Rogue Generals: A Different Post-EDSA Uno Philippines TL

The drug war might be a lot worse under Chaparro in this case, since after the Zapatistas, he might also launch an actual shooting war against the drug lords. IOTL, Felipe Calderon had to rely on the Mexican military to wage war against the cartels. ITTL, we might see something similar to this, although Chaparro might feel frustrated if his American friends might try to make deals with the cartels for some unknown amount of profits made from the sales of narcotics for some other shady job. I could also see FARC being split between those who guard the cocaine fields and those who are more aligned with the Venezuelan hybrid love child of Salah Jadid and Saddam Hussein in Ramon Rodriguez Chacin.

And this might also complicate matters in terms of the narcotics trade in the Philippines as well, because the Tadiar regime, as we have already seen, have formed alliances with various crime groups. I wouldn't put it past Tadiar to gain an alliance with the Mexican and Colombian drug cartels if it meant that he could get some of the profits from the narcotics to buy more military hardware. Narcotics for weapons in place of oil for food.

I will cover more on Tadiar's alliance with Mexican and even Colombian drug cartels in the next update, as well as Tadiar's backing of the exiled Burmese officers who wanted to regain their power.

Anyways, here's the next update:

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Chapter Sixty-Seven: A Sunset of Discontent

"Dear General Tadiar:

You may not know who I am, but I have known of your reputation. We have watched as you fought a war against the communist Chinese dictatorship and have almost risked your life to defend our country from Chinese tyranny. Yet, in your anger at the United States for refusing to help you in times of need, you turned to the country that had once invaded and occupied our nation. Your open door invitation to all the Japanese citizens to come and settle in the Philippines after many of our compatriots have died during the Chinese bombing has opened up old wounds that refused to heal. By doing so, you have also disrespected the memories of the many women who were forced to work as comfort women in brothels run by the Imperial Japanese military. In addition, your policies have resulted in Davao regaining its Japanese population to levels not seen since 1941, and our grandchildren and future grandchildren will eventually learn the kind of history that would have been approved during the war, and not today. On top of that, you had the nerve to invite a former Japanese Army officer who caused much grief to the citizens of Lubang Island to purchase land for whatever he wanted to do. Do you not have any shame in your heart for such actions, General Tadiar? It appears that your flirtation with the Japanese government is out of spite to America and out of intense racist behavior towards China, and your attempts to forcefully expel the Filipino-Chinese minority was thankfully stopped, because that potential crime would have condemned our nation beyond redemption. In your ideal world, I would have been sent to a labor camp, or killed like an unwanted dog, for I have fought alongside the Hukbalahap.

General Tadiar, I am writing this letter to beseech you to think of your actions. Your open alliance with Japan has resulted in many of our people protesting against your government, and one could often hear your name and Jose P. Laurel in the same sentence. You have also been accused of being a closet Makapili, mainly because of several major changes that you have imposed on the Philippines: namely, the adoption of an anthem that sounded similar to the one used during the occupation, and the introduction of fascist elements into our nation. We have already suffered from the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, which is known for its kleptocracy. Why should we suffer from a military dictatorship led by you, when the rest of the world has moved on from the dangers of the Cold War? Will you continue to disrespect the survivors of the Japanese occupation by your continued alliance with them? Will you also continue to ignore the suffering of many comfort women who were forced to act as sex slaves to Japanese soldiers? Not only will we fight against your regime, but we will also fight to receive a formal apology from the Japanese government for its wartime actions.



Yours Truly,

'Lola Rosa' "


(Above: Rosa Henson, also known as 'Lola Rosa')

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MANILA WRACKED BY ANTI-JAPANESE PROTESTS AS TADIAR REGIME PURSUES CLOSER DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH JAPAN
Manila Times
March 12, 1999


(Manila) - For the third straight day in a row, the Philippines has been wracked by a series of anti-Japanese protests, which was often connected with the larger anti-regime demonstrations aimed at the Tadiar government. The protests were sparked by an open letter signed by a relatively new group calling itself the "Comfort Station Survivors Alliance", led by Rosa Henson, who also goes by the name 'Lola Rosa', which revealed their former status as sex slaves kidnapped and raped by Japanese soldiers during the occupation of the Philippines by Japan in WWII. The nationalistic nature of the anti-Japanese protests became more evident by the demonstrators' refusal to sing the newly adopted anthem of the Tadiar government, and their preference for the previous anthem, 'Lupang Hinirang'. Although the Philippines has recently celebrated its 100 year centennial independence with parades, and speeches by various members of the Tadiar government, last year's protests were caused by the difficulties that the Philippines faced with its post-conflict reconstruction, in light of China's attempt at an amphibious invasion, before US forces patrolling the East China Sea had fired a warning shot, which was aimed at deterring China from invading the Philippines.

