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2007-10-05T08:19:00.000+08:00

ABALOS' RESIGNATION, A TACTICAL MOVE?

2007-10-02T20:29:00.000+08:00

Though very much urged, the resignation of Benjamin Abalos as comelec chair still surprised a lot of people. From his sympathizers to his detractors and even the spectators watching the development of the controversy Abalos is allegedly involved with, never expected that such an act will be made by him.

Just weeks ago, after the controversy in the National Broadband Network project erupted, Abalos was firm in his stand that he will never resign from his position despite the huge clamor of different groups calling for it. He said that resignation is an acceptance of defeat and an admission of guilt. The events that followed this was of course the investigation of the senate on Abalos’ involvement in the NBN deal as per Joey De Venecia III’s testimony and the filing of an impeachment case against him by Ilo-ilo Vice Governor Rolex Suplico duly endorsed by three house representatives.

The unfolding of these events was very much anticipated, and when everyone is just waiting for either the result of the senate investigation or the progress of the impeachment complaint, Abalos resigned. He said, contrary to what he said before, that it was not an admission of guilt but just his way of clearing his name. He also said that the controversy of the broadband project has hounded his family and affected them negatively.

Many speculations about the resignation have surfaced minutes after Abalos publicly announced it. Some sympathized with him but others were still suspicious. Of course, no one can really blame the public for doubting the sincerity of the act given the way the administration and its allies have tried to hide the truth through their anomalous moves. I agree that the resignation was an act of statesmanship and I salute him for that even if it was long overdue. I was surprised by it and so I thought of some possible reasons of why he did it.

First is maybe he is expecting the senate investigation to stop and consider the issue moot and academic after his resignation. If this is what he is thinking, then he obviously miscalculated because the senators are still adamant to continue its probe. Also, with the coincidence of his resignation and the arrival of the first gentleman, it is also possible that he didn’t really want to resign but just forced to; possibly by the people or person or woman (most possible) who wants to protect the first gentleman from the hands of the senate. Maybe it is them who miscalculated about the senate investigation and not Abalos.

Second possibility is that maybe Abalos is anxious about the impeachment complaint filed against him. Though still far from the number of signatures required to transmit it to the senate, he may not be brave enough to take the risk. He knows of course that even after the complaint is dropped due to his resignation, he may not be completely out of the woods yet. He knows that the case against him may still be dragged to the ombudsman but he would rather take his chances there than in congress. With how the ombudsman conducted its investigation on some controversial issues such as the Mega Pacific deal and Joc Joc Bolante’s case, resignation could be his better option.

Third is that it is also likely that Abalos was forced to resign by the president to avoid a showdown of power between her and speaker Jose De Venecia. Since it is JDV3 against Abalos, it is obvious that the speaker will favor his son even if the president says otherwise. GMA knows the power of JDV in the house and she may not want a clash with him yet. With the issue of legitimacy still hounding this administration, an impeachment complaint against the president can still be revived and if that happened, to lost her most powerful ally in the house is a nightmare she don’t want to happen.

WHISTLE JOY

2007-09-27T12:15:00.000+08:00

The difference between a whistle bomb and a whistle joy is that the first starts with a loud long noise then ends with a loud bang. The latter starts with a loud long noise then will suddenly stop. No exclamation point, no spectacular ending. That is what the testimony of former NEDA chief Romulo Neri yesterday was like.

Most people thought his appearance in the senate was a sign of bravery and he was ready to squeal all that he knew about the controversial broadband deal. But as we all saw he didn’t, or maybe he tried but he wasn’t successful. All he did was to tell that Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos bribed him with “200” and that the president told him not to accept it. Every time the senators tried to dig in to what the president did after she was informed of the event, Neri invoked executive privilege. He said that he can’t tell anything about what the president told him as per order of Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita. Neri said that he was allowed by Ermita to tell about the bribery and the order of the president not to accept it but nothing more.

Obviously it can be translated as an order to pin down Abalos and to clear the name of the president. But more to that, it also means that the president knows that there was a bribe but she approved the contract just the same, without doing anything about Abalos’ alleged illegal act. Cabinet members can of course argue that there was a discreet investigation made, but no one seems to know who were investigated, who conducted the investigation and how it went, except of its result that Abalos is innocent. Even after being urged by some senators that yesterday was the day Neri could do the country a great favor by not hiding under the executive privilege, he still insisted that he was only following Ermita’s order.

That was a clear sign of Neri’s loyalty to the administration, but is the administration loyal to him? I don’t think so. In fact Ermita just denied that he was the one who ordered Neri to invoke the privilege. If Neri wasn’t lying about it then Ermita is. Neri should take that as an indication that even how much he shield Malacañang, he is not assured to get the same protection. Who knows, if the controversy becomes even bigger, he might be the next fall guy for the couple in the palace.

A pdf file of Joey De Venecia III’s affidavit in the senate investigation can be downloaded here.

PR GOING WRONG

2007-09-26T09:33:00.000+08:00

If there is one thing that the controversy of the National Broadband Network project that the government signed with China’s ZTE Corporation did to this administration, it was to give its PR team and political spinners a startling uppercut.

In boxing there is what they call a lucky punch. In basketball there is the lucky shot and the friendly roll. In both cases, you didn’t really expect your opponent would make it but they managed to. That same thing happened to team gma. They never thought that this broadband contract will make it this big and that the opposition and the public will want more expose about it than the Hello Garci controversy.

It has been too late for them to realize that the broadband deal is coming to hit them straight in the face. The first indication that they already felt it was only the day before Jose De Venecia III appeared before the senate and testified how his president’s husband told him to back off with the deal. Mike Arroyo suddenly flew out of the country. A sudden move that just made things very obvious it was like they poured gasoline to fire.

Possibly because of their outrage on JDV3’s revelations, GMA’s allies in the House planned to oust Jose De Venecia from the speakership. Another sudden move that the PR managers of the administration never thought will backfire on them. It was again too late for them to realize that JDV still has strong influence in the lower house that might complete the magic number of the opposition to pursue an impeachment attempt against the president. This again was an attempt that made things look like the administration is hiding something because they withdrew it the moment they sensed JDV’s power.

At this point, nothing seems to go in favor of the administration. So to rub out the speculations that they are really hiding something, Mrs.Arroyo decided to allow all her cabinet members to attend the senate investigation on the broadband deal. That was what gma or her advisers thought. Because after being placed under scrutiny, the cabinet members seemed to confirm that the broadband deal is a waste of taxpayers’ money.

Because of the political noise as gma herself said, she suspended the contract. It was here where I realized that gma’s PR team was really rattled and confused. They chose to suspend a contract that was already suspended by the Supreme Court. As Ricky Carandang and the Inquirer editorial said, it was a plain publicity move that the people didn’t buy. Even General Hermogenes Esperon discharged speculations of coup attempt and even martial law thoughts just to be able to divert the issue.

Gma’s political advisers and press relations people is one of the best I’ve seen. Maybe that’s because I’ve only seen a few but it cannot be denied that during the height of the Hello Garci controversy in 2006 they managed to pull off the right spins to prevent another uprising despite the people’s outrage. That was before. Now, with the way things are going and the way they are doing their hastily moves, it looks like they cannot always be lucky especially when caught off guard.

Ringtone of ABZTEFG can be downloaded in txtpower website .

MERE PASSING OF BURDEN

2007-09-13T10:14:00.000+08:00

As all of us should know by now, former President Joseph Estrada was declared by the Sandiganbayan yesterday guilty of the crime of plunder and was sentenced a penalty of reclusion perpetua or 20 to 40 years in prison. (Former Chief Justice Andres Narvasa defined the difference between life imprisonment and reclusion perpetua here) Part of the decision is the acquittal of the former president in the crime of perjury and the acquittal as well of Senator Jinggoy Estrada and Atty. Eduard Serapio in the crime of plunder as co-accused of Erap.

Yet again, the country is divided, maybe not equally but divided just the same on whether the decision made by the graft court is right or wrong. Obviously, it has been rightly predicted that an acquittal on all charges is unlikely to happen because it will heavily put in question the already tarnished legitimacy of the present administration. But unlike what the media made it looked like, yesterday’s decision is not the end of it. Though it is the end of the 6-year long trial in the Sandiganbayan, it’s not yet the end of the legal process.

Whether the Erap lawyers decide first to file a motion for reconsideration in the Sandiganbayan (something that Sen.Miriam Defensor-Santiago said is not possible anymore because the decision was already “beyond reasonable doubt”) in the end it will be the Supreme Court who will have the final say on the matter. Of course, the Sandiganbayan knows this and it seems that they just decided to pass on their burden to a court of higher credibility.

Though they may look audacious in convicting the former president in the heavier crime of plunder, what they did was just to pass the ball to the higher court. Although there were accessory penalties given to Estrada, the court still was not brave enough to allow his detention in Muntinlupa. This is even after the declaration of Atty.Rene Saguisag that his client is willing to be detained in a regular prison. Not to mention how Presiding Justice Teresita Leonardo De Castro kept ignoring Atty.Dennis Villaignacio’s attempt to insist that Muntinlupa is ready to accommodate the former president. So what’s the difference?

The situation of Erap before the decision is not so much different after the Sandiganbayan’s decision was made. He will stay in Tanay, Jinggoy is back to the senate and his lawyers are back on the court to defend their client. It’s just the same. The only difference is that this time, it will only be Erap alone who will wait for the final verdict and the decision lies on the Supreme Court. With the way I look at it, we’re back in square one just with a different court and a lesser number of accused.

HERE is a pdf file of the full decision of the Sandiganbayan I got from Manolo Quezon’s blog.

BARANGAY ELECTIONS

2007-09-05T08:23:00.000+08:00

The House Committee on Suffrage approved on Monday the proposal to postpone the 2007 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on October 29. According to House Speaker Jose De Venecia, a new law should be passed to be able to postpone an election. The proposal he said, still needs to go to the plenary for the debate and then to the Senate, where if passed, will immediately be implemented after it is signed by the President.

De Venecia also said that many congressmen, governors, mayors and even senators and barangay officials themselves are in favor of the postponement. He even defended their position in saying that we just had an election in May and there is also an upcoming ARMM election so it would just be practical to postpone the elections to save government money.

If that’s the case then why not just postpone it until…2020? And why not just do it in all the upcoming elections, including the national elections in 2010? Following De Venecia’s logic, it would save us more money. But of course, that’s not what it should be. The Barangay elections should have been held in 2005 but was postponed because, if I remember it right, the Comelec said they didn’t have the funds and we just had an election in 2004. Our honorable congressmen decided that it should be held in October this year and now they are seeing a conflict again. Would De Venecia admit that their previous decision was wrong? Or would he admit that they just wanted to postpone the elections for their allies’ benefit without looking at what lies ahead for the country?

