheat history." - Anonymous


History is my favorite subject. I topped all my history exams in  my elementary, high school, and  college years - Philippine history, Asian history, and world history.

I would have taken history as my first course in college if Ninoy Aquino Jr. was not my idol way back my high school years in Moncada,Tarlac. Ninoy was a journalist, and I wanted to be like him. And so, I took up Bachelor of Arts in Journalism in UP Diliman as my first course.

                                 **********************

In college, I heard the so-called "nationalist whatevers" claim that the Americans denied the Filipino revolutionaries, headed by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo , victory over the Spanish army.
To their version of Philippine history, the United States is the imperialist enemy which prevented what could have been the first successful Philippine revolution against Spain.

Were  those "nationalist whatevers" saying  the truth? Or were they spinning falsehood?

I love my country, the Philippines. My grandfather Francisco Lacierna was an officer in the army of  Gen. Makabulos in Tarlac during the 1896 revolution against Spain. My father, Aurelio Mercado Sr., was a guerilla officer  during  the Japanese period. (There was no Philippine government in the Philippines during that dark period; only a Japanese government manned by Filipino collaborators). My uncle Gadong Lacierna was a USAFFE. He fought in Bataan. He joined the Death March, but was able to escape in Mabalacat, Pampanga. He joined the guerillas with his younger brother, Uncle Quirino, who was a member of the Philippine Scouts. From their examples of sacrifice, I learned by heart love of country from my youth.

I should have left the Philippines for the United States  with my wife, Architect June Morales-Mercado, and our children 30 years ago.  But we opted to stay in our beloved land, and contributed the little I could to protect its freedom and enhance its security. I have no regrets. And if we were to start all over again, we would do the same thing.

                                    *********************

Between the Philippines and the US, I will choose the Philippines anytime. But between falsehood and the truth, I will choose truth anytime.

What are the truths which I want to share with you in this article which I'm writing this day, June 2,2012, or 10 days before our June 12 Philippine Independence Day celebrations?

A. NO PHILIPPINE REBELLION AGAINST THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES EVER SUCCEEDED.
The lesson from our history : no bloody revolution will ever succeed in our 7,100 islands.  CPP-NPA-NDF chief and communist dictator Jose Ma. Sison  should have seriously pondered on this truth before he started his Mao-Pol Pot-type of  revolution which has claimed more than 60,000 lives of Filipino men, women, and children, most of whom belong to the poorest of the poor. There were 25,000 NPAs in 1988, and Joma was saying that his communist revolution had already reached the "strategic stalemate" stage. Today, there are less than 4,000 NPAs, and Joma is back to the strategic defensive stage after 45 years of fighting ! He will not succeed in his desire to be a Kim Il Sung, Mao, or Fidel Castro even if he has to fight for 100 years . History is not on Joma's side, which is good for the country.  All Filipino revolutions against Spain failed, mainly because of the archipelagic nature of the Philippines . This  makes it hard for the leaders of a bloody revolution to unite the people who speak different dialects and have prejudices against one another ( Cebuanos and Tagalogs, Ilokanos and Kapampangans,Ilonggos and Muslims, etc.). The Sumuroy rebellion, the Tamblot rebellion, the Dagohoy rebellion, the Diego and Gabriela Silang rebellion, the Palaris rebellion, and scores of rebellions against Spain all failed, including the 1896 Philippine revolution. Filipino historians, like Teodoro Agoncillo, have been shy in explaining  to  Filipino students  that our 1896 revolutionaries sold their revolution at Biak Na Bato  for a relatively huge amount  when they signed the "Pact of Biak Na Bato" and allowed themselves to be exiled by the Spanish government in the Philippines  to Hong Kong! Those revolutionary leaders were later lumped as the "Hong Kong Junta". They were under the constant surveillance of the Spanish consulate in Hong Kong, with its agents who included "bella mujeres" who befriended the Hong Kong Junta members. The  "nationalists' claim that the "Hong Kong Junta" would use the money they received from the Spanish government to purchase firearms  to continue their revolution was  just a claim to justify their failure. And greed?

At any rate, even if , for the sake of argument, the " Hong Kong Junta " members led by Gen Aguinaldo wanted to use the  money they received from the Spanish government in the Philippines for the purchase of firearms, the Spanish government  (thru their agents in Hong Kong) would have known with speed  such purchase. Telegraph was already well-used during that time.  Spain would have asked the British government in Hong Kong to arrest the junta members and put all of them to jail !  Let us not forget that Spain and England were both European colonizers in Asia, and they were helping  each other maintain their colonies. Even if, for the sake of argument again, the junta was able to buy firearms and load these in a ship to the Philippines, that ship of firearms could have been blocked by the combined armada of Spain, Germany, and France. Yes!  Spain sought the help of Germany and France to maintain their prized Philippine colony. The German and French ships were docked at Manila Bay in 1898, ready to help their fellow European colonizer against the Filipino revolutionaries if the latter would continue with their revolution.