"Although we have successfully celebrated our independence, the threat from Communist China is an indication that we must remain on guard in case the communist hordes come back to finish us off," says General Tadiar during the centennial speech. "We face opposition on all sides, both external and internal, and our armed forces is the only one that is capable of fighting these threats."

However, General Tadiar's planned meeting with Japanese government officials might have to be rescheduled to later on this year, in light of the open letter published by Lola Rosa. Moreover, it is not only the comfort women survivors who are calling for General Tadiar's resignation. A group of former drag queens who were also raped by Japanese soldiers were also calling for Tadiar's resignation, with known comfort gay survivor Walterina Markova (real name: Walter Dempster Jr.) taking the lead in the anti-regime demonstrations.

"Artemio Tadiar may or may not have been a friend of the LGBT community, but his open alliance with Japan is not only a sign of disrespect to our suffering during the war, but he has also spat on the graves of Filipino soldiers who fought in defense of their country against the Japanese Army," shouts Markova during a rally in Dasmarinas, while addressing other LGBT activists who came out in force. "If we do not make a stand, there may never be a chance for us to launch an uprising against the Tadiar regime!"

The official stance of the Japanese government regarding its wartime activities was that of denial, mixed in with its own justifications. However, other comfort women survivors from other parts of Asia that were occupied by Japan are also calling for the Japanese government to apologize for its actions, with many women from South Korea and China leading the charge. In addition, the Tadiar regime's pursuit of its closer relations with Japan had also angered its other important ally in East Asia. The South Korean government had issued a harsh criticism of the Tadiar regime's decision to open its doors to Japanese immigration into the country, in what South Korea's President Lee Hoi-Chang had called 'the road to the resurgence of the Japanese Empire'.

"General Artemio Tadiar is creating a situation that is similar to the late stages of the Joseon Dynasty, where he has invited the Japanese to help rebuild his country. By doing so, he has also openly invited many Japanese to come and settle in the Philippines, bypassing all legal procedures needed to be met. Make no mistake about this," comments President Lee, during a briefing in the South Korean Blue House. "We need to counterbalance the Japanese influence in the Philippines with a stronger policy of diplomatic cooperation between our two countries, and by pursuing a similar open door policy, we can help stave off Japanese presence in the Philippines."

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LEE HOI-CHANG WINS SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ON A PLATFORM OF CONTINUED CONFRONTATION WITH NORTH KOREAN DICTATORSHIP
Sydney Herald
December 19, 1997


President-elect Lee Hoi-chang addresses his supporters after his party won the 1997 South Korean election.

(Seoul) - In what is seen as the most shocking election in modern South Korea's history, Kim Dae-jung, who was favored to win the Presidency, had suddenly lost to his electoral rival in Lee Hoi-chang. Lee, who campaigned on a stronger response to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis that originated in the Philippines, as a result of the dramatic hyperinflation that the Philippine peso had suffered, had won the election with a 40.2% vote, compared to Kim's 36.8% vote. Moreover, Lee had criticized Kim's proposed Sunshine Policy, which called for the political detente with the North Korean dictatorship based in Pyongyang, and had advocated for the recognition of the Vladivostok-based Provisional Government for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as the transition government that will help peave the way to Korean reunification. In addition, Lee became a staunch critic of the Philippine dictatorship led by Artemio Tadiar, and his open alliance with Japan, given the Japanese government's denial of its wrongdoing during the war.

"Anyone who wanted to talk about a détente with a dictatorship that is responsible for many of our suffering is a complete idiot," says Lee in front of his supporters during his victory speech. "As your elected President, I will continue the policy of hostile confrontation with the communist bastards in Pyongyang until all of Korea is reunified, from Mount Paektu to Busan!"

Although it isn't clear as to how Lee Hoi-chang had won the election this year, numerous rumors pointed at the role that Breitbart Consulting Ltd., led by Steve Bannon, had played in managing Lee's presidential campaign. Moreover, the mere mention of Breitbart has also garnered a furious reaction from within the South Korean public when it was revealed that Bannon and Paul Manafort were also managing several campaigns made by Japanese politicians, leading to the two men being accused of harboring pro-Japanese sympathies. However, supporters of President-elect Lee had dismissed the accusations by its opponents, calling it 'false accusations'. Various South Korean celebrities had also come out in support of both Lee, and Kim as well. In one of the rallies organized by the Grand National Party, a South Korean singer by the name of Park Jae-sang had started to sing various election songs that promoted the party.

"Father Lee, Father Lee, come and rebuild Korea once again. From Mount Paektu to Busan, Dokdo and the East Sea, Korea will be reunited once again!" sings Park during an election rally. "March for peace, stand united, for this is our national pride."