I thought that after the House failed with their attempt to change the constitution, they will finally stop doing nationwide self-serving moves. But of course that was a hope next to impossible. This is my simple theory about this: In Philippine politics, favor begets favor. So the support given by barangay leaders to the local and national candidates in the 2004 elections produced the postponement of the 2005 barangay elections. And now the support given by barangay officials last year seems to bring the same results.

The barangay elections have been long delayed and the people desires change. Three years extension is too much and another year would be the worst. Our congressmen should know how strict our 1987 constitution is when it comes to term limits and extension in office. They should also remember that only when there is an election ordinary citizens get their chance to say their satisfaction or dissatisfaction to their local leaders in terms of votes. So don’t deprive the people of what they want and what they need. Besides why does the Liga ng mga Barangay fear the election if they really did function well? If they argue about practicality again just like what they did before, well, the will of the people and the will of the constitution is always above any practicality there is.

FOR SK : Some of the Sanggunian Kabataan leaders are now eligible to run for a local position and they are not Kabataan anymore. If congress is talking about practicality, maybe they should abolish SK because it serves no purpose than a training ground for young trapo’s and a puppet government waiting for their budget and salaries.

WE LOVE JOBS FAIR; BUT WE ALSO GO TO BOOK FAIRS

2007-08-30T07:26:00.000+08:00

With the opening of the 28th Manila International Book Fair yesterday, it seems that the book industry in the country is doing a little better than in the previous years.

Though it can be argued that most of the visitors who went to this kind of book fair only represent a small portion of the society, it can still be considered a good start especially for a third world country like ours. In spite of the books’ expensive prices, it’s a good thing to know that the number of book readers in the Philippines is continuously increasing.

A report of the Philippine Daily Inquirer said that the International economic and financial institutions attested that indeed the book economy have shown resurgence in the recent years. In an era of PSP’s, iPod’s and iMax, many were proven wrong when they thought that it will be the start of the book economy’s inevitable death.

One recent event I can remember to prove this was the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly hollows. Though Filipinos were not as enthusiastic as the fans of the book in other parts of the world, the early queue of people in bookstores when the book was first released is an indication that books can still find its place in the country. American author Stephen King even wrote a review of the book, weeks after its release, in entertainment weekly and disproves the academics and whom he called bighead educators when they said that reading in its major part was dead.

The only sad about the book industry in the country is that the government doesn’t seem to give so much attention to it. It’s not as if it’s something surprising but there’s nothing wrong in being optimistic and hopeful- even how nearly impossible your hopes are. If the cheaper medicines bill is still not passed until now, with all the media attention given to it, how much more can we expect our congressmen to pass a bill that will lower the prices of books? Maybe it could help if we just keep our fingers crossed because something like that may not even come to mind of these honorable creatures.

NCAE (2nd part)

2007-08-28T23:20:00.000+08:00

In a report by Manila Bulletin online, Education secretary Jesli Lapus said that they will spend about 50 million pesos for this year’s National Career Assessment Examination. Now, isn’t it too much money to spend for a not so useful exam?
Although DepEd officials clarified that the NCAE is not similar to the National Career Entrance Examination (NCEE) because it does not serve as a pass to enter college, it cannot be denied that they are similar when it comes to redundancy and irrationality. This idea was also the reason why former senator and education secretary Raul Roco decided to abolish the National Secondary Aptitude Test (NSAT) in the 90’s.

The argument was that in the presence of the self conducted entrance examinations of different colleges and universities, both NCEE and NSAT became unnecessary. Colleges and Universities prefer their own entrance examinations to evaluate if students fit the school standards and the courses they wanted to pursue. Though some used NCEE/NSAT as part of the requirements to enter college, they were not specific enough to be used as the only basis for course qualification.

With regard to the NCAE which is presumed to determine students’ aptness to college courses, it still just duplicates the purpose of entrance examinations. Both schools and students are not going to look at it as the basis for eligibility to the course but in the result of entrance exams.

NCAE is just another rehashed government program that will use taxpayers’ money in vain. If DepEd really wants to improve the educational system in the country, then they should start knowing which things should be given priority. If students are not having a quality education in their developing years, which is in the elementary level, they might not even have the chance of getting to high school to take any exam to assess their college capabilities.

If the government really wants to stop the nation’s escalating unemployment, they should focus in improving first the quality of our free education. Improving free education will include facility enhancements, improved classrooms, better salary for capable teachers, free accurate textbooks and low price supplemental reading materials. Only when better education is provided to students will our problem in both poverty and unemployment will be solved.

NATIONAL CAREER ASSESSMENT EXAMINATION: TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE

2007-08-27T11:31:00.001+08:00

More than 1.3 million graduating high school students and out-of-school youth from both private and public schools are expected to take their National Career Assessment Examination (NCAE) tomorrow. According to the Department of Education who spearheaded the idea through their National Education and Research Center, the examination will be able to help students in choosing the courses they would take in college.

DepEd started giving the examination in January last year in their belief that it will help reduce the escalating unemployment rate in the country. Education secretary Jesli Lapus said that the unemployment is not because of the lack of jobs but merely because of misemployment. He argued that there are enough jobs available for graduating students and it’s just that they are not properly equipped with the right abilities they need to get the careers they want.

The idea of helping students in choosing what careers to take based on their abilities is great, but does the NCAE really serve that purpose? I think it will, but only if DepEd starts fixing their way of conducting the exam. Giving the examination two months before graduation like last year was a fiasco and doing it now in the last week of August will not make much difference.

If the Research department of DepEd really did their research, they should know that by this time, many students have already taken their entrance examination in different colleges and universities. As far as I have experienced, as early as June, students are already applying for examinations for their tertiary education. Conducting an exam to help them decide what course to take by this time is too little and too late. Students who are planning to enter college must have decided what program to take far earlier.

The late exam will only mean a much later result. My younger brother who just graduated in high school last year and was part of those who took the first NCAE examination received his exam results three days before his graduation. But that’s not the worst yet, because some of his classmates haven’t even received their exam results until now. If students will just start to decide what careers are suited for them after receiving the results, two things are likely to happen: First is that they will just get confused and two, they will run out of good schools to enroll at.

If DepEd is really determined to continue this examination every year, the best thing they could do is to give it to third year high school students, which is only a logical thing to do. If there are students who needs guidance in deciding what course to take, it will be them because they will be the ones who will take college entrance exams by the end of the school year. Even if the results come out by March, at least they will still have time to think before applying for a college entrance exam.

I WANT TO BE A...

2007-08-22T00:05:00.000+08:00

Most of us have our childhood dreams that we would have wanted ourselves to be. Be it fictional or real, possible or not, for as long as it answers the classic Little Miss Philippines question “ano ang gusto mo maging paglaki mo?” it is part of our childhood fantasies and frustrations.

We could have had lots of them that range from being an astronaut to being a mailman, an Olympic gold medalist or the richest person in the world. All of them vary on our mood and on the things that we are so involved into when we were having those eccentric ideas.

I can even still remember myself dreaming of what I wanted to be whenever I am so bored with my school subjects or whenever I’m listening to a very good music that drives me to trance. As I somehow wanted this space to be like Dumbledore’s pensive of some sort for me, here are some of those someday-I-want-to-be thoughts that entered my mind during the years where I still believed that math is not a complicated subject.

Band vocalist – this thought came to my mind during the 90’s where the eraserheads are on its peak of popularity. I am one of those many who loved their songs from its lyrics to its rhythm and melody. Whenever I hear their songs being played on radio or see them perform on tv, I can always see a clear view of me standing on Ely Buendia’s shoes and singing with confidence in front of a large enthusiastic crowd.

Detective – my fantasy of being a detective was influenced by the two detective books that I read when I was in the fourth grade, Encyclopedia Brown and Sherlock Bones : the dog detective. I love it whenever detectives deduce so complicated clues and able to make a very complex problematic scenario look simple.

Great basketball player – Unlike the first two mentioned, this is one of my dreams that I believed is not so impossible for me to achieve. Although I play basketball, what I wanted is to be like a Michael Jordan who has a very swift movement and grace whenever he plays. The idea of making the spectators, commentators and even your opponent stare in bewilderment because of your great moves is just so great. Until now, I can’t resist thinking of myself playing in court like MJ whenever I am watching a basketball game.

Doctor – who doesn’t dream of being one when they were young? I remember that it was after I watched an episode of Bayani where they featured our national hero who invented alcohol (I can’t remember his name) that I end up wanting to be a doctor. I just gave up on this one when I noticed that my knees always tremble whenever I entered a hospital and see people in their worst conditions.

Scientist – the Back to the Future tv series was the one who influenced me on this. After each episode, they always feature a short and simple science experiment for kids and I always feel exalted whenever I was successful in doing it. I just stopped pursuing this dream after my first year high school science teacher threw my experiment project out of the room as she almost fainted in rage. (But honesty I don’t think that it was because of my project that she was angry, maybe that was just part of her menopausal syndrome) The idea of my experiment was to create an insect repellant (katol) using paper and garlic. I was successful in creating the mixture and making a katol figure out of it but when I lit it up using a match, it burst into flame and produced a very very bad scent that you can almost taste. Come to think of it, maybe I’m a good scientist, I invented a people repellant.

Lawyer – this is one of those that I never gave up hoping to be one until now. I wanted to be a lawyer since I was in grade one and until now that I already graduated in college. I even thought that this will start coming to reality after my graduation, but I was wrong. I forgot that poverty can sometimes hinder you in achieving your goal. But my hopes are still high. Who knows, maybe after a year or two, I may enroll myself in a law school. I may be idealistic but I just hate it when people in power are using the law to aggrieve those who are not so well off. I want to defend these people, I want to defend the people of my kind.

Superman – this is impossible right? But I wanted to be one and I even have my superman costume before. Maybe I can’t be superman okay, but I can be Clark Kent right? That is why I took journalism as my course in college. (Now you know) That is why whenever I’m asked why did I took journalism, I always have different answers depending on what comes to my mind at that time. I’m sure I won’t land in any job if I tell my interviewers the truth. But I’m glad I took the course because after all it’s really what I wanted.

There are still lots of occupations that I wanted to have and people I wanted to be but it will be too long to tell. I wished I’d be a fireman, policeman, soldier, machine man, peter pan, cook, baker, plumber and as I said too many to tell but most of them just came in and out of my mind as fast as I change tv channels.

RAIN

2007-08-09T14:28:00.000+08:00

It’s finally raining. The prolonged dry spell that hit the larger part of Luzon has finally ended and it’s something to be thankful of.
The rain pouring hard today in Metro Manila may sound hassle to most people especially for those who needs to travel. But looking at the big picture this rain may just save us from a greater disaster. At the very least, in case you haven’t noticed or you don’t have much time to spend listening to news, our dams are badly in need of it.

