DISPATCHES FROM KREDO
Nadia Bulkin
“US Delegation Visits Kredo,” Dennis Zamora, January 16
An American delegation led by Secretary of State Bill Stoakley is visiting Kredo from January 16–17 to discuss shared regional security concerns and opportunities for socioeconomic cooperation, marking the highest-level visit by US officials in the nation’s independent history.
At a joint press conference following his closed-door meeting with President John Mark Manalo, Secretary Stoakley praised Kredo’s achievements in raising national living standards through the use of biofuel as well as bringing stability to the Pacific by safeguarding the Armillaria kredensis organism known as “God’s Bounty,” commonly dubbed Kredo’s most precious natural resource. “The United States reaffirms the deep importance of our friendship and strategic partnership with Kredo,” stated Stoakley.
The visit holds special significance for President Manalo, who received his master’s degree in political science from Peirce-James University in the United States. At the press conference, Manalo called the United States a “beacon of progress” and a “true inspiration to the world.” He stated that he and Stoakley had discussed opportunities to strengthen ties in trade, health, education, and science and technology.
Sources in the Manalo administration have pointed to a US fishery treaty as a likely short-term goal for bilateral cooperation. Earlier this morning, President Manalo and First Lady Julie Manalo met Secretary Stoakley at St. Philippa Port, where they visited Kredo’s historic fish market. Secretary Stoakley inquired about potential side effects that the Armillaria kredensis might have on fish caught off the coast of Kredo, and the President assured him that the fungus does not stretch within three kilometers of the coastline. Later, a spokesperson for the US delegation noted that “Secretary Stoakley has no concerns about the safety of Kredo’s fish catch given the geographic boundaries of the organism and the neutralizing elements of Kredo’s soil.”
The visit comes as the United States enters its sixth month of hostilities against China. The Manalo administration and the National Promise Party have pledged to maintain Kredo’s historic position of nonalignment in the conflict, making room for continued bilateral relations with both the United States and China.
Other members of the US delegation, including Lieutenant General Dave Seabolt of the US Indo-Pacific Command and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Biological Nonproliferation Policy Elsa Canning, also held meetings with their counterparts today. Tomorrow, Secretary Stoakley will travel to the interior in order to tour a small biofuel facility in Batan village to learn about the energy potential of Armillaria kredensis fruit. Batan village is considered a leader in local biofuel production, using mushrooms harvested from “God’s Bounty” to generate light and heating for more than fifty households, a school, and a clinic.
“Manalo Faces Criticism Over Base Rumors,” Justine Cinco, February 20
Early on Monday morning, a small team of custodians scrubbed fresh graffiti off the exterior walls of the Office of the President. In the latest indication that anger toward President John Mark Manalo over his perceived close ties to the United States is on the rise, unknown vandals had spray-painted “Imperial Stooge” and “No US Base” on the white walls facing Tanjung Boulevard overnight.
When asked for their thoughts on the graffiti, most of the custodians declined to comment. One man said that the President was only doing what he thought was best for Kredo.
The most recent round has been spurred by memos leaked to the press revealing the Manalo administration’s intent to proceed with a US proposal to establish a military base on Kredo. The memos, originating from within the Office of the President, suggested that the base could be placed near the villages of Lupa, Batan, or Pasigan.
Revelations about the potential base deal coincide with the announcement of a planned treaty allowing a small number of US fishing vessels to fish in Kredo’s exclusive economic zone for a large sum, reported to be as high as 100 billion dollars. The timing has raised concerns that the national government has accepted a quid pro quo with significant implications for Kredo’s global positioning without consulting the population.
A spokesman from the People’s Front for Development called the deal a “one-way ticket to war.” Allowing the United States to stage troops or equipment at Pasigan could additionally pose a state security risk given the village’s proximity to the Armillaria kredensis restricted zone, where years of open-pit mining have led to open access to subterranean rhizomorph cords.
In a Monday KTV interview, presidential adviser Jericho Caparas acknowledged these concerns while suggesting that a security guarantee from the United States would provide Kredo with stronger insulation from war than nonalignment would. “It is not enough to be an asset that everyone wants to court,” Caparas stated in the interview. “We need to also be an asset that someone will protect. Because one person’s asset is another’s liability.”