2. WITHOUT THE VICTORY OF THE AMERICAN NAVY OVER THE SPANISH ARMADA IN THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY ON MAY 1,1898, GEN. EMILIO AGUINALDO'S JUNE 12,1898 PROCLAMATION OF PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE IN KAWIT, CAVITE WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE.

     The "nationalist whatevers" will quarrel with me over this statement. But this is the truth!

     Let's look back to the year 1898, briefly mention  what happened, and analyze the implications of the events from May 1 to June 12, 1898.

     REMEMBER THESE THREE DATES:

     1. On May 1, 1898, the US Navy, led by the battleship Olympia, under the command of Admiral George Dewey, routed the Spanish armada in Manila Bay. All the Spanish ships were destroyed, and many Spanish navy officers and men were killed. The "BATTLE OF MANILA BAY" on May 1,1898 was not a "mock battle", as "nationalist whatevers" wish us to believe. The naval battle is a real, bloody battle between the American and Spanish warships. It was the bombardment of the Spanish ground troops in Manila by the American warships in Manila Bay which appeared to be the "mock battle", and this happened weeks after May 1,1898. After the defeat of the Spanish navy in Manila Bay, the Spanish government in the Philippines realized that the end was near. The Spanish Governor General  in the Philippines  was  negotiating with Dewey for an honorable transfer of power. And he didn't want more Spanish troops killed .  And so, the American bombardiers intentionally missed the Spanish troops holed in Intramuros and in Baclaran. That is the "mock battle".

        After the total destruction of the Spanish ships, Admiral Dewey knew that it was difficult to occupy Manila without ground troops. He wired Washington for reinforcements. At the same time, he sent the battleship McCullough,  which participated in routing the Spanish ships, to fetch Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and his junta in Hong Kong. Admiral Dewey needed the help of Aguinaldo in the  fight against the Spanish  ground troops in Manila and its environs.

         2. On May 19,1898, Gen. Aguinaldo arrived at Sangley Point, Cavite aboard the US battleship McCullough. The American naval officers who fetched him in Hong Kong brought him to the battleship Olympia, where Admiral George Dewey was. Aguinaldo was accorded full military honors and reception  due his rank . It was in that meeting with Admiral Dewey in the battleship Olympia where Dewey allegedly told Aguinaldo (according to Aguinaldo) that the US would help the Filipino revolutionaries expel the Spanish government in the Philippines, and the US would not occupy the Philippines. Dewey, however, claimed that whatever he told Aguinaldo about the US not occupying   the Philippines was a personal opinion, and not the official position of Washington D.C. Who was telling the truth? We may never know .

        3. On June 12,1898, or three weeks and three days after the Aguinaldo-Dewey meeting in the US battleship Olympia, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine independence in Kawit, Cavite. The rest is history.

        QUESTIONS  :

        1. If the American navy was defeated by the Spanish navy in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1,1898, was it possible for Admiral Dewey to send the battleship McCullough to Hong Kong and fetch Gen. Aguinaldo? The answer is NO.

        2. If Admiral Dewey did not send the battleship McCullogh to Hong Kong to fetch Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, was it possible for the Filipino revolutionary leader to come back to Sangley Point in Cavite on May 19,1898? The answer is NO.

        3. If Aguinaldo was not in the Philippines beginning May 19,1898 ( and was still in Hong Kong ) , was it possible for him to be physically present in Kawit, Cavite on June 12,1898 to proclaim the independence of the Philippines? The answer is NO.

         4. And if he was not in the Philippines in 1898 (and was still in Hong Kong), was it possible for him to lead his troops against the Spaniards who were trapped in Intramuros? The answer is NO.

        HISTORY TEACHES US, therefore, that without the American navy battleship McCullogh, which participated in destroying the Spanish ships in the "Battle of Manila Bay", fetching Aguinaldo in Hong Kong, there would have been no June 12,1898 proclamation of Philippine independence in Kawit, Cavite by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo.

        Did the US government want to colonize the Philippines beginning the year 1898, and so it sent Admiral Dewey and his battleships to Manila Bay on May 1,1898? The answer is YES. American agents posing as traders were already in Manila and Cebu City in the 1850s.  The Philippines is strategically located in Southeast Asia. The US needs it to its expand its military, political, economic, and cultural power in Asia and the Middle East. Without its  influence and power in the Asia-Pacific, the United States will just be a regional power like China, and not the only superpower it is today. Any claim that China has attained "superpower" status does not know what he is talking about. It will take decades, if ever, before China can equal or surpass the military technology, capability, and influence of the US in the four continents of the world. That's the truth.

        Someone said : " You  can not  cheat history". Former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos used to say, "No one can cheat history".  That's the truth which history teaches us.


DR. NORBERTO L. MERCADO, UP SIGMA RHO '73, is a National Security analyst, and the youngest graduate in the history of the National Defense College of the Philippines, the only war college of this country. He is also the 
Founder-President, DR. NORBERTO MERCADO GLOBAL iTV  NETWORK, now with 36 global channels and growing, and the largest iTV Network in the Asia-Pacific Region !
He has authored 25 books, and one of the few ASEAN citizens who has visited all ASEAN countries.