Fore sure we will face again the usual problems of heavy traffic and too much flood but that’s not so surprising anymore. The same way that it is not so unexpected to hear the late announcement of the not-reliable-as-always-tandem of Pagasa and DepEd that there is no suspension of classes in all levels, only to retract it in the middle of the day when all of us are already stranded in the flooded street.
But despite of all that I never really loathed the rain. I always liked the sound of the air drumming the metal roof and the cold mist that hits your face whenever you’re walking on the road. I like the opportunity it gives us to wear our jackets and sweatshirts outside the office or classroom without looking stupid. To top it all, I like the rain for the memories it never failed to remind me whenever it drench the arid land.

The rain reminds me of the day when I used to go home from school soaking wet just because I don’t want to use the pink flower designed umbrella of my mom. It reminds me of the excitement I feel whenever I listen to early morning radio newscast waiting for the announcement of the suspension of classes. It reminds me of the wonderful feeling of waking up in the middle of a rainy Saturday dawn and realizing that you can still sleep for the whole bed weather day. And of course, the rain reminds me of the girl I wished I would someday wake up my morning with.

It was the rain that gave me the chance to spend few precious moments with my school days love interest. It was because of the rain that she was not able to go home and was forced to stay at school until six in the evening (luckily I was there for no reason). It was because of the rain that she was forced to stay under my umbrella for almost an hour. It was also the rain that forced us to have a dinner together in a restaurant. It was the rain that made these things possible and it is also the rain that gives me a free pass to travel back in these times, so why hate it?

WELL DONE JKR (no spoilers here)

2007-07-26T09:08:00.000+08:00

An hour had passed since I finished reading the Deathly Hollows and during that time I am thinking of how to describe the final installment of the Harry Potter series. Obviously, I can’t find the right words to describe its excellence. I can’t even imagine how should I tell my friends (who don’t read the book but interested to know the story anyway) the great climax of the story if they asked me how the series was ended.

The little disappointment I felt in the Order of the Phoenix film was overwhelmingly covered by the series’ impressive ending. No wonder why Jo says it is her favorite of the seven books and I can’t agree more. The combination of exceptional actions, brilliant humor, dazzling magical scenes, incredible storyline and the glittering emotional touch has been perfectly written. I can say that Jo poured the right amount of ingredients into her cauldron to produce a potion that most of us will never forget.

A lot of predictions have been proven correct but no one really expected how the twists of the story will turn out. Some vague parts may have been left unanswered but I don’t think major points have been missed. Everything was clear and every legitimate question in the series has been answered. Let’s admit it, not all questions are valid and the author is not responsible of answering all of them. I don’t think questions like who the parents of Lily and James are and what are their occupations should be answered, the same way that questions about the husband of Rowena Ravenclaw should just be left in the readers’ imagination. It would need another seven-book-series or more for all of those to be answered.

The book can never really please everyone but it can’t be denied that almost everyone felt its impact. It stirred curiosity to people even for those who doesn’t really read books and that’s a good thing. Harry Potter gave encouragement to both children and adult to read the series and even to explore other book genre in the hope of finding something worth reading.

In a time where movies are blockbusters and people are lured to watching a spoon feeding films, it is nice to know that a book can still find its way on the top of the hit list. The creative thinking and meticulous instinct that books gave to readers should always be a warning to film makers to stop fooling us with special effects and give us something sensible instead. (I hope that they give justice to the Deathly Hollows when they put it to film)

What else can I say but two thumbs up for J.K Rowling! Blimey, it’s wicked!

EDIT : For those who have more questions about the epilogue, JKR provides us with additional information about some characters here. (Now you can expect spoilers from it)

SPOILERS ARE KILL JOYS

2007-07-19T11:34:00.000+08:00

I really don’t know what spoilers get from spoiling a movie, an event or a book by telling the world what will or will not happen in the end.

As the most awaited release of the final installment of the Harry Potter series comes close (just more than a day left and counting) many book spoilers are roaming around the web today claiming that they managed to hack Jo’s computer. They have spread themselves to fan sites and forums telling about what will happen in the book.

They have the right to do that of course but what can they get from it? Now come to think of it, they don’t have the right. The book is covered by copyright restrictions and any unauthorized distribution of it, partial or full, is punishable by law. The only thing I think they can get from it is spending years behind bars, at least ideally.

As Jo said in her website, there is no point spoiling the book. It will not prevent readers from buying it but it will just lessen the fun of finding out what will happen as you read it. In her latest update, Jo called for book fans to keep the secret of the Deathly Hollows intact until its release on the 21st.

“We are almost there! As launch night looms, let's all, please, ignore the misinformation popping up on the web and in the press on the plot of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'd like to ask everyone who calls themselves a Potter fan to help preserve the secrecy of the plot for all those who are looking forward to reading the book at the same time on publication day. In a very short time you will know EVERYTHING!”

Before, I like spoilers, particularly movie spoilers because I’m not going to watch them anyway so might as well know what will happen at least. But now I hate it. Just imagine the long wait we’ve had then it will just be spoiled by people who don’t have anything to do but to ruin the excitement.

I am not referring to those people whom you personally know and excitedly tell the story of a movie or a book they’ve just seen or read. Its personal matters. What I am referring to are those people whom you don’t even know and insist to tell you something you don’t want to hear.
If they are getting money from that I don’t know. They can have predictions alright and they can even post their spoilers on their sites. But to post it in an ordinary fan site where almost anyone who goes there can accidentally read it is foul. Some sites’ forums and comments sections are not regulated so it will be too late before readers know that what they are reading is a spoiler.

Let me say what I think about this people. Maybe they are those being bullied at school in their kindergarten and belong to the “they-have-no-friends-because-they-are-nerds-group”. They are those who always envy happy people because they can’t be happy themselves. Kill joys on the loose.

(As a precautionary move against the inconsiderate spoilers, Mugglenet temporarily closed their interactive site until Tuesday)

PHOENIX

2007-07-18T07:18:00.000+08:00

I just saw the Order of the Phoenix and it was good. Especially the spectacular battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries. Even Grawp was portrayed as a lovable and funny character than in the book. The fifth film was really nice…

Now, having said that….

It was also disappointing.

Maybe I’m just expecting too much because the OotP is really my favorite HP book so far. But still, the fact that it was the shortest HP film is an evident proof that it will leave viewers asking for more. Considering the fact that OotP is the longest book in the series, it wouldn’t really fit in such a short cinema time.

I know that a book cannot be really contained in a movie completely but I think they should have added at least 30 minutes more to get other significant events across.
There are events in the book that the director should have given more emphasis because they were quite vital to the plot.

I think they should have given more focus to the D.A. sessions and how its members excelled in their O.W.Ls. If not for the DA, they would not have passed their exams particularly in DADA, given how Umbridge conducteded her lessons.

I also think that they should have not deleted the part of the Quibbler interview made by Rita Skeeter. The way students hid those magazines after Umbridge banned it from Hogwarts is one of their rebellious acts against her. And besides, that is where most of them were convinced that Harry and Dumbledore are telling the truth ever since.
They also should have not made it look like it was Cho Chang who betrayed the D.A because she didn’t. I don’t like Cho but It was Marietta Edgecomb who did it not her. (and where’s the SNEAK part?)

It was really good in general but the Director should have not made it the way most directors do in filming a book. HP books have a wide readership so they should have expected that many of those who will watch the film already knows what will happen and they have a very high expectation. (Quidditch?)

WE'RE STILL LUCKY

2007-06-09T00:38:00.000+08:00

This happened in Oman last wednesday

FOR STUDENTS

2007-06-07T08:48:00.000+08:00

"If you study to remember you will forget, but if you study to understand you will remember."

-Anonymous

ACCUSATIONS

2007-05-29T05:07:00.000+08:00

One of the news in Bandila last night said that Team Unity is accusing the Genuine Opposition of vote padding and vote shaving in areas, where according to Tonypet Albano only one TU candidate made it to the magic 12.

Now this is unusual, because it is very seldom we hear that the incumbent is complaining of being cheated. As the party of the incumbent administration, who would dare cheat Team Unity? And who has the capacity to do so? Besides Team Unity is the one bragging about their machinery. Does their machinery only include getting them votes and not protecting it?

Another point is that most of the areas where TU says cheating happened is from Metro Manila. Why can’t they believe their candidates were crushed here? Metro Manila, since the Garci scandal, has been opposed to the administration. An almost sweep victory for the opposition here is something to be expected and you can have the surveys to prove it. It is very much unlike the accusations of cheating in Mindanao areas where TU is expecting to get most of their votes. Mindanao’s election credibility has been tainted with doubts since the 2004 presidential elections. There, not so much like here in Metro Manila, monopoly of power, political killings and election violence is very rampant. Not to mention that the election watchdogs there can’t even perform their jobs because of political pressure and harassment from local officers sympathetic to the administration.

The opposition’s victory in the senatorial race is just expected. The administration should start looking in reality that the people doest trust their leadership. Because until they realize it, that’s the only time they can do something to gain it back.

STATEMENT VOTE

2007-05-20T05:12:00.001+08:00

The people finally voted. Except for some disenfranchisement, the Filipino voters have already expressed their opinion on every controversy and issues that swirled the country since 2005. Based on the latest Namfrel quick count and to the conducted Exit polls of pulse asia together with the media counts, it is obvious that the people voted against the administration.

In the past two years, the people wanted to speak and wanted to be heard. They want to tell their opinion on all the issues, and they saw this past election as a venue to do so. Call it referendum for the President or whatever, but it is obvious that this election has been the evaluation of Mrs.Arroyo. Do they trust the President? No because if they do they would have voted for the people she endorsed. Do the people support her efforts to push for Charter Change? No because if they do they would have voted for Prospero Pichay and the Team Unity bets who were very vocal on their desire to abolish the Senate.

The people want to say that they trust the opposition more than the administration allies. This can be proved by the rankings of Chiz Escudero and Mike Defensor. These two gentlemen stood firm in their positions in all the controversies the Arroyo administration faced. They represented both ends of the pole, Escudero being the critic and Defensor being GMA’s defender. If before they represent left and right, now they are top and bottom.

The people in the past years kept quiet and patiently waited. They didn’t support the calls for revolution and they trusted the system. They saw how the impeachment process was trashed but still they waited. They hoped for the Senate investigation to push through but EO 464 was issued. But despite of that they waited. The people exhausted and trusted every legal procedure to know the truth and to make the guilty accountable. But nothing happened. Now that there is a chance for their voices to be heard and to let the administration know what they want, they grabbed that chance.

In the latest Namfrel count, eight genuine opposition candidates made it to the magic 12, two from team unity and two independent candidates. The non-GO who so far is on magic 12 are Joker Arroyo, Ed Angara, Francis Pangilinan and Gringo Honasan. Four people who can stand against GMA anytime of the day. But even with this result, I still think the administration should be thankful, because it will be better for them that the people released their grievances through their votes than in other extra-constitutional way.

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

Just last week we were again reminded that our lives are not really ours. Yoyoy Villame and Kuya Cesar Nucum, legends on their own fields, died of heart attack. My condolences for their families.