Still, other critics claim that a base deal will have negative consequences for the population and ecosystem of Kredo. Tito Sayson, the head of Lupa village, shared that many local subsistence farmers were concerned not only about the presence of US troops but also about the possibility that Kredo could be forced to sign a biological disarmament pledge.
Such a pledge might prohibit any harvesting of any fruit of Armillaria kredensis, destroying the livelihoods of thousands of villagers who rely on selling its harvested mushrooms to biofuel facilities. “Americans see the [rhizomorph] roots and become scared,” Sayson said, “but they don’t understand that the roots only protect our land from invaders, they won’t hurt anyone off the island.”
It is currently unknown whether the rhizomorphs of Armillaria kredensis continue to produce mycotoxins when transplanted off the island, nor whether this Armillaria kredensis can be transplanted to new soil.
Separately, the Caretakers of the Bounty have called for an environmental impact study to assess the ecological risks of building a military base at each of the three proposed sites. “Our utmost priority must be safeguarding the bounty that God has blessed us with,” read a statement released by the clerical group. “The organism God’s Bounty, with all its blessings and curses, was entrusted to the people of Kredo and not the soldiers of the United States.”
“Manalo: Every Option Is On the Table,” Dennis Zamora, March 1
President Manalo sought to clarify his government’s stance on foreign obligations at a campaign stop in Pasigan village on Thursday, stating that “Kredo’s only enduring commitment, now and forever, is to our nonalignment. Beyond that, every option is on the table.”
While he acknowledged that deciding not to host a US military base may result in the loss of the proposed US fishery treaty, he expressed confidence that Kredo would be able to secure an equally valuable contract with another country. “We have plenty of friends,” Manalo stated.
When asked about the future of mushroom harvesting for biofuel, Manalo stressed his commitment to ensuring that this traditional pillar of the economy continues to prosper and power the homes of hundreds of Kredo families.
Manalo’s primary opponent in the election, PFD-backed Marvin Dizon, has made rejection of any foreign military commitments a central plank of his platform. According to recent opinion polls, as many as 68 percent of Kredo citizens disapprove of the presence of any foreign military on Kredo. As many as 75 percent of Kredo citizens believe that Kredo should retain a policy of total nonalignment. Most citizens who disagreed with these two statements hailed from coastal areas where many fishermen espouse superstitious beliefs about Armillaria kredensis.
A separate poll conducted on February 26 showed Manalo and Dizon in a close race. Political commentators have suggested that the ultimate outcome of the race may hinge on whether the Caretakers of the Bounty maintain their historic stance of political neutrality or throw their weight behind a particular candidate.
While the Caretakers have never endorsed a political candidate, they were reportedly shaken by rumors of the Manalo administration’s military base agreement. Sources close to PFD leadership have told us that PFD representatives recently traveled to the restricted zone to urge the Caretakers to voice their concerns about President Manalo’s leadership. “They are hoping that the Caretakers will see that the President’s rashness poses a risk to their God-given responsibility to protect God’s Bounty,” one source said.
“American Thieves Executed,” Dennis Zamora, April 18
Two American men were executed on Friday in accordance with the customs protecting the security of the state and the sanctity of Armillaria kredensis. Matt Mulligan and Eric Clark were buried alive in a rhizomorph-exposed pit within the restricted zone by the Caretakers of the Bounty and the Kredo Armed Forces. The Caretakers recited the “Return to Earth” prayer to hasten the prisoners’ decomposition.
The Americans were detained near the restricted zone near Pasigan village at 3 A.M. on March 21. The men’s bulky personal protective equipment, designed to protect against exposure to mycotoxins, drew the attention of locals and caused the two men to be easily apprehended. During the interrogation, samples of Armillaria kredensis mushrooms and rhizomorphs were found in the men’s possessions, along with tools designed for subsurface extraction.
Mulligan and Clark were convicted on April 11 of theft jeopardizing the security of the state, unlawful entry, and aggravated assault. Despite evidence that both men had previously worked for a US private security company active in the Philippines, the state ultimately opted not to charge the men with espionage. Mulligan and Clark repeatedly stated during their trial that they were acting in a private capacity, intending to sell mushroom “batteries” and rhizomorph “poisons” on the global black market.