Comment Using Facebook

News From Cambodia

Dear June, family, and friends:

      I have just arrived in Siem Reap on my way to Poi Pet,Cambodia,  and then to Aranyaphratet, Thailand..

      I rented a bicycle this afternoon, and went biking around the city. Bike rental is only US$1 for half a day.  It's cheaper than riding a "tuk tuk". Tuk tuk drivers charge you US$2 per trip on short distance, and more on long distance, say more than 5-kms.

      But if you know how to bike around, then you save a lot as you see the scenic and historical spots.

      I biked to the house of King Norodom Sihanouk. He has a mansion in front of the plaza. Hotels are plenty here, including new and grand ones. I biked to the Royal Angkor Hotel which I visited in 2008.

       Angkor Wat is not far away from where I am. But it is closed at night. It opens from 9 AM t6o 5 PM. I don't think I can go there tomorrow because the bus which would take us to Poipet, a city border to Aranyaphratet, Thailand, will leave at 8 AM. Anyway, I visited Angkor Wat twice in the past, once with my wife in 2006, and then with my old friend Romy Lapuz in 2009. If I stay here for another day, I may have very little time in Burma, and that's my destination now because I have never been there yet.

       I want to write a novel about my trip to Burma.

       On my way to Siem Reap from Pnom Penh  in a bus, I had a sitmate named Mok Phealey, a Cambodian. We had a talk about the time when Pol Pot ruled Cambodia. He told me that he was born in 1979, the last year of the communist rule (Khmer Rouge). He said they lost his elder sister during the rule of the Khmer Rouge due to starvation and sickness.

        "My parents related to me how she died. She was starving to death, together with all of us. Then, she got sick, and she died," he said.

         They were three siblings - two girls and him. He is the youngest.

         " I and my other sister almost died,too, because we had little to eat, just the pooridge given by the Khmer Rouge. How my parents manage to keep us alive was a miracle. If  the Khmer Rouge soldiers caught anybody eating what they did not supply, the person is immediately put to death. It is their rule that nobody should eat what they did not give,"he said.

           I asked him : "You mean if someone was caught climbing a mango tree for the fruit, and he ate the fruit, he would be killed?"

           "Yes," he replied.

           "Why?" I asked.

           "Because to the Khmer Rouge (Red Khmers)  everything is theirs. If you eat even the grass of the field or the leaves of the tree and they caught you eating, they would execute you at once because you broke their rule and you stole the grass which is theirs," he replied.

           "The Khmer Rouse also issued just one uniform to everyone - black uniform. Nobody was allowed to wear clothes which were not issued by the Khmer Rouse. Anyone who dared too do  so would be killed at once," he said.

           Last 2010 when I was in Takeo, Cambodia, I was able to interview the wife of a pastor - Mrs. Routh Ratha. She told me this story:

           " I was only six years old when the communists took power in Cambodia in 1975. All children were given work. The work the Khmer Rouge gave to all children was to pick up all the dungs of the workers in the fields. There were 12 children in each team - 6 boys and 6 girls. All the boys in our team died, and three girls died. Only three of us survived. One is living in Takeo until now. The other girl married an American when she grew up, and they are living in the US today. We would scoop dung from the fields and forests where thousands of forced laborers defecated. We started  working at 6 AM after breakfast. The Khmer Rouge soldiers were very young. They would wake us up at 5 AM, and have breakfast. Then, we started gathering dung until 12 PM, rest for lunch, and gathered dung again at 1:00 PM until 6 PM. Then we rest and sleep early because we would wake up at 5 AM and do the same thing every day, non stop."

         "What did you do with the human dungs you gathered (tae ng mga tao),"? I asked her..

          The Khmer Rouge told us to mix the human dungs with the pooridge (lugaw,in Tagalog) which the workers assigned to cook were cooking. They asked us to taste the pooridge because the Khmer Rouge did not want to taste the pooridge with human dung. The cooks would give the pooridge as food to the thousands of workers," she explained.

          "There was little food to eat. So, we would secretly eat leaves and grass. Anyone caught by the Khmer Rouge eating leaves and grass or any fruit would be killed," she said.

           From 1975 to 1979,)when the Khmer Rouge( i.e. Red Khmers of communist Khmers) ruled Cambodia, three million (3,000,000) Cambodians, died out of the total population of 7-million in April 1975 when they took over.. They died of bullets, bayonets, starvation, diseases and epidemics, snake bites  and other causes.

          "There is hardly a family that did not have a dead member, except the families of the communist leaders because they had plenty of food  and medicine," Mok Phealey, my sitmate in the bus to Siem Reap, told me., SO, IN ACTUAL PRACTICE, THE PARTY LEADERS AND THEIR FAMILIES ARE MORE EQUAL THAN THE REST OF THE POPULATION IN A COMMUNIST COUNTRY.