WHY VOTE? WHY NOT?

2007-05-13T04:30:00.000+08:00

Sad to say, I have talked to several people who will not vote in the midterm elections tomorrow because according to them, their votes would not be counted anyway so why bother. It is true that there is a possibility that cheating will happen in tomorrow’s polls and in fact the politically motivated killings and allegations of vote buying in different parts of the country is a clear indication of it. So why vote?

From the perspective of someone who belongs to the younger generation, I am frustrated to hear this kind of reasoning especially from the older guys whom I expected to make wiser decision than myself. If we don’t vote because we believe that there will be cheating, isn’t it a sign of giving up and just letting the crooks demolish our democracy? It’s just like saying why lock the doors of your house if the robbers will break the window anyway. I can only say that at least let’s give them a hard time doing it.

If all of us will vote for the candidates we want to be seated in public office, at least we will make cheating harder for them to do. At least, if we voted for the candidates we want, it will be very obvious who cheated their way through their positions. We will know who the cheat is because we know who we really voted for. If we don’t vote, we will just dignify their cheating because we will give them the right to blame us for not doing our job.

If we don’t vote, then we don’t have the right to complain. We don’t have the right to complain for whatever devastation our country gets into because of our leader’s unpatriotic self-centered ambition-focused decisions. If we don’t vote, we don’t have the right to complain because we didn’t do our job. If we don’t vote, there will be no one to blame but ourselves who let the unworthy be placed in their seats. If we don’t vote, we only have ourselves to blame. But if we do vote, we can say that at least, we did what we have to do.

HOSTAGE "DRAMA"

2007-04-01T03:49:00.001+08:00

The hostage crisis the country saw last Wednesday made us realize lots of things. It showed us how ignorant our police are when it comes to handling a hostage situation. It showed us how undisciplined our media can get for the sake of getting the news. And it showed us how our politicians act when election is fast approaching.

Surely the cops went through series of lectures and practical subjects involving different crime situations when they were still at school. They were trained and they were prepared for the worst kind of situation. But the way they handled the hostage crisis told us otherwise. It seems that the cops were only trained for the worst kind of protest rally in Mendiola. It seems that they only know how to disperse hundreds of thousands of people threatening to get near EDSA but not people getting near a hostage scene where there are suspected explosives expected to blow any time.

As a result, the DILG wants an explanation from the ground commanders and officers in charge of the situation saying that lots of mishandlings have been made. But is it not just a clear washing of hands? Because if they really knew what proper procedure should be followed, then why nobody even tried to correct what the cops are doing? The hostage drama took almost 10 hours but nobody directed the troops on what was the right thing to do.

On the part of the media it was very obvious that we are not that mature yet when it comes to such coverage. Maybe if the police have a ground commander to lead the team, the media should also have one to control its fleet. Though it’s a competition on who gets the news first, at least we should know where our borderline lies both ethical and literal.

But apart from all these novice behaviors, there are allegations that the hostage drama was really a big drama directed by politicians who just want publicity. There are no proofs to back it up yet but we are free to wonder and speculate. What were politicians doing there? Aside from the fact that they have no business being there, they are not allowed there. Senator Revilla was apparently called by Mr.Ducat but what about Chavit Singson? What the hell was he doing there? I’m not sure, but what I know is that the other hostage taker is Singson’s personal photographer. Was it just a coincidence? Your guess is as good as mine.

SENATORIAL DEBATE

2007-03-12T07:38:00.000+08:00

I have talked to several people who don't believe in debates as means of resolving an issue or as a method to know who is speaking the truth. All I can say is that if a debate is done in the proper procedure, it is one of the best ways to determine who's the one who knows what he is talking about.

Though we can see the intellectual capability of a person through their speeches and written works, it would still be much better if those speeches and written materials are put to test. How do we know if a horse can run fast? Put it to a race. In a political arena, a debate is just one of those races where we can put a horse to test. Politicians are known to be good speakers who almost always talk their way to their constituents. So, how do we know who speaks with sense and who's just mocking us with their shallow eloquence? A debate is a sure stuff to know which is which because it is a venue where every single word spoken will surely be challenged and meticulously contested through every single point of argument.

In such a forum, it will be the people who will decide. Whoever they percieved as the less wounded and able to stand in the end will be the victor. Our present senatoriables from both the administration and the opposition knows all about this of course. That is why all of them, or so it seems, are willing to engage in such a battle of intellect and platform. But believe me, I doubt if everyone of them can really stand firm under cross examination. Setting that aside, there are still factors that these two parties are arguing about why a debate cannot push through. The theme and the venue. The administration party wants it done in Manila hotel, which is a confined venue suitable for businessmen and the opposition on the other hand wants it done in the plain public view particularly in Plaza Miranda. The administration wants to address the elite and the opposition wants to deal with the common folks. Well, I can't see any problem with that...just do both.

They can have two separate debates in two separate venues to satisfy both of them. Or they could use the more convenient and safer way to hold a debate, broadcast it. On TV, anyone can watch the debate. More than the people who will gather in Plaza Miranda and even more than the businessmen Manila hotel can accomodate will benefit from it. From the richest politician of Batanes to the poorest voter of Jolo, anyone can witness the clash of ideas these candidates will have. Just make it like the impeachment trial of former president Estrada where any network can cover and for sure voters will be more than willing to watch that debate. Not to mention the fact that Filipinos love telenovelas. The voters do not mind where. What they care about is what these candidates will say and what platform they will offer. If the administration wants to tackle the economic gains of the country so be it. If the opposition wants to tackle the extra judicial killings so be it. For as long as they are willing to undergo cross examination and to accept questions either from a panel or from the viewers it will be okay. We just need to hear them to know who deserves a senate seat. Trust me we will know, so lets hear it.

{Thanks to ANC, they will have a series of senatorial debates every Mondays, Wedenesdays and Fridays that will start tonight @ 6pm.} ...sadly not everyone has cable channels so I still hope that that kind of event will also be made in UHF channels.

MUSIC

2007-02-28T08:23:00.000+08:00

I never really liked heavy music ever since I was a child. I remember I used to turn off our radio whenever my uncle listens to his Pepe Smith and Metalica rock bands. Honestly, I have nothing against the artists and I don’t care about the song’s lyrics, but I just don’t like their kind of music because the only thing I know I get from listening to it is headache. Old songs and Love songs are basically the types that interest me. Although love songs usually make me feel blue, at least it never made me wonder if Word War II is happening inside my head.

Contrary to what other people at my age like, I prefer soothing music that makes me feel relaxed and calm. I remember when I was still studying, and all those stressful deadlines and loads of paper works stare in my face, lying on my bed with soft music on the background is my best stress-reliever. And until now I still do that whenever I feel exhausted.

Just last week, I heard this music of Sitti and I swear it's one the best music I ever heard. I just thought that in a time where everybody seems to be very busy in their everyday life, how I wish those kinds of easy listening music dominate the airwaves so that everyone can feel relaxed and carefree.

Obviously shameless

2006-12-06T05:59:00.000+08:00

If there is one thing that can move me to post an entry to my blog I think it is the gag show the country has in its distinguished august body called the House of Representatives.

As of this writing, I am watching the elected representatives of the land betraying the same people who placed them to authority. For an obvious personal political benefit of people ever hungry of power, the administration congressmen again maneuvered the rules of the House of Representatives to force their Con-Ass into the mouth of the innocent citizenry.

The move that the lower house made just to push the unpopular charter change is a move taken behind the curtain of tragedy and triumph. The triumph of the Subic rape case and the tragedy brought by typhoon Reming. The two elements combined is a perfect way to take the attention of the public away from an important issue of changing the backbone of Philippine laws. Add it up with the session made when most of the people are wondering in their dreamland, it is a clear deceit at the expense of the whole Filipino people.

As I already wrote in my previous posts, the administration congressmen are not ashamed anymore of what they are doing. They would rather push through the charter change than help their constituents who suffered from the typhoon. They would rather bend the house rules in their favor rather than pass a law that could somehow help people who suffered from the calamity. They would rather waste their time and budget for their future political careers than pass a law that will completely junk or at least amend the American favoring V-F-A.

The administration congressmen as usual, have violated and disregarded rules, traditions, precedence and all ethical standards to get what they want. Nevertheless, if we will base our observation on the tradition, precedent acts and ethics of this administration, we can be sure of one thing. They will insist on what they call a bitter pill even if it would kill and not heal Philippine democracy.

decision

2006-12-05T06:05:00.000+08:00

After a year, a decision has finally been made to the epic of the subic rape case. The main accused, US marine Daniel Smith is proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt and the other three respondents to the case on the other hand were acquitted.

Many praised Judge Benjamin Pozon for his decision saying that he just proved that justice still remains in the Philippines. I agree that the decision was favorable to Nicole but something still runs at the back of my mind.

Judge Pozon convicted Smith but acquitted the other three marines. Was it not just a play safe decision? A decision that will favor both Nicole and the US government? If the court really believes that the rape happened in the van, then the three marines should be convicted as accessories to the crime. Though they did not take part in the rape, still they are there and they have the capacity to stop the crime if they wanted to. In a way, they gave their consent to Smith to do what he wanted. In the way I look at the decision, Judge Pozon made it that way to please both parties. And that‘s what is happening, the victim and protesters are happy and the US government are not furious. They would rather take that decision than something that will convict all the four accused.

It can be recalled that the removal of the three service men as accessories to the crime is just what Sec.Gonzalez wants. This guy obviously wants to please the US government for reasons we can only speculate. I believe that Judge Pozon made a very wise decision but I’m not sure if it’s the right one. If the testimonies of both parties are to be believed, I think it should be a acquit all or convict all.

Night

2006-12-02T04:37:00.000+08:00

I am now starting to cope up with my night shift schedule. I really hate it when I was first assigned at night not only because it is very tiring but also because time passes by faster at day. That was what I thought. But recently I started to like my schedule not only because my body already seems to adjust to the time but also because there are less bosses around and more so, there is the night differential pay.

GO USTE!!!!

2006-10-03T09:30:00.000+08:00

As the newspapers said, it was a Cinderella finish, and it is what makes fairy tales magical and exiting, how the heroes started from nothing and ending up as the victors. As in the case of the UST growling tigers, they started as the underdog but finishing with the crown.
Who would have thought they could make it? After a bad start in the elimination, the tigers were not even part of those expected to land in the final four. But the tigers just proved that fairy tales do come true. Tiger jumping higher than anyone could imagine to slaughter an eagle up in the sky.

UST’s dramatic victory gave me a ride back to memory lane where I cheered and supported a basketball squad. The last time I felt anxious in a basketball game was back then when the legendary Robert Jaworski was still playing in the PBA. That was I think back in the 90’s where Gordon’s Gin won the championship. The mixed emotions I felt yesterday was the feeling I loved and I missed in some years now.