The US government had lobbied Kredo for clemency for the two men, requesting that their sentences be reduced to prison terms that they could serve in the United States out of consideration for their families. However, President Manalo rejected the request due to the grave threat their actions posed to Kredo’s sovereignty. “We must set an example to let the world’s marauders and pirates know that Kredo and its natural resources are not open for looting.”
In response to the executions, the US Department of State issued a statement calling Manalo’s decision “inhumane” while continuing to call Mulligan and Clark private citizens who “made a terrible mistake.”
Last week, President Manalo conferred medals of honor to the six soldiers and nine civilians who caught and detained the men, declaring them national heroes of the highest order.
“Dizon Wins Presidency, Vows to ‘Put Our People First,’” Polo Viray, May 9
Businessman Marvin Dizon has won the presidential election, defeating incumbent President John Mark Manalo after a turbulent race. Dizon, representing the People’s Front for Development (PFD), received approximately 53 percent of the vote, while Manalo, representing the New Promise Party (NPP), received approximately 46 percent.
Dizon capitalized on broad support from Kredo’s interior region, particularly among populations whose sources of income were disrupted by the ban on mining colloquially known as the God’s Bounty Protection Act. Dizon has called on the law to be reformed under his “Put Our People First” policy, including reducing restrictions on mushroom-harvesting and infrastructure development in the interior.
Dizon declared victory shortly after midnight on May 9. “This is the biggest honor of my life,” he stated. “My father was a humble miner from Lupa village. He wasn’t rich but he cared for us—until they shut down all mining and wiped out his life’s work. Just like that, my family went from making ends meet to barely being able to afford food—all because some officials with clean shirts and American accents decided that our land was too fragile to support our people.”
He went on: “When I decided to run for president, I had one goal in mind: freeing us of the limits we have imposed on our own potential.”
Shortly after official results were announced, PFD social media posted a message suggesting that the current president John Mark Manalo had fled Kredo for the United States—a claim that this newspaper could not immediately verify.
“Dizon Signs Chinese Investment Deal,” Polo Viray, June 4
President Dizon announced that he would sign a 200 billion dollar infrastructure investment deal with Chinese state-owned manufacturer Sinoport aimed at modernizing the nation’s interior.
The infrastructure projects—including the construction of an airport near Batan, the modernization of Port Philippa, and the foundations of a national road network—are expected to employ hundreds. In announcing the deal, President Dizon highlighted “infrastructure-led growth” as the wave of the future “that Kredo must not miss out on.”
Development in the interior of Kredo has been significantly stalled since the island’s energy-dense mushrooms were revealed to be the fruit of a single, ancient specimen of a newly discovered species of a pathogenic fungus, Armillaria kredensis, dubbed “God’s Bounty” by religious clerics. Advocates of development counter that Kredo’s soil has neutralizing elements that prevent the permeation of the rhizomorphs’ mycotoxins through soil, citing clean mycotoxin tests of deep-rooted plants and trees grown near the restricted zone.
The Office of the President also announced that in a few areas in western and central Kredo, access to mushrooms will be limited as a result of the new construction projects. The government has pledged economic support for subsistence farmers as compensation.
“PFD on Defense Regarding Sinoport Deal,” Justine Cinco, July 22
PFD officials shot back at accusations that the Dizon administration has sold access to the Armillaria kredensis fungus, Kredo’s God’s Bounty, to China.
On July 17, a group of fishermen that has been acting in an unofficial customs capacity claimed to have found samples of God’s Bounty mushrooms on a Sinoport vessel that was disembarking from Port Philippa. The vessel’s crew claim that they docked on July 15 to deliver construction materials for the Kredo International Airport project and departed on July 17 with a few Sinoport employees returning home to China. The crew attributed the Armillaria kredensis samples found on the vessel to “accidental debris” accumulated during construction.
In a separate incident on July 19, the Caretakers of the Bounty found evidence of unauthorized construction taking place within the restricted zone near Lupa village. Sinoport has denied responsibility while also suggesting that the location of the restricted zone makes it difficult to build roads connecting the interior to the coast. However, a source in the Kredo Armed Forces suggested that fishermen had found building materials aboard other Sinoport vessels that appeared designed to withstand exposure to mycotoxins—raising concerns that China is attempting to build permanent access to Armillaria kredensis.