Thursday, March 15, 2012 10:44 PM

Comment Using Facebook

Letter from Takeo, Cambodia

TO THE ONE WHO CONQUERS 

by DR. Norberto L. Mercado 

Wednesday, December 1, 2010 12:02 AM 

Letter from Takeo, Cambodia: A Cambodian Lady Pastor Told Me Her Story As A Child During the Rule of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge

Thank you for praying for me in my trips. Lots of adventures
happened.

But God saw me through all of these.

I'm here in the Takeo province, Kingdom of Cambodia .

It is educational and fruitful to immerse one's self with the people in the countrysides.

They have simple lives.

This afternoon, we had a fellowship beside a lake here in Takeo. This is the province where the murderous KHMER ROUGE (Khmer reds or communists) began their movement.

Not far from the place where we had fellowship near the lake is the mansion of Tamuk, built by forced labor in 1975-1976, upon the victory of the Khmer Rouge when they ousted Lon Nol from power.

Tamuk was the right-hand of Pol Pot. He controlled the army in five provinces, including Takeo, and shared power over the army in all provinces. He died in 2007 at the age of 70. He was the most murderous, most ruthless, among Pol Pot's lieutenants.

This afternoon, I interviewed a woman here in Takeo who is now a lady pastor. I want to write her story in a book. She is married to a pastor, and they have three children (all boys) . One died in a car accident .

She was born in 1970, and was around six(6) years old when the Khmer Rouge of Pol Pot came to power. She was about ten (10) years old when the Khmer Rouge were ousted by the Vietnamese Army.

Her story is funny and horrifying at the same time.

She told me that all the children in her village, and she was one of them, were assigned by the Khmer Rouge to gather human dung everyday.

The Khmer Rouge soldiers would wake them up at 4:00 AM, sometimes 3:00 AM, DAILY.

THE CHILDREN WERE GROUPED INTO 12 MEMBERS EACH GROUP - 6 GIRLS and 6 BOYS. Their assignment by the order of the Khmer Rouge : To gather human dung up to 12:00 PM, have lunch, and then gather dung again from 1 PM to 6 PM. Dinner would be at 7 PM.

They would do this everyday, from Monday to Sunday, week after week, month after month, year after year during the rule of the Khmer communists(Khmer Rouge) under Pol Pot, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Non Chea, Tamuk and all the other communist murderers.

And you know what the Khmer communists did to the human dung those children gathered everyday?

They ordered the children to mix them with the food the people were erating everyday! Human dung became an added food for the people because there was less food to eat !!!

So, in every meal that the people in their village in Takeo ate, human dung was added!!!

The lady pastor (who was a child then) was one of those assigned to taste the food. She said the Khmer Rouge would not want to taste it.

Many of the children who gathered human dung day after day died.

In her group of 12 , 9 died - 6 boys and 3 girls. Only three (3) survived. She was one of the three. Two of them are in Cambodia. One is in the US - she married an American when she grew up.

She said that if the children would cry, the communist would tie their hands to the back, and kill them.

"Ï didn't cry,"she told me.

The children were separated from their families. They were allowed to join their parents only for one hour, once a week.

Then, the Khmer Rouge expected them to return to duty and work. Otherwise, they would be taken from their parents and killed.

She said that hunger was so bad they would eat leaves of trees, and grasses - anything they could eat. But they would eat only as a group - not alone.

Anyone caught by the Khmer Rouge soldiers eating leaves or grass all by himself or herself was killed for disobeying the order of the communists.

Out of seven million Cambodians, the lady pastor told me that more than three(3) million died during the rule of the Khmer communists. Not two million as reported in the past. They died of execution by bullets and sickles, famines, sicknesses such as cholera,malaria, and diarrhea, and simply exhaustion from daily farm - communal work.

She said that the Khmer Rouge soldiers were so young - mostly only young boys and teen-agers. They all wore black uniforms.

You know, if I stay long here in Cambodia, I could write more books and novels out of the people I am interviewing.

I'll be back to the Philippines via Saigon on Friday.

Hugs,

Norbert

Comment Using Facebook

God Can Give Us The Serenity To Accept The Things We Cannot Change

Our basketball team, the AMWAY BLUE BEES A calls him "Awee". He lives in a squatter area in Quezon City, and he loves basketball. He is the captain ball of our team, and I'm the coach.

He is young, fast, agile, and full of hopes. He is the highest pointer in all our eight games; we won seven (7), and lost one (1). He dreamt of becoming the "Most Valuable Player(MVP)" in the Third Conference of the Sunday Basketball Association(SBA) Philippines, Col. Norberto L. Mercado MNSA Cup (See SBA CHANNEL - www.youtube.com/sbaitv)

The AMWAY BLUE BEES A team ranked second in the "Round Robin Games". The GSG Builders ranked first (undefeated, 8-0).

Eight (8) of the 10 teams would enter the semi-final games last December 4, and they were pitted by drawing game lots. That means whichever two teams would pick up the "Game 1" rolled sheets of paper would play "Game 1", and so on and so forth. The AMWAY BLUE BEES picked up "Game 3". The other lower-ranking teams ( from third to eighth-ranking teams) got "Game 2" and "Game 3".