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"I seem to recall the time when Tommy (Tebow) and I saw three agents from the dreaded National Intelligence and Security Agency take a few of our classmates from the classroom and assumed the worst. Suddenly, one of the agents told our teacher to gather all of us and to report to the academy's soccer field, where the other agents had brought four adults that were bound. We did not realize the importance of this, until years later when we would see it again. The gagged parents, as we later learned, were accused of holding an underground gambling ring, especially around the game of what the locals called jueteng. The Tadiar regime had banned gambling back in 1998, at a time when his political reforms were just beginning. He banned it, not out of tackling the problem of gambling addiction from the desperate adults, but out of practicality. He saw as a young child, and as a teenager, of how gambling debts could create conflict within the family. It grew more serious when one of Tadiar's generals showed up to explain to all of us why the children of those gagged parents had to choose between their guilty parents and their nation. It was because the parents were capable of falling astray, as Lt. Colonel Edgardo Doromal had told us, which might make them less patriotic. It was hard for one of our classmates to do it, but to our shock, one of the gagged parents confessed to holding the underground gambling ring as a way of earning enough money to help smuggle the child out of the Philippines, in which he would pay human smugglers to get the kids out. By then, all of us were thoroughly molded into what Tadiar calls the perfect patriotic youth, and it became easier for the child of the gagged parent to denounce his own family. It wasn't easy for him afterwards, but our dad managed to convince General Tadiar to take him in for adoption because his other relatives had already fled the country. Even as the internet continued to develop, the Tadiar regime also found ways of combating against exploitative parents who use their own children for amoral reasons. Such an act made it easier to brainwash the children into ultranationalist fanatics, which led to the wholesale atrocities committed in Korea during the 2002-2004 Second Korean War. Tadiar took advantage of the children whose parents were caught in their crime to mold them into the kind of patriotic citizen he wanted." Harold Ramsey, while testifying against Artemio Tadiar in the Hague, April 14, 2018. (The North American Professional Baseball organization, the NAPB Players' Association, and his team, the San Diego Padres, approved Ramsey's 20-day leave of absence upon the International Court of Justice's request as part of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Republic of the Philippines. Likewise, the ICTRP also summoned Vancouver Ramparts TE Tommy Tebow to testify as well, by talking to both the Ramparts and the NFL organization)

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Portions from the Interview with Former Philippine Government-in-Exile Vice President Aquilino Pimentel Jr.

Global News Canada Interview, June 14, 2018

Discussing the Growing Role of Filipino Exiles in Western Politics

Interviewer: In what capacity did the Filipino exile community began to exercise their influence on the governments of the countries that they resided in? The children of the political exiles who have witnessed the fall of the Marcos dictatorship and the rise of Artemio Tadiar's dictatorship have started to grow up a little bit, but their parents have not yet begun to use their influence.

Pimentel Jr.: The political influence of the exiles was minimal, even throughout 1999. In the United States, Filipino Americans had played a role in keeping the Republican Party in power, despite its major role in the rise of Tadiar.

Interviewer: Was there a danger of the political exiles becoming a liability after the trial of the Sotto brothers and Joey de Leon continued on, despite Miriam Defensor Santiago's desire to suspend the trial due to Tadiar's growing infamy?

Pimentel Jr.: There was, and starting in April of 1999, the Whistler-based Philippine government-in-exile issued a decree, stating that any politician representing the government-in-exile must not have any criminal record, or any other record of incidents and arrests. While it did little to curb the behavior of more troublesome individuals like Ernesto Maceda, who was caught taking a bribe from a local Canadian businessman that we later found out to have ties to the Tadiar regime. In addition, we also learned that Australia had unwittingly hosted the resurrected Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, now under the leadership of Conrado M. Estrella III.

Interviewer: It is well known now that Australia had emerged as the first center of the pro-Marcos opposition to the Tadiar regime, but eventually shifted to South Korea. This is understandable, given that Japan was now a firm backer of Artemio Tadiar. What was your viewpoint on the Japanese-Korean competition over the Philippines in terms of influence in this case?

Pimentel Jr.: Both Japan and South Korea had a strategic interest in the Philippines. While Japan could certainly have Tadiar as an ally in which both nations would then bring Taiwan into the fold, and attempt a wider anti-China alliance, South Korea was smarter and realized that influencing the Philippines lies with the younger generation of military officers who are working for Tadiar. Even Tadiar and Lt. Colonels Aromin and Doromal did not realize that there were a growing faction of the Council for National Sovereignty that clamored for closer ties with Seoul.

Interviewer: Wouldn't that have been dangerous for the Tadiar regime if he learned about a potential challenge to his authority and the wider Filipino-Japanese alliance?

Pimentel Jr.: It was, and not only that, do you remember Hermogenes Esperon?

Interviewer: Ah, yes. The former Filipino officer who defected to what was then the Union State of Ukraine and Belarus. What of him?