I felt proud of that win. They beat the crowd favorite team who thought that without DLSU in the league they are indestructible. Beating a stronger opponent is always sweeter. I wish I’m there in Araneta to join the crowd in jubilation, but even though I’m not there still I managed to cheer with some Thomasian office mates. I even wore the growling tigers shirt and jacket in the office to show support, not minding how will I look like just in case we lose. Until now the GO USTE! chant still rings in my ears. As Chuck Smith said back in 2002, yellow is the color of the day.

BAD TIMING

2006-09-17T16:56:00.000+08:00

The idea of having a new form of government seems to be a good idea in a country perceived to be going in the direction opposite of progress. The idea is fine, if something does not work try another. If we are performing poorly in the presidential form of government, try parliamentary. It looks like a simple solution but even the best medicine will not work if not taken in proper dosage and in the right time.

The proponents of the change in the constitution believe that they are following the right prescription based on its effect on other countries. It could be right but most probably it is not. What is good for someone might not be as effective to another. What is good for my flu may not work on your flu. In taking medicine, there are factors to consider.

The medicine this present administration wants to be able to end the country’s corruption sickness and political instability is charter-change. I am not against it; it’s a good medicine that worked for other countries. But as I said though it worked for them, it may not work for us. Why? Because the people pushing for it knew only the medicine but they do not know how and when to take it. They want charter change in a time when there is still a doubt in the legitimacy of the president. So instead of the people believing that it is for the country’s good, they are convinced that it is only a scapegoat for the president whose mandate is still in question.

I heard congressman Jaraula said in an ANC interview that the problem in our government is the system and not the people running it. Honestly, I thought it was a joke. It’s not the people running it? Let a reckless driver drive the newest model of Ferrari car and look what will happen. It’s lucky if it only gets a single scratch in an day. Then let a disciplined and talented driver drive an old model car and he will be able to use it in its full potential. What I mean is our government’s system is not as bad as others think it is. Yes, there might be other forms that are much better than this but if we only get the right people in the right places then this system could work on its best until both the citizens and the politicians in this country be mature enough and responsible enough to handle greater power provided by a greater system.

PREVIEW OF THE PARLIAMENT

2006-09-05T17:50:00.000+08:00

The lower house is serious with their quest to change the form of government from presidential to parliamentary. Just this day they passed a resolution aiming to make the congress a constituent assembly, and they are doing that without soliciting the help of the senate. Obviously the House of Representatives knew that the senate wont be as cooperative as they wanted them to be or as the president wanted the senate to be.

There have been many arguments and debates on the issue of forming a constituent assembly, and one of them is whether the lower and the upper chamber of congress should be voting as one or voting separately. Clearly with all the points laid down the latter is more logical for the simple reason that congress is voting separately on the most irrelevant law, how much more if the concern is the entire constitution?

The move of the house wanting to act on their own is the very same thing that we could expect if the parliamentary government they wanted takes place. No senate, no checks and balances and the only thing that will happen are the desires of the house. Just imagine the scenario, if the house is doing that kind of attitude in the present form of government how much more if they will be given the full control of the parliament?

Others may argue that people may change members of the parliament if they are not satisfied with what their representatives are doing but is that really possible? Maybe in the imperial manila that is possible but I doubt if it is in other parts of the country where patronage politics and political warfare is very much evident. Granting that the members of the parliament in the greater manila are changed constantly, still that cannot be assured in distant provinces. In the provinces, most of the public facilities such as hospitals and schools belong to the incumbent politician. And unless the people support that politician they can never use those facilities without any unwanted hindrances. It is a given fact in the land that in the rural areas politicians is giving the needs of the people but only some of them is giving it without expecting any in return, and that return will only be acknowledged if it is given in a form of a vote. Do the people there have a choice? Of course they don’t unless they are willing to sacrifice the lives of their children. Even if how much wicked their politician is, they wont dare challenge him if they don’t want to suffer any unwanted consequences. So in the end the parliament will be the having the same people again and again until the time we’ll never know when.

If there are people to blame here it is not the people, they have no choice. If there are people to blame here it is non other than the proponents of Charter-Change in a very untimely period. The only responsible for this is the politicians who don’t want to give up power come what may and politicians who are willing to sacrifice the people for more power no matter what. A parliamentary government is a thing wanted badly by people who wanted to be the top official of the land who cannot win by a popular vote.

MAGIC OF THE BOY WHO LIVED

2006-08-15T12:22:00.000+08:00

I thought of not writing about this stuff the other day since I don’t think it was worth writing about. However considering the fact that it’s one of my life’s ironic surprises, I decided to do otherwise.

I have heard about this Harry Potter thing years ago but it didn’t draw my slightest attention. I knew that its movie renditions came from bestseller children’s book authored by J.K. Rowling but nothing more than that. I don’t even know what JK means or if he’s a she or a he. It always amazes me when I see my classmates and friends read those thick books, knowing that placing myself in their shoes, I may not stand reading even a single chapter of it given the fact that it’s all fiction.

But some sort of twist came to me last month. In one rainy morning, which happened to be my day-off, I sat on a chair, stared at the horizon and did nothing else. I’m bored and I cannot go anywhere since the flood outside was nearing waist level. I decided to look for my vcd’s and dvd’s but found all my James Bond and FPJ movie collections not that interesting since I have already watched them more than trice each. So I asked my cousin to lend me something to watch and eventually what he gave me was a 4in1 Harry Potter collection. I watched the first movie and I considered it nice. (I have already watched that before but in a pirated copy that’s why I didn’t appreciate it then) I watched the second until the last movie that day and to my surprise, I was amused by them.

The next day after I’ve had my HP marathon, I was in the office but my boredom didn’t depart. Since there’s nothing much to do then and I felt I wanted to continue the adventures of Harry, I called a friend whom I knew was a big HP fan and borrowed her copy of Order of the Phoenix. I knew she’s a fan of Harry coz she always bring a sorting hat replica bag in school. I read the book at breaks and idle hours at the office and finished it in a week. As expected the book dazed me than the movie.(Note for 1-2’s: I only read the book in the office and it didn’t take any of my priorities. I cannot read the scrolls there since majority of my officemates are INM.)

Knowing that there will always be idle hours at work and with my desire to continue with the adventure I decided to purchase a paperback copy of Half-Blood Prince and I found that book remarkable as far as having the element of suspense and leaving loose ends hanging in mid-air. Finished it in a week and it only leaves me looking forward for the final installment of the series.

Friends told me they can’t imagine me reading Harry Potter…so am I.

CEDULA

2006-08-14T11:54:00.000+08:00

"Cedula’y punitin tanda yan ng pagkaalipin!" That is one of the lines I can still remember from our school play when I was at grade 5. The setting there as far as I can remember was during the Spanish colonial era where Filipinos without cedula will surely go home with bruises all over the body or worst he may never get home at all.

Just only these past couple of days in seems that the fear of not having cedula aroused again in some parts of the country particularly in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, parts of Central Luzon that is covered by the powers of Gen. Jovito Palparan. Recent news and interviews says that citizens in the place that cannot produce their cedulas will either be hurt or put to jail.

Some accounts tell that there is an incident where a man showed an expired cedula and the soldiers forced him to swallow the piece of paper. Another says that an old beggar asked a soldier how can he get his cedula when he cannot even buy his food. The beggar was slapped in the face. These accounts were, of course, denied by Gen. Palparan, among with other stories of military abuses.

I personally believe that although some of these stories were exaggerated, there are pieces of truth in it. The smoke wouldn’t be there if there is no fire. Based on character background and testimonies of many, the story of the abuse of power can never be a full fiction. I am not against the military checkpoints asking for cedula, it’s ok. But why not just ask for any valid ID? Private corporations are looking for it for their legal transactions and not cedula. Even if the military says that ID can easily be faked, do they know that cedula, a paper in size of a receipt, is easier to fake? Do they know that the younger generation doesn’t even know what a cedula is? Or even what does it look like? Professionals all have ID’s but I don’t think all of them have a cedula. I think these illogical actions of Gen.Palparan are boosted because of the President’s encouragement during her SONA. “Palakpakan natin si General Jovito Palparan”

AGAIN

2006-08-08T11:12:00.000+08:00

It’s been months since my last entry and now finally another worthless entry just for the sake of updating.

I used to update entries regularly before when I was still at school for the simple reason that Internet use then was free. Well technically Internet use was part of the tuition but still, the fee doesn’t come from my pocket unlike now that almost in everything I am supposed to be self sufficient.

Update: I won P2000 in a raffle of our recent company party, but unfortunately it was forfeited because I didn’t attend the event. I really forced myself to go there and I succeeded, but again unfortunately I wasn’t able to find the venue (Crown plaza, Ortigas) my horrible sense of direction was responsible for it again. I got lost again. I tried to call for help but unfortunately, no one answered their phones XD (I’m just not sure if they knew why I called, maybe they thought that was just a joke)

As expected after being absent in 2 company parties, almost everyone thought I just don’t want to go to gatherings because I’m not a sociable person. Maybe yes, maybe no but I don’t care, I’m just sorry for that P2000 I imagined having wings and flying out of my hand.

JUST A SHORT UPDATE

2006-05-19T17:53:00.000+08:00

The irony of life goes rolling again as I luckily ended up with a job in a company that I never thought I’ll be working in. I always wanted to work in the other network since I’m not a regular audience of this station where I’m hired. But this twist of fate always tells me that whatever it is, I should always trust HIM since He knew what is best for me. I have proven that in the past and I’m up to prove it again. Thanks be to HIM.

SHAKE-A-MINUTE

2006-04-09T18:19:00.000+08:00

"Gugulong ka sa sarap..."

For a newly graduate like me, this year’s summer would be far from the previous summers I’ve experienced before. If I used to stay at home during summer, this year would be different.

This summer, almost all newly graduates are expected to hunt for a stable job and eventually start working as soon as possible. But the problem is that there are not enough job opportunities available for another batch of unemployed citizens of the country. Actually, there are lots of jobs out there but there is not enough that suits the qualifications of the newly grads. There are lots looking for plumbers, carpenters and the likes but I cannot seem to see university graduates who spent their money for education landing in those kinds of jobs. They would at least look for something that could compensate their expenses.

I admit that I am one of those newly graduates that are looking for a job suited for my degree. But I if there is something that differs me from all those jobseekers, I think, that it’s my willingness to land in any job available. (Illegal jobs not included) Of course I’ll not stop looking for a job that I really like or something that could be permanent, but I do not want to waste my time sitting in the corner of our house when I know that my parents badly needs my help.

But I cannot help them financially when I’m still unemployed. So with the P200 I’ve saved, (that P200 was the refunded amount form Roxanne’s, which I never returned to my parents.) I decided to start a very small business in the wet market near our house.