Former Manalo adviser Jericho Caparas blasted the Dizon administration for approving the controversial Sinoport deal, stating that “opening up access to the nation’s most precious natural resource without a security guarantee is beyond reckless and borderline treasonous.”
When asked for comment, presidential Chief of Staff Angelo Brava stated that “there is no need for a security guarantee because we are not a party to any conflict.”
The Office of the President has released multiple statements affirming that God’s Bounty remains safe, secure, and completely under Kredo’s control. But such statements may not be enough to satisfy a population that has been primed to be suspicious of foreign interference.
The investment projects are already unpopular among fishermen, who blame increased ship traffic for disruption to their prime fishing waters. However, signs of discontent appear to be spreading even in the island interior. Earlier this month, a foreman for the Kredo International Airport project was fired when footage surfaced of him suggesting that investment funds were needed to “pay for all those do-nothing Caretakers” at a village meeting, sparking outrage.
“Restorative Movement Takes Power; Dizon Arrested,”
Justine Cinco, August 28
Former President Marvin Dizon was arrested during a military operation to restore internal security late Friday night. Colonel Joseph Raya of the Kredo Armed Forces announced that Dizon had been detained along with several cabinet members and PFD leaders. “In accordance with the law, Mr. Dizon is no longer President,” Colonel Raya stated.
The arrest follows two weeks of violent riots throughout Kredo that saw Dizon’s supporters—many of whom had been employed in now-suspended Sinoport projects—clash with large numbers of anti-Dizon protesters. The protesters have largely consisted of members of the isolationist Restorative Movement and the fishing and subsistence farming communities.
As many as fifty buildings were damaged by fire and projectiles on Tanjung Boulevard. On August 17, anti-Dizon protesters made their way to the Office of the President, where they played the Kredo national anthem and wrote “imperial stooge” on the walls. The clashes resulted in fourteen deaths and dozens injured—an unprecedented toll for civilian unrest in Kredo. Colonel Raya stated that the Dizon administration’s “failure to secure the peace” contributed to the decision by the Kredo Armed Forces to mobilize.
Colonel Raya confirmed that the former officials will be put before a military tribunal on charges of abetting the unlawful theft of the nation’s most precious resource. According to the law, the punishment for this offense is execution by God’s Bounty.
While not partaking directly in the protests, the Caretakers of the Bounty welcomed news of the arrest and urged the military to swiftly appoint a new president to “begin the national healing process.” Sources say that the Caretakers are likely to back Mary Joy Sanggalang, the long-standing leader of the Restorative Movement, for the presidency.
Early this morning, China strongly condemned what it called a “coup against the legitimate government” and warned that Kredo was now under the control of “nationalists who are a danger to world peace.”
“Drop-Off in Foreign Fishing Vessels Sparks Concern,”
Kate Bayani, September 15
Manny Abad, 56, has taken his trawler into the Kredo Sea every year for the past 30 years. He usually sees dozens of foreign fishing vessels in the rich international waters just beyond Kredo’s exclusive economic zone, and even chats with some of the “regulars” over the radio. But he’s never seen so few foreign vessels as he has in the past month. “Last week, we were alone,” he said. “It’s like they have been warned away.”
The Caretakers of the Bounty released a statement last month applauding the Sanggalang administration’s “closed door” foreign policy after a turbulent eight months punctuated by controversial attempts at foreign interference by both the United States and China. But Abad is wary of the possible unforeseen consequences of Kredo being “left alone.” Like many fishermen, Manny is more frightened of God’s Bounty than thankful for its gift.
“I don’t go too far inland anymore because every time I see one of those little mushrooms sprouting up out of the ground I remember that we’re sitting on a bomb,” he says. I ask him to clarify, and he does: “It’s not the bounty that will kill us. It’s the people who would rather the bounty not exist than fall into their enemy’s hands.”
Sof, another fisherman who declined to use his full name, provided an allegorical example of a beautiful woman whose many suitors decide to kill her so that none of them can win her. “Preciousness brings pain,” Manny added, a play on the common sobriquet of God’s Bounty as the “nation’s most precious resource.”
For now, Manny and Sof say that they will continue to take advantage of reduced fishing competition—but as I prepare to walk away from the beach, I can see that they are nervous.
The Sanggalang administration did not respond to requests for comment.