Pimentel Jr.: Well, Esperon emerged as a surprise player in the growing division within the Tadiar regime, but he did not declare for either the Whistler-based government-in-exile, or the pro-Marcos Wollongong based government-in-exile that Conrado Estrella had proclaimed. Rather, he started to gather what remained of the members of the Reform the Armed Forces movement, which now contained the likes of Eduardo del Rosario, Cirilito Sobejana, and Gilbert Gapay. They opposed not only Tadiar's growing ties to Japan, but his flirtations with criminal groups that have operated in the Philippines. Even they were shocked when in May 27, 1999, Tadiar had announced that he and General Chaparro had signed a military alliance that went beyond mere diplomatic ties. The Mexican drug cartels were allowed to acquire a share in the Philippine narcotics trade, and in return, the Tadiar regime would send captured NPA fighters to Mexico, to be used as slave labor in helping with the drug trade.

Interviewer: Some would say that the junior officers had started to have second thoughts on their support of General Tadiar, but all of them agreed that he was a preferable option to the governments-in-exile. Unfortunately, one of Tadiar's ardent supporters who was known for his extremist views and had joined Faeldon's Fatherland Freedom Party had started to gain notoriety for his kind of anti-Chinese protests that went even beyond what Tadiar had accepted. Did you think that Tadiar was playing with fire when he befriended Elly Pamatong?

Pimentel Jr.: I think so, and even Aromin and Doromal were skeptical from what I heard. There was that video where Pamatong was whipping an unmoving carabao, and in that video, Elly Pamatong had decried the Philippines under Tadiar as a nation in decline, and when he has enough support, he would restore the Republic and become President. Well, that ended rather badly, as Tadiar had him arrested but decided that he was better as his ally. Since then, Tadiar and Pamatong had an unofficial alliance, and in 2006, Tadiar decided to appoint Pamatong as the Prime Minister of the Philippines. That role had been in disuse since the Marcos years, and Pamatong got the next highest position in the country.

Interviewer: Filipinos overseas were terrified when they learned about Pamatong, and given that many of them lived in Europe, Australia, and North America, they started comparing him to the likes of Mussolini, Hitler, and prominent National Bolshevik Party of the East Slavic Federation Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Indeed, many of the political exile community had started to petition their governments to extend the sanctions on the Tadiar regime to include Pamatong, but it failed when Pamatong himself revealed that he did not own a single property overseas. Do you think that the Pamatong phenomenon had played a role in the increase for support for such parties like the Libertarians in the United States, and Social Credit in Canada?

Pimentel Jr.: I don't know the answer to that.

Interviewer: Can you make an honest guess?

Pimentel Jr.: (frowns) I would say that the majority of the political exile community had seen the corruption within the mainstream parties and switched their support for minor ones by the start of 2000. Keep in mind that this was when Kemp had been re-elected, but it was a costly re-election, as Texan libertarianism became stronger as a result of Governor Perot's policies there. I would also say that the Filipino community in Texas had played a role in Perot's election as well as the local South Africans, but immediately switched to the Libertarians once Perot's corruption was uncovered, and his connection to the Tadiar-Chaparro network of crony capitalism became well known. I'm rather surprised that Hillary Clinton, the widow who used her husband's death to launch her own political career, had become the icon of the anti-establishment movement around the world. And it was the very same Filipinos in America who grew angrier at the collusion between the various factions of the American government that allowed Hillary Clinton to become famous and the icon of the 20th and 21st century. She was to the Americans what Cory Aquino and Loren Legarda was to us Filipinos: an empowered icon of change.

True, but this also opens a literal cans of worms beyond geopolitics. It's one thing that Tadiar is turning to Japan as his next best option, but to actually adopt the same mindset as the Japanese government. That is exactly why we might see in the upcoming years a power struggle within the Tadiar regime: Tokyo-backed generals vs Seoul-backed generals. Add to the pro-Aquino and remnants of the pro-Marcos struggles against Tadiar, we might see another civil war in the horizon.

It also helps that OTL relations between the Philippines and South Korea are good, so ITTL it might be a lot stronger. Loren Legarda might also take issue with Tadiar's pro-Japanese stance here at some point.

Also, the anti-Japanese protests in the Philippines ITTL is easily tied to the anti-government protests there. This is why you might see the likes of Faeldon and Hermogenes Esperon (who led the loyalist forces that stopped Faeldon's coup IOTL) being on the same team.....against Tadiar. 

Yeah, and this complicated power struggle will definitely shape up the latter years of the junta. We are probably getting back to Burma in the next update or so.

I could see one of the two Colombian paramilitary officers as another Tadiar like candidate since Chacin is slotted to become the Latin American Assad.

In this timeline, the hypebeast and jejemon culture exists in exile communities. They still receive the same amount of ridicule as OTL.