Since I really hated summer because of too much heat, I decided to use that as an advantage. I started a mango shake business, Shake-a-Minute mango shake “Gugulong ka sa sarap”. I bought P150 worth of mangoes, (TIP: mangoes with few rotten parts are sweeter and much cheaper) P30 sugar and P21 milk. Borrowed a blender and a Styrofoam container from my cousin and presto! An instant business.

The first day of my business was not bad. For P5 per glass, I’ve gained my P200 back and earned P60 plus I still have some ingredients I can use tomorrow that will soon be converted as my income. Though my dad and my brother were my first detractors I just ignored them. I know that they are not really used to doing such business. Although I can hear them and my relatives joking “Yan, UST yan tindero nalang ng shake” I don’t mind them. I don’t want to remain stagnant, I wanted to help and I will help in any way I can, in any way possible.

Selling street foods is not new to me so starting this business is somewhat easy. I’ve experienced selling bibingka in the streets when I was seven or eight years old and I have been a newspaper boy for more than five years. I even sold brownies and birthday cards at school when I was in high school. I don’t care what others say, for as long as I know that what I’m doing is right, I’ll do it come what may.

My Shake-a-minute fruit shake is available from Mondays to Fridays from 7am to 6pm at Kapak palengke Caloocan City. For more information just email me at imchiz@gmail.com (parang PR lang e hehe)

POINTLESS ENTRY

2006-04-07T19:25:00.001+08:00

People always say that I’m a serious and silent person but if my friends will be asked, maybe they will say that I am a faultfinder arrogant person who do not take things seriously but rather sees almost everything as a joke.

Some say that we always pretend to be someone we wanted to be, and that someone is what we want others to see as ourselves. As for that matter, I do not know if the character others see in me is something I wanted to be or if it is the real me. I like laughter but I always tend to be serious for reasons I’m not yet sure. Maybe because of what my relatives taught me when I was young that laughter is just a precedent to sadness. Maybe it is because I don’t want to be sad that I don’t want to laugh even how much I love to.

I don’t know what I wanted to be and I don’t know who should I be. Maybe you’ll say that I should be myself but how when I do not know who am I? I wanted to be with everybody but I would rather choose to be alone. I wanted to speak but I would rather keep silent.

My life is full of irony that I even doubt what I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. My silence doesn’t only mean that I have nothing to say but I have lots of thoughts I couldn’t express. My elusiveness to people doesn’t mean I don’t want to have company but I don’t want to lose someone so dear.

Being alone always makes me think… but often times it gives me nothing but depression.

POINTLESS ENTRY

2006-04-07T19:25:00.000+08:00

Some say that we always pretend to be someone we wanted to be, and that someone is what we want others to see as ourselves. As for that matter, I do not know if the character others see in me is something I wanted to be or if it is the real me. I like laughter but I always tend to be serious for reasons I’m not yet sure. Maybe because of what my relatives taught me when I was young that laughter is just a precedent to sadness. Maybe it is because I don’t want to be sad that I don’t want to laugh even how much I love to.

I don’t know what I wanted to be and I don’t know who should I be. Maybe you’ll say that I should be myself but how when I do not know who am I? I wanted to be with everybody but I would rather choose to be alone. I wanted to speak but I would rather keep silent.

My life is full of irony that I even doubt what I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. My silence doesn’t only mean that I have nothing to say but I have lots of thought I couldn’t express. My elusiveness to people doesn’t mean I don’t want to have company but I don’t want to lose someone so dear.

Being alone always makes me think… but often times it gives me nothing but depression.

THANK YOU

2006-03-28T18:09:00.000+08:00

School days have ended and tomorrow will be graduation day. After all the struggles, all the pains and all the deadlines, it finally reached its end. But at the back of it will also be the end of the memories shared in all the four corners of the classroom. All the joys, all the laughter and all the triumph will soon need to be part of history, moments that will only be seen in pictures, videos and some posted notes. Soon enough, together with the pain of schooling, all the joys will only be part of the past.

Four years ago when I entered college, whenever I see graduation advertisements attributed to the successful graduates of that year, I was always amazed. Knowing the difficulty of being a student, I always see graduates as exalted people who managed to win the great battle inside the academe. Whenever I see graduation advertisements, I always wish to be in the shoes of the graduates applauded for receiving their diplomas. I always wonder how it feels wearing that black toga.

Now that I will be part of the students who will take the grand march hopefully after this day, I know how it feels to be one. A mixture of joy and sadness- that was what they felt, that is what I feel. It is the joy of finally ending the years of apprenticeship and the sadness of leaving all the memories behind. The joy of the success just attained and the sadness of missing all the friendships made behind the walls of the university. Though a student’s life is full of sleepless nights, stressful projects and terror professors, all of those are easily flounced with the delight and encouragement given by people called friends, friends that will forever remain in my heart.

All these days, friends are the reason why I kept on fighting. I’ve spent two years learning my ABC’s, six years learning my basic math, science and history, four years for advance algebra, complicated sciences and deeper history, and finally another four years to furnish them all. That was the history of my student life. But between the letters A, B&C, inside the lungs of a dissected frog and behind the scenes of Noli and Fili, there were lessons learned, there were lessons felt. Lessons that were neither found on the blackboard filled with chalk dust nor in the notebooks filled with inks but rather through friends that come and go, through friends that come and stay.

I am a loner person, but friendship taught not to be. If there is one thing I’ve learned in college life, it is to mingle with friends. I know how to speak but my friends taught me how to express myself. I know how to smile but my friends taught me how to laugh. I know how to work under pressure but my friends taught me how to work happily against pressure. I know the definition of love but my friends taught me what love is. If there is one thing I’ll miss, if there is one thing graduates surely miss, that is the memories and lessons taught by friendship.

But more than being proud of myself and proud of my friends, I am very much proud with my parents and the parents of the all the graduates. Without them students will never be students, graduates will never be graduates. My parents were the ones who directed my hand through the first letter I wrote and the ones that guided my first step toward the long journey to graduation. Now that I’m about to take my final step of my student life, they are still there and it wouldn’t be as sweet without them. If I have struggled and suffered, they endured twice as much. If I have shed a tear, they have cried more. So if I am delighted to be a graduate, they are twofold blissful than I.

In behalf of the all the graduates, we render our greatest salute first to God Almighty and next to our beloved parents and friends who fought with us till the last drop of their blood. You gave us the support, you gave us the spirit that’s why we got it. Thank you very much.

BORED

2006-03-14T17:15:00.000+08:00

Only a week had passed since my last regular school day but I'm buried deep into boredom. Although I have some activities other than going to school, I still get bored whenever I come home. We don't have any cable channels, no playstation, no PC games or whatever a person at my age can do to relax himself. I don't like going to malls or anywhere just to do nothing. I don't like talking on the phone for almost a day just to converse about the same things over and over again. I really hate myself when I'm bored. But this is nothing new to me. In fact, this always happen every after school year. Maybe I'm just bored or maybe I just miss school. Yes, I just miss school because this will probably be the longest time I'll miss it.

UPDATE

2006-03-10T19:41:00.000+08:00

I haven’t updated for the past weeks since I have to settle all my academic deficiencies both acquired by me and the university’s negligence.

I was supposed to post an entry that I wrote last night when I am totally depressed and seems hopeless with all the events happening in my life. (I never thought I would face such impediment before I finally graduate)

That entry was supposed to reveal my emotional side that is usually unseen by others and sometimes even by me. I never thought I would feel alone and helpless by this point where I have acquired more friends than before. But since God, as always, made me feel comfortable and answered my prayers sooner than I expected, I decided not to publish the entry. Thanks to God for all the things he has done.

Happy birthday again to Trixie and thanks to all my friends for a very memorable bonding moment last night.

LANDSLIDE, WHY?

2006-02-21T08:44:00.000+08:00

In the editorial of the Philippine Daily Inquirer yesterday regarding the grief-stricken landslide in Baranggay Guinsaugon in Saint Bernard town, Southern Leyte, it wrote this phrase:

“Ours is still a religious nation, so it is only to be expected that in the last few days both public discourse and private conversations have touched on the threshold question: How can God, Allah, or Providence, allow something like this to happen?

There are no easy answers; there may be in fact no answer.”

I believe that the bible has the answer, and I would like to assert this for those who still question the authority of God and His compassion.

In a country that admittedly has a vast corrupt government officials and unproductive citizens, why should God take away the lives of the chaste and the children innocently studying when the landslide occurred? Why not just make the landslide arise in the halls of congress to lessen the corrupt? Or in the prostitution dens where shameless lust takes place in bright daylight? That seems reasonable to think. But to think that God seems merciless, God seems inconsiderate, that is very idiotic.

The scenario is something like of what happened in Sodom and Gomorra. Everyone was killed, including innocent children. But why?

God has his reason, and we cannot question His wisdom and justice. The death of the children is not something we should mourn about, although to anguish in this situation is something natural. Just think about it, God may have saved those little children from more misery. Those children will surely make it to heaven. As said in Matthew 19:14

“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

That could be the reason, and that is a great reason. Those children who died would not need to suffer long, they need not endure the inequities of this world anymore. It seems a tragic death for them, but they might be luckier than us, when they woke up, what they would see will be the face of our Lord. Who knows, if they did not die in that horrible event, they might not end up in heaven.

For those wondering why the fraudulent is still alive and kicking, God gave them a chance to make their lives anew.

That tragedy is a warning. It is a reminder for us that there is Someone, greater than us that we should always remember. Someone whom we are liable to. No matter who we are, wealthy or not, we should learn to recognize that someday we would be accountable for all our deeds. Maybe not in this world but somewhere else.

“See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.” –Deuteronomy 32:39

Ely and Michael

2006-01-21T12:22:00.000+08:00

After the booming of the novelty songs and RnB’s, it looks like that the variety of Pinoy bands have taken back their place in the local radio stations.

With these bands gaining life anew, it reminds me of the days when they are regarded as the ones seated in the throne of Philippine music. Probably during the 90’s (the time when I can appreciate music) I think there’s no one who is somehow inclined to music, particularly to these bands, that doesn’t know even a single song from the Eraserheads.

The 90’s had been the era for the eheads. From getting a triple platinum to getting their Mtv award, from appearing in television commercials to having their big screen appearance, it seems that nobody could stop them.

But that era has ended, and now that the trend of local bands is slowly taking back its seat, there is still no trace of the legendary eraserheads. Its lead vocalist Ely Buendia is now in his new band called “Pupil” writing songs and leading the group.

Although he is slowly getting back his fame, it seems that he couldn’t match what their group did before. He has his fans, he has his audience, but the magic is not as good, which reminded me of the great Michael Jordan.

Michael is regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time, but just like other legends, the greatness is now nowhere to be seen but in history. Michael’s greatness is incomparable during his time, leading the Chicago Bulls to 6 championships.

After leaving the Bulls, Michael landed to the Washington Wizards as his new home, before he eventually retired. He still showed his magnificence and greatness and brought the Wizards a new hope but he wasn’t able to give them a single championship.