The first in the Round Robin Games ( GSG Builders) got "Game 3". This meant our team would play against GSG Builders last Dec. 4.

We did, and we lost. We were eliminated from the "SUPER 4" teams which would vie for the TOP 4 positions on December 4 and 11,2011. (My other team, AMWAY BLUE BEES B, won against RED TIERRA. I'm their playing coach).

Our team's defeat means the death of Awee's dream of becoming the MVP of the Sunday Basketball Association(SBA) Philippines for the year 2011.


DREAMS CAN DIE

Each one of us has a dream.
Some of us have small dreams, some have grand ones.

Awee, the young man from the slum area, just want to be the 2011 MVP in the SBA Third Conference. Basketball is his sport, and succeeding in it means a lot to him.

Other people have bigger dreams - becoming mayor, congressman, governor, senator, even president of the Philippines.

Still others want to be successful businessmen, actors, actresses, lawyers, doctors,Supreme Court justices, world champions in boxing, soccer, basketball, and other sports.

While some do succeed in their dreams, many others fail.

Victory or defeat, success or failure, glory or shame can come to any man - rich and poor alike.

This is the irony and reality of life.

Take President Noynoy Aquino as an example. He won the highest office of the land, which is a big honor indeed. But to his chagrin, while in his second year in office, he and his family lost Hacienda Luisita.

Or Senator Manny Villar. With more than P1-billion in his campaign "war chest", bigger than any campaign fund of any 2010 presidential candidate, he dreamt of becoming the next president of the Philippines after Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, only to land a poor third to Joseph Estrada.

Aquino got 15,208,678 (42.08% of the total votes cast). I am one of those who campaigned and voted for Noynoy Aquino for President. Estrada had 9,487,837 votes(26,25%), while Villar only got 5,573,835 (15.42%). The other presidential candidates - Teodoro,Villanueva,Gordon,delos Reyes, Madrigal, Perlas, and the COMELEC -"disqualified, then qualified, then disqualified" Vetallano Acosta - got the remaining votes.

If DOJ Sec. Leila de Lima will look at these figures and be honest to herself, she will have to conclude that her boss does not really have the " majority " of the registered Filipino votes, but just the "plurality" ( 42.08% of the total votes cast in 2010).

On the other hand, when the 1987 Philippine Constitution (also called the "Cory Constitution") was presented to the Filipino people for ratification, if my memory does not fail me, it was overwhelmingly voted for by eighty seven (87%) of the Filipino voters at that time.

Now, this is the highest law of the land which defines the kind of government this republic should have - a government of three equal branches (executive, legislative, and judicial).

The 1987 Philippine Constitution declares that the President and the Vice-President of the Philippines (executive), and the members of the Philippine Senate and Congress (legislative) should be directly elected by the Filipino voters.

On the other hand, the members of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice, must be appointed by the President of the Philippines .

This is what the "majority of the Filipino people want", as enshrined in the highest law which they approved. They don't want the SC Chief Justice and the Associate Justices to be directly elected by the people, but to be appointed by the President of the Philippines whom they elected. This is the will of "the majority".
This is the "majority of the people" that want the Supreme Court to be the ultimate interpreter and arbiter of the laws of the land, the legislative branch to be the crafter of the law, and the executive branch to be the implementor of the law. This is the "will of the majority", so that there will be order and unity in running the government.

While CJ Renato Corona is considered a "midnight appointee" by GMA, the validity and efficacy of his appointment was already resolved and approved by the august body.

The 1987 Philippine Constitution was overwhelmingly approved by 87 % of the total number of Filipino voters ( a truly majority vote), while President Noynoy Aquino only got 42.08 %
of the total votes cast (plurality vote).

This fact really shows where the love, respect, and sympathy of "the majority" of the Filipino people - in the Philippine Constitution.

Any persona or group, therefore, that says it wants to serve and follow the will of the majority of the Filipino people should work within, and must respect and follow the Philippine Constitution.


PRESIDENT AQUINO'S DREAM

President Benigno Aquino III has a noble dream - to uplift the welfare of the majority of the Filipino people who have been suffering from economic malaise and other manifestations of social injustice. It is a dream which we should all fully support, whatever political fence we belong to if we are true to our claim that we are serving the interest and will of the majority of our people.

But P-Noy, in the pursuit of this dream, should work within the parameters of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. He should reject the temptation of a short-cut, no matter how resplendent the short-cut is.

The militants in congress and on the street who claim that they are serving the majority of our people, should obey and respect the Philippine Constitution, everything which states and not just a paragraph or two. They should help President Aquino improve the lives of our people instead of shouting the perennial "isms" which they don't even fully comprehend.

President Aquino needs and deserves our support - the support of the "plurality" that voted him into office, and the "majority" that overwhelmingly approved the 1987 Philippine Constitution. If P-Noy fails in his dream, though I hope he will not, then that's the reality of life. He has a successor in 2016 , as the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides, who will continue the unfinished job of lifting the lives of our countrymen. I hope that P-Noy, in his anger and frustration over what has been happening to his programs of government, will pray the prayer of the Rev. Reinhold Niehbur in Nazi-occupied Germany during the Second World War:

"Lord, give me the serenity to accept the things
I can not change, the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know their difference."