Michael Jordan and Ely Buendia are both great by themselves, they can stand alone but their chosen profession is not a one-man team. Their group helped them to be what they are and without their team, they can never be the same. Michael and Ely are great, but they can only live in the shadows of their past. Michael can’t be greater than the Jordan of the Bulls and Ely can’t be better than the Buendia of the E’heads.

CHRISTMAS FRAUD

2005-12-27T10:20:00.000+08:00

Note: This entry might be offensive to others. Any comments and reactions are welcome for as long as it is for the sake of truth. I did not post this entry until after December 25 so as not to spoil the Christmas spirit for its believers.

Christmas as it is observed in the Philippines is a catholic tradition, a tradition where other religions are also involving themselves in for their own reasons. Based on the Catholic encyclopedia the tradition of Christmas was used to be every January 9, which later on was replaced to December 25. The Catholic authorities admit that the date of the birth of Jesus Christ is unknown and so they set a date in reference to the pagan celebration of the feast of Sun god.

Making a wild guess on the date of Christ’s birth was not a good idea, having it on a date that was used to be a feast for a pagan god was terrible, but deciding that it should fall on December 25 is far more ridiculous. If the bible does not specify any date, then why would anyone place such? As a result of this attempt, the result is nothing but weird.

The bible tells the story of the birth of Christ in a scenario where Joseph and Mary finds a space in a manger, which means that the shepherds are on the field. Consider the part of the song the first Noel. “The first Noel the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay…” (Nothing wrong until this part but look at the next line) “In fields where they lay keeping their sheep on a cold winter night that was so deep…” Can anyone imagine shepherds keeping their sheep in the field during winter?

Snow starts to fall in Israel on November, and during December, the fields were covered of nothing but snow and it would be illogical for any shepherd to bring their sheep in the field during that time of the year, unless the sheep in Israel could eat halo-halo.

With this little biblical point, Christmas would obviously not fall on December 25.

The traditional Christmas practiced in the Philippines is said to have the spirit of love and gift giving. But why is that whenever this season of the year comes, the crime rate tend to increase? And more people have a propensity to be under the influence of liquor, which often leads to murders? Is that love?

But is there any Christmas in the bible? Of course there is, then what is it? How should Christians practice this Christmas?

To be continued…

GREAT JANG GEUM

2005-12-20T18:39:00.000+08:00

“We are sparks of fire…one day these sparks of fire will burn…”

The historical based television series in Korea is finally in the Philippines and just like in any other country where it was aired, it caught the hearts of its viewers.
Dae Jang Geum, also known as Jewel in the Palace got the attention of Filipino viewers not only because of its grand settings and costumes but also because of its storyline that Filipinos truly love.

The novel starts with a prophesy to a palace captain who led the prosecution of the queen and would eventually save and marry a palace girl that was a victim of an evil plot in the royal kitchen. Both of them lived as a refuge hiding from the claws of the current king that wanted all those involved in the queen’s trial to suffer from the penalty of death.

The couple gave birth to an intelligent little girl they named Jang Geum. Jang Geum is a girl who always wanted to study but cannot because during that time, only people from high society were allowed to learn. Without her mother knowing, Jang Geum’s father told her their real status in the society and so she had forced her mother to teach her how to read and write.

Because of some unexpected incident, Jang Geum had revealed their true identity that led to the capture and death of her father and made way for the soldiers to chase her mother to death. Before her mother died, she left Jang Geum a letter that tells her their story and asked her to enter the palace to become a lofty madam in the royal kitchen.

Jang Geum’s intelligence and diligence led her to become a palace girl and end up being handled by her mother’s best friend Lady Han. In the palace, Jang Geum showed exceptional skill and talent, which made her favored by the queen.

In a competition that will choose the next lofty madam in the royal kitchen where Lady Han is supposed to compete with Lady Cui (the person responsible for the plot against Jang Geum’s mother), Jang Geum would again show her skills in cooking and beat Lady Cui because Lady Han would not be able to compete due another evil plan by Lady Cui’s brother.

Jang Geum’s victory over lady Cui gave the title of being a lofty madam to Lady Han but the same victory was used by Lady Cui to question Lady Han’s legitimacy as the lofty madam. Because of the boycott led by Lady Cui, Lady Han asked the queen to make another competition to finally settle the legitimacy of being the lofty madam where she won with a very clear mandate.

After Lady Han became the lofty madam a letter made by Jang Geum’s mother led her to finally know that her long time apprentice was her bestfriend's daughter.

In another evil scheme by Lady Cui, she accused Lady Han and Jang Geum of poisoning the King, which gave them a penalty of being exiled and being a government slave. Before they reach their destination, Lady Han died because of the burden of torture given by the soldiers. In their place of exile, Jang Geum learned that the only way for a government slave to get back in the palace is to become a female doctor, and she eventually became one.

As a female doctor, Jang Geum made her way back to the palace and performed an excellent skill, the same way as she does in cooking. Jang Geum will find cures from different types of diseases including those that have no known treatment yet during that time. With her medical skills she investigates the scheme made by Lady Cui that led to her mother and Lady Han’s death and prove their innocence.

Because of her talent that led for Lady Han and her mother to gain back their status, she became the lofty madam of the royal kitchen. As a lofty madam, she made her mother’s request for her to write their story to the book that only the lofty madam is allowed to read. After fulfilling her mother’s request, she returned in being a female doctor and again finding cures to the unknown diseases that afflict the palace.

Jang Geum’s skill was known in the royal hospital and she gained the king’s trust and had been appointed as the king’s personal doctor, which at that time is extremely prohibited for any woman. Amid the objections of the palace ministers she improves her skills and even learn the mystery of surgery.

In Korea’s history, Jang Geum is the first woman to be appointed as their head physician, a position that is prohibited for any woman during the time of a male dominated society.
Thus she is given the title Dae Jang Geum.

(I never mentioned her love life here although it is one of the most important events in the story. Maybe that’s because I wanted the story to end up with Jang Geum being single XD)

The story is far from the ordinary television series people usually watch. Besides focusing to the love story only in the near end, it is something where the viewers can get much lessons, whether in politics, family, friendship, love and all the struggles in life. But these lessons can only be understood by looking deeper into the story.

THE RETURN OF GARCI

2005-11-24T17:34:00.000+08:00

The "legendary" escape master Virgilio Garcillano is back, but whether for or against the administration is yet to be known.

Last night I heard a news commentator asked, "Garci is back... but why only now?" Based on the statements of Garcillano's wife and few administration congressmen, he is really back. But why only now? Is he moved by his conscience to show up and speak the truth? I doubt it. So I decided to think of his reasons for coming back to the Philippines. Why would he do that if he can continue his "vacation" abroad?. I came up with three but unfornunately I forgot one.

The reason of his return in the country is of course the same reason why he run out of here- To protect the president. But now, not only to protect but also to defend her... but why only now?

First reason is that the impeachment complaint had already been dumped. With that event, the statements that he will give now will have no effect with the complaint filed against the president. If only he had given his statements before the impeachment complaints had been filed, then it could back up all the evidences and there would be no way for the majority block of the congress to dump it for the basis of insufficiency in form and substance. (his statements would be enough as substance).

Second, is that at this point, Rep. Gilbert Remulla of the administration is no longer the chair of the lead committee that would preside in the congressional inquiry. The point is that Remulla was not been so favorable for the administration in the way he presides the inquiry and had been fair enough to allow the opposition solons to scrutinize the witnesses. Now that Remulla had been replaced, the chair that would preside further inquiry can stop all the moves of the opposition to force Garcillano to squeal the annomalies he made. (Just like what Datumanong did, when he decides to go through the prejudicial questions first.)

As for the third reason... as I've said, I forgot. XD

JEWEL

2005-11-18T19:41:00.000+08:00

[Edit: Because of this jewel fanaticism I already purchased a set of Jewel DVD series. The problem is that we don't have any DVD player yet. Crazy right? but I did that just to force myself to have a player asap. XD]

Honestly I am not an advocate of any of the Korean novellas that are rolling up on national television these days but I admit that I had watched a couple of them and ended up liking it.

Few years back, the people in our place had been addicted in watching the Mexican soap opera ‘Mari Mar’. I can still remember my mom desperately rushing to finish our dinner as early as possible just to watch it on time. And when it already runs on air, don’t dare talk to her if you don’t want to be scolded to death. That time, I really don’t know what keeps them stuck with the story of a dubbed telenovela with a taking dog.

Just a couple of years back, the era of the Mexican soaps ended and was replaced with the Koreans. From Meteor garden to Full house, the same scenario took place and everyone seems to be so inclined with it. Although as I’ve said, I had watched some series that somehow fascinated me, (most of them anime) I can’t seem to be attracted with these Korean series until recently when I accidentally saw the historical series “Jewel in the Palace.”

I do not intend to tell the story here, in the first place I do not know the whole story yet but I just like to air my not-so-serious side of personality. Jewel in the Palace is the first TV series that made me exited to get home early everyday and stare at the television as if there is no tomorrow. I’m corny right? But that is what I really feel. All I can say is that it is really worth watching.

P.S.

For those who send me text messages from 9:30-10:00 in the evening, sorry for the late replies… now you know why XD.

BAD BOYS?

2005-11-11T18:15:00.000+08:00

In the recent speech of GMA addressed to the KBP, she referred to the media as “bad boys” for being inconsiderate in reporting the events happening in the country. The president asked why do the media keeps on reporting those events that's placing the country and her administration in bad light.

"I call on you, let us cast aside the bad boy image that the press have acquired. Let us restore its glory as the responsible son of a democratic nation. We must take heed of the media becoming part of the national malaise and a hindrance to development rather than an important solution to our problems,” said the president.

In the context of what GMA said, she is calling the media to focus on the accomplishments made by her government and not the one's that degrades her administration's credibility.

Although I believe that good news should always have its part on broadcast and print media, I do not blame the press if major part of its reports were infavorable for the president. I believe that if the present government or any government for that matter doesn’t make any anomalies and controversies, then the media wouldn’t report such, in the first place, people know which things to believe. Media would certainly report good things that occur in the country if there is any.

Just like what professors usually says, they do not make the grades of the students, they just record it; it's also the same for the media, they are not making the news, they just write it.

Maybe, just maybe, the president is not asking for news but for publicity, two things which are far different from one another. Publicity is the things you want to hear and news is the things you need to hear.

I FOUND GARCI!

2005-11-04T18:10:00.000+08:00

Everybody is looking for him but they couldn’t find him. There were reports that he’s in Singapore, London and now in Argentina. Rep. Gilbert Remulla even speculated that he might be dead. But this is the latest…

He is still in the Philippines and in fact, he can be seen on national TV. According to reports, he just underwent some surgical operations somewhere in Manila and it resulted into a great disguise. From an election official to a tv comedian…

NOTE: The idea came to my mind when I accidentally saw the second guy in a TV show XD

WE DID IT

2005-10-26T18:25:00.000+08:00

Although the first semester ended a few weeks ago, I really cannot settle down that much because of that Literary Criticism I have in mind. I believe most of us in our class will agree that it gave us much stress just by thinking on whether we will pass or not in that subject (maybe except ate mitch hehe). But after some time of thinking and praying, I am happy that all of us made it.