We Filipinos will continue to dream.
Those of us who believe in the God of Israel, the real Creator and power of the universe, will continue to put our hope and faith in Him, even if the dream of one leader dies.

Today is today. Tomorrow is another day!

Comment Using Facebook

God is the same Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow!

Dear Doreen, Brethren, and Friends,

I'm here in Moncada, Tarlac, visiting my relatives. I spent the night here. I boarded a bus from Metro Manila last night, and I arrived here in Moncada at almost 10 PM, more than three hours trip.

From here, I'll take a bus to my hometwon, San Manuel, Tarlac, this morning, to visit the graves of my parents - Aureio and Francisca Mercado.The are both believers in Christ.

I preached Christ in the moving bus. My message is about the certainty of death for all men, due to sin. We will all die, I told the passengers, and that's the bad news.( Though people who are in Christ won't experience death when the rapture of the church takes place.) While physical death for all men is the bad news, the good news is that Christ our Lord came to earth, the God-incarnate, in the form of a baby, the baby Jesus, to save every man(and woman of course), who receives Him as his/her Saviour and Lord.

Before I got off the bus, I prayed the "Sinner's Prayer", and I asked those who wanted to repent from their sins and receive the Lord Jesus Christ to pray that prayer.

I don't know how any prayed. What's important is I gave the message, and an opportunity for them to receive Christ as their Saviour and Lord.

This is what I often do when I ride in buses to the provinces. I ask and encourage all believers to do the same - bus evangelism - wherever it is possible. Don't be shy or scared, but rely in the Lord to give you the boldness and peace.

The Lord told us that "he who is ashamed of Him and His Word", He will also be ashamed of him. And that's tough indeed!



In Christ,

Dr. Norbert Mercado

Monday, November 2, 2009 9:51 AM

Comment Using Facebook

ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF A FILIPINO TOURIST IN BANGKOK,THAILAND

ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF A FILIPINO TOURIST IN BANGKOK,THAILAND

(With apology to Alexander Solzhenitsyn)

Tuesday, November 14, 2006 1:15 AM

 

 

 

           I woke up at around 9 AM today due to tiredness and lack of sleep. I usually sleep at past 12:00 in the morning, and its not a good habit.  Last night(or this morning), I slept at 3:00 AM.

 

                                  ****************************************

 

           I thought I was in the Philippines. A score of  seconds after I opened my eyes, I realized that I am in Bangkok,Thailand. I'm staying in Pluem Dee 32 Hotel at 271 Sutthisan Road,Phayathai,Bangkok.  It's a budget hotel. But the rooms are big, and they have individual toilet and bath, as well as big TV . 

 

                                  *****************************************

 

           My breakfast is very simple - Thai noodle.  It has fishballs,some meat, garlic,kangkong, and spices. No coffee. It was only later when I could take coffee at their MRT station.

 

                                  *****************************************

 

           Bangkok is expensive for tourists. But if you know what to do, where to eat, what to ride on, then you can possibly survive on a US$15 a day. If you don't, even US$100 a day is hardly enough.

           My daily budget in this 17-day trip is US$15. Oftentimes, I overshoot my budget.

          

                                  ****************************************

 

           If you ask me which city is more expensive, Kota Kinabalu or Bangkok, my answer is it depends.

           In Kota Kinabalu(Sabah), a budget hotel may cost you around US$6 per day. At least that's what I paid my hotel while I was there for three nights.So, you still have US$9 to spend, that is if you are on a $15-budget. But food is Kota Kinabalu is  generally more expensive than in Bangkok. A good lunch or dinner there will cost you US$4. So, if you take three meals a day on that average budget per meal, you consume US$12, plus other expenses like buying this and that, and your fares, then you will really overshoot your budget.

           In Bangkok, however, budget hotels are more expensive. My hotel room costs me US$10 per day. Food can be expensive or not, depending on what you eat.

            A Thai noodle can cost you from 20 baht(Thai currency) to 35 baht. Therefore, if you are really budget-oriented, a 100 baht a day is possible.

 

                          ************************************************

 

           Can a tourist live  in Bangkok  or in Kota Kinabalu on a US$100 per week budget? Yes, it's possible. Even in Kota Kinabalu. Pero sobrang tipid na yun!    Hotels can eat a big piece of your daily budget.

 

                            **********************************************

 

           Bangkok is generally clean. Cleaner than Metro Manila. Their tributary rivers have garbage, and some corners of the city which I saw have uncollected garbage. Still, it's generally cleaner than Sampaloc,Quiapo, Sta.Cruz or Binondo.

           The city,however, is polluted, just like the Espana or Quiapo area.It's not good for asthmatics to live here. In the countrysides of Singapore, yes it is.

 

                            *********************************************

 

           The best way to tour Bangkok with just a little expense is by bus.

           If you're here, just take any bus(remember the bus number), and it goes  through and around the city proper. The fare is just a minimum of 7 baht, or 10 pesos. In Manila, the minimum fare is P7.50.

           By bus, I toured Bangkok  today.  Buses here are numbered. They are either air-conditioned or not, just like in Manila.

           I went to Chulalongkorn University campus and met students there.

           Chulalongkorn University(CU) is the University of the Philippines of Thailand. The best minds of Thailand are educated at CU. Some children of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit studied in this school.

           The student population, both undergraduate and graduate students, is more than 32,000 .  Foreign students compose between 5 to 10 per cent of the whole student population.

 

             ***************************************************************

 

            A student accompanied me to their main library where I donated some of my books. The library staff entertained me, and thanked me for the donation.

            It is good to donate some copies of one's books to school libraries.

            I have donated my books in the main libraries of four  universities- Unibersidad du Macau(University of Macau), National University of Singapore, Chulalongkorn University(Thailand), and the University of the Philippines main library. . Each of these universities are considered number one school in the country where these are established.

 

                          *************************************************

 

            

           This evening, two funny things happened to me in Bangkok.

           First, I got lost. I had to ask Thais for direction. And they are helpful,generally speaking. Most of them are just like Filipinos.

           Second, I got "severe punishment" in a Thai restaurant for ordering authentic Thai food.

            The foods are either very hot or very salty. Hindi ko natapos yung dinner ko.(I didn't finish my dinner).  Ang anghang!!! (Too hot!)Para akong nasa final initiation ng Sigma Rho - noong neophytes pa kami. Pinakain kami ng katakot-takot na siling labuyo!

             I was charged 200 baht for the unconsumed food.

             Before I left, the Thai waitress came to me, and with a smile she said,"Come again, okay?" And she meant what she said.

             But I have decided not to eat there again even if the food is given to me for free!!! Ito ang pinetensiya!

Comment Using Facebook

WHO MOVED THE STONE?

 by Dr. Norberto L. Mercado

            Today is Palm Sunday. It is the "first day" of the Lenten Season.

            Today, we commemorate the entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, on a lowly donkey, not on a conqueror's white horse.

            But when He will come again, He won't ride on a donkey anymore. He will ride on the most powerful white horse (Rev. 19).

           

            LIFE AFTER THE PRESENT LIFE

            I am deeply convinced that of all the religious leaders who walked the face of this earth, Jesus Christ is the most unique of them all.

            Buddha, Mohammed, Marx (Marxism is a religion - the worship of human leaders), and all religious leaders died and their bodies decayed.

            But Jesus was buried after He was crucified by the Roman soldiers, and He rose again on the third day (Sunday). He was crucified on a Friday.

            And after He rose again and showed Himself to more than 500 witnesses, the Bible declares that Jesus ascended into Heaven. 

            He showed us that there is life after this present life!

            THE ENEMIES OF JESUS KNEW THAT THE MESSIAH WOULD RISE ON THE THIRD DAY AFTER HE WAS KILLED

      

            The Old Testament books prophesied that the coming Messiah would be killed, but He would rise again on the third day.

            The Pharisees (the enemies of Jesus) knew this prophecy because they all studied the Old Testament.

            So, when Nicodemus asked Pontius Pilate permission to bury Jesus' body in his (Nicodemus') tomb, a request which was granted, the High Priest of the Pharisees, Caiaphas, also went to Pontius Pilate afterwards and asked the Roman Procurator of Judea to assign Roman soldiers to guard the tomb.

            Why?

            Caiaphas told Pontius Pilate his fear that the disciples might steal the body of Jesus, and then they would  say that Jesus rose from the grave in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy.

            Therefore, the tomb must be guarded.

            Pontius Pilate granted the request of Caiaphas. He assigned an elite company of Roman soldiers - ready to kill and be killed - to guard the tomb.

            Nicodemus and his assistants hauled Jesus' body from the cross after sunset. This was on a Friday.

            Caiaphas should have gone to Pontius Pilate immediately after.

            The following day was a Saturday, the Sabbath day of the Jews.

            It was the day of rest.

            THEN SUNDAY CAME

            Early Sunday, Mary Magdalene and her companions went to the tomb where Jesus was laid. 

            The tomb was open.  The large stone which shut it was moved.

            Who moved the stone?

            Why was the tomb empty?

            THE SUSPECTS:

            1. It  was probably Peter and the apostles who went to the tomb on Saturday night, or at dawn on Sunday and stole Jesus' body. But wait a minute.

How could Peter do this when he was so scared when Jesus was arrested that he denied Him three times before the cock crew? And the Four Gospels recorded that Peter himself run to the tomb when Mary Magdalene told him that the body of Jesus was missing. When he entered the tomb, indeed, Jesus' body was not there. So it could not be him who stole the body.

             2. If it was not Peter who led the apostles, it could be Thomas. But wait. When Jesus had already risen from the dead and He had shown Himself to several of His disciples, it was Thomas the Apostle who said, "Unless I see His pierced hands and His wounded body, I will not believe!"  So it could not be Thomas.

             3. Any of the apostles and disciples. But wait a minute. They were all scared to death and were hiding from the Roman soldiers and from the Pharisees.

             4. Mary Magdalene and the other women. But they themselves wondered who stole the body.

             5. Mary, the mother of Jesus. Or Mary and Martha. But wait a minute. Were they physically strong enough to overpower the fully armed Roman guards?

             6. What about the Roman soldiers who were assigned to guard the tomb? But wait a minute. Pilate ordered that the Roman Imperial seal be marked on his written order that the tomb be guarded by the Roman soldiers.  The soldiers knew what disobedience to authority meant  - death!  If they were remiss of their duty, and the apostles succeeded in stealing the body, they knew that they would all receive the death penalty for their disobedience. So it could not be the soldiers.

             5. What about Pontius Pilate or Caiaphas? But what will they do with the body of Jesus? They were not deranged men to do this. They were the enemies of Jesus!

             So, who moved the stone?  Who stole the body of Jesus?

             THE ROMAN SOLDIERS TESTIFIED BEFORE CAIAPHAS

             Right after the resurrection of Christ in the early moment of the third day after He was crucified, the Roman officer and his soldiers rushed to Caiaphas the High Priest and told  Him a scary but wonderful story -  Jesus rose to life!

             The Roman soldiers who were guarding the tomb told Caiaphas that there was an earthquake, and then an angel appeared. And then the tomb opened.

             The scared soldiers told Caiaphas that it was most likely the angel who moved the large stone and opened the tomb! And they all fell to the ground, scared to death at what was happening.  And they said that Jesus' body was gone!

             The soldiers were so scared even after the incident because they knew the penalty they will receive  -  death!

             It was the Roman soldiers who testified before Caiaphas : the body of Jesus was missing!  

             The Roman soldiers knew that what Caiaphas feared would happen came true :  
JESUS CHRIST IS RISEN!!!!

             Hallelujah!!!!!

             And because Jesus has risen, there is life after death!

             And our lives can have meaning!

             Hallelujah!!!!!

             Jesus Christ has conquered death!

             THE LORD IS RISEN!!!!

                                                   Written on Palm Sunday, 8-9 PM,April 1,2007

                                                   In an Internet Cafe at Tandang Sora, Quezon City

                                                   Philippines

Comment Using Facebook

DATELINE TRAT,THAILAND 3: OBSERVATIONS IN THAILAND

Most of the animals,plants,fish,flowers which are in the Philippines are also here in Thailand.

 

                                           +++

 

      There are a little differences. The chico here is elongated and has a yellowish color. Its sweet. They call it "lamut". "Lamut" in Ilocano means "food".

 

                                           +++

 

      There is lanzones here. A lot of pineapples. They have guavas here which are like green apples. There are bananas which are so big.

 

                                           +++

 

      They also have mudfish(dalag) and catfish(hito).  They have litson-manok. Their bagoong is different.  They have "patupat" ( an Ilocano  sweet ricecake wrapped with young palm leaves).

 

                                           +++

 

       There are fruits here which I don't see in the Philippines.  The  fruit which I call "snakefruit" because the peeling is scaled like the scales of the snake, is also found in Kota Kinabalu.

 

                                           +++

 

       Martial law in Thailand is generally accepted by the people because King Bhumibol Adulyadej has thrown his support to the "coup" makers.

 

                                           +++

 

        The king of Thailand has great influence over his people. The people think he is a good king.  His picture is printed in all paper money as well as some coins in Thailand.  If the king has not supported the coup, the coup makers would have self-exiled abroad like the past coup plotters.

 

                                           +++

 

         There are two major English newspapers here : The Nation and The Bangkok Post. I buy and read them.

 

                                           +++

 

         Yesterday, The Bangkok Post reported that ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra is in Hong Kong, seen shopping with his wife.  He joked that he is now unemployed.

 

                                           +++

 

          The operator of the tourist inn where I stayed in my first night here is a Thai lawyer who left her lawyering career  to operate a tourist inn. She has a daughter. Her husband is a border policeman.  She told me that she makes more money by operating the inn than by lawyering. She knows Imelda and the Marcoses by name, and compares them to Thaksin Shinawatra.  Of course, I told her two versions about the ill-gotten wealth. And I said that I don't know which one to believe as of now.

 

                                           +++

 

           The Lord  Jesus said :"Judge not lest you be judged...But if you judge, judge righteously."(The Lord meant here that if you are a judge(in court), then judge righteously, i.e. after all the facts are presented).

 

                                           +++

 

            Thais in the South are more Malay and Indonesian in features. Thais in the North(near China), and in near Cambodia are more Chinese in features.

 

                                          +++

 

            Trat, Thailand used to be under the French during their time as colonizers of French Indochina. French Indochina has disintegrated to three countries : Cambodia,Vietnam,and Laos. Plus Trat which is now a part of Thailand.

 

                          

 

                                       

 

                                            Trat, Nov. 16,11:30 PM