Going under the hands of Professor Cynthia Rivera is not that easy, so just by thinking that we passed her dreadful subject is something that could make your feet rise above the ground.
With that kind of success, we, the so-called Knights of the Pink Table decided to celebrate and enjoy for the rest of the day. I really can’t put into words how happy we were yesterday so I will just let this picture explain XD.

As I have said before and as I will always say again and again, we could not have done this without the help our God. We owe Him everything we have, including our own selves. Thanks be to Him. TO GOD BE THE GLORY.

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most high:To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound." -Psalms92:1-3

RULE OF LAW, NON-VIOLENCE

2005-10-20T10:25:00.000+08:00

“The rule of law is the only human order. Its perversion, going by the name ‘law and order’ or ‘national security,’ should fool no one except those willing to be fooled. To think of human rights at all, to be concerned about them, should be to think universally of human rights for all.”

These words were quoted from the speech of former president Corazon Aquino at the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, New York on September 21, 1986. The speech of Cory exactly 14-years after her predecessor Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law was to remember and recollect the human right violations Filipinos suffered during the regime.

That time, Marcos had always invoked the rule of law as the reason for all the oppressions and censorships done by his government. Media groups were seized, opposition groups were put to bad light and worst, some of them were killed. Irregular presidential decrees were given, rallies were barred and government criticisms were condemned. Cory was referring to these events in her speech.

This time, the events were seemingly the same and only the characters were different. The same rule of law is being invoked to defend the non-sense executive orders such as EO464. The same rule of law is being invoked to defend the calibrated preemptive response, which uses harsh dispersals of assemblies in replacement of the maximum tolerance policy. The opposition groups were condemned to the point that the press secretary is addressing them as destabilizers and terrorists. The same rule of law was used to defend the killing of the impeachment proceeding that would reveal the things that the people should know, whether in favor of the president or not.

The speech of Cory is not only applicable that time but even this time. The events of oppressions are still tremendously obvious and the rule of law is still being overused. The rule of law, as Cory said should be for the universal rights of all and not only for the selected powerful few. Above all, the rule of law was made for the benefit of public interest and not the for the benefit of the president’s interest. Using the rule of law to defend the violence against the people is basically idiotic. In another speech of Cory at Harvard University on September 22, 1986, she said:

“Non-violence is not the only force that can collect the power of the people and bring it to near overwhelmingly on an object. Religious fanaticism, class hatred and military patriotism can serve as well. But only non-violence can achieve a moral purpose without compromising it, especially if that purpose is peace.”

HALF-TIME

2005-10-14T17:41:00.000+08:00

At long last the semester came to an end. Finally I can breathe a bit from all those paper works and unimaginable reading tasks and have a quite enough sleep. And just for the record, I would like to list down some of the events and accomplishments we have done in the previous months.

I had a chance to interview Congressman Gilbert Remulla and the House Minority Leader himself, Chiz Escudero. The interview was for our broadcast journalism prelim, which came out quite well.

Although I’ve reached the maximum limit of absences allowed in some our subjects, still I managed not to go beyond that and not receive a ‘Failure due to absences’ grade in our Sports Journalism and Thesis classes.

We have had a thesis adviser without any knowledge in thesis making (He/She? admitted it) but nevertheless we still completed our methodology without much difficulties and that is with the fact that we revised the whole thesis itself one week before its submission.

We came up with the third issue of the REALSCORE sports magazine, this time featuring billiards and billiard players. But sad to say, we were not able to have an interview with the magician.

We have made a ‘full blown’ documentary project featuring people who sell their own blood, kidney and sperm to support their financial and vices needs. That documentary caused us to tussle against bad weather, sleepless nights, unknown places and stubborn group mates XD. We encountered technical problems in the last minute but still managed to submit it on time. The other groups were already presenting their works but there we are, doing editing stuff in the library. Mitch, our EP, asked us to make a cover for the cd but Art, Tristan and I don’t know how to use PageMaker efficiently so we decided to make it in MSWord. The result... it was like those pirated cd’s sold in quiapo.

And the most dreadful of all was that I finished the thousand and one readings in our literary criticism class and experienced a six-hour long final exam for that subject. And that six-hour long final exam was just to answer four questions. But although I’m done with that, the question still remains… will pass that subject?

Although they may look simple accomplishments but I know deep within me that I am not capable of doing those little things without the help of my God. Whenever it came to a point that everything seems helpless, the only thing that I do is to kneel, pray and shed a tear. And it doesn’t fail. It is to Him that I owe all these accomplishments. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!

G, M & A

2005-09-29T17:21:00.000+08:00

“The President is afraid of nothing”
- Sec. Rigoberto Tiglao

Yes she is really afraid of nothing. That is why she lifted the maximum tolerance policy and changes it to the Calibrated Preemptive Response (CPR). GMA is afraid of nothing, that is why she used some provisions of the Batas Pambansa Blg.880 (which was made during the Marcos dictatorship) to implement the CPR but neglected other portions of it that permits a public assembly in freedom parks without any government permit and that local officials should not hinder giving permits unless national security is concerned. Yes, the president is not afraid of her administration’s own ghost. She is not afraid of people power.

Yes she is really afraid of nothing. That is why she issued Executive Order 464, which prohibits any cabinet and military officials to attend any legislative hearings without her permission. Yes, she is not afraid that cabinet and military officials might expose something against her administration that is why the Malacañang would review first what should be the answers of the invited officials before letting them participate in the congressional inquiry. Yes, she is not afraid that cabinet and military officials be caught unguarded like what happened to National Security adviser Norberto Gonzalez that is why she is requiring the lower and the upper House to submit the questions beforehand. . She is afraid of nothing, not even in the senate inquiry, that is why Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani would be relieved from his position and placed under the court martial because of his revelations. Well, she really afraid of nothing, right? Just look who is being protected by this moves of Malacañang, is it the general public? Is it the institution? Is it the constitution? Or just the three letters of the alphabet?

DARKNESS

2005-09-24T16:56:00.000+08:00

I think this is my first post that would air my grievances, not against the government, but in a private corporation. I am not the first to complain about this, but I would certainly be glad to be one of those complainants. I am referring to the Meralco corporations, which almost every Filipino below middle class hate.

Last Monday, their electric post in our area exploded due to too many illegal connections. That kind of event was not that extraordinary, in fact, we always experience it almost every other week. But the problem is, it has been almost a week now that our area doesn’t have an electric supply and the Meralco is still not doing anything about it. Some residents called their office and they said they would fix the problem by Tuesday, but it is already Saturday but there was not even a shadow of their employees that came to our place. Just imagine how life is without any electricity… (how can I read that damn Lit articles?) I decided to call their office personally to make a follow-up and guess what they said… shit! They said that they wouldn’t fix it anymore because there were many illegal connections. What kind of response was that? I believe that we are paying our bills on time, no matter how high it is, so we just deserve better services and I mean quick services... and we demand for it!. They said that we should just wait until the illegal connections were gone. Are they asking us to wait until forever? It is like waiting for GMA to resign.

With regard to the illegal connections, they said that the residents in the area should guard the electric post so there would be no one to tap an illegal link. What kind of service is that? That’s nonsense, for many reasons, First, it is not our duty to guard an electric post from illegal connections, it is theirs. Second, the house owners around the said electric post were the ones responsible for the illegal connections, do they want us to be killed? (We live in a squatter’s area, and I guess you know what I mean) And lastly, we have already given them all the information about the illegal connections, who were the responsible for it, where they live and everything about them. But they just gave another stupid response. The very responsible Meralco said that we should be the one to capture those people behind the illegal connections and just call to their office afterwards. Forgive me but Meralco is a big... ay ewan!

HOUSE MINORITY LEADER

2005-09-10T17:37:00.000+08:00

The attempt of the opposition to impeach GMA failed because of lack in numbers. As for that event, opposition congressman Jacinto Paras said that the leadership of the Minority should be changed. Paras mentioned that Rep. Ronaldo Zamora should replace the current House Minority Floor Leader, Francis Escudero. According to Paras, Escudero is not the leader the minority needed; he said that Escudero's inefficiency is the reason why the minority didn’t reach the 79 votes. He also added that Chiz is only working for his own interest because he is aiming for a senatorial slot. (Just a question to Paras, is Chiz not worthy in the senatorial race?)

I'm not sure who would agree with the statements of Paras. I don’t want to sound, as the lawyer of Chiz XD But my point is that the nation saw the efforts of Chiz to gather the 79 votes and do his duty as the minority leader. It is just that he is not as powerful as GMA. As what I have noticed in the past events, Chiz became one of the reasons why the minority had been able to diminish, if not obliterate their image as the political black sheep of the country. If not for him, the minority may not been able to gather support, especially from the youth. Most of the minority solons always sound tpapos in public perception.

With the statement of Paras, I don’t know if he really believes that Rep. Zamora should be the minority leader, or if he has other political motive. (Maybe this could give us an idea...)

CHEATING, LYING & STEALING PLUS KILLING

2005-09-08T20:13:00.000+08:00

We must follow the rule of law! This is the pulse of my constituents. It is the rule of democracy, the rule of majority.

These phrases were grossly overused last Monday and Tuesday during the plenary session in the House of Representatives. Debates and exchange of ideas overwhelmed the session hall. But like as everyone thought of it, the impeachment complaint was murdered. Honestly I didn’t monitor the whole event but I can say that I had an idea of what actions occurred.

Commentators and analysts said that the committee on justice rushed the impeachment hearing but Congressman Datumanong expectedly said that they didn’t. Really? The constitution gives 60 session days for the committee on justice to complete its committee report and they just finished it in 14 session days. They didn’t rush it. They have at least more than three sessions in the committee level which were done overtime. They didn’t rush it. In the plenary, they made the debates and the voting in a marathon session, which lasted for almost 24hours. They didn’t rush it. They gave the copies of the committee report to the members of the House only on the day of the plenary session itself, and much later that day to the members of the pro impeachment group. They didn’t rush it. The members the minority made a motion if they could at least have a day to sleep with the report but the majority rejected it. They didn’t rush it. The committee report lacks substantial information in the draft, like in some paragraphs; there is no mention of the source of the conclusion such as court decisions from the SCRA or constitutional provisions. They didn’t rush it. I don’t know how can I make myself believe that really didn’t.

But why? Sec. Bunye said that the president is thankful for the result of the impeachment and she can now face in the United Nations with full pride and no impeachment case hanging on her head. Did they really think that would happen? In the first place, how can they boast that the name of GMA had been cleared when she didn’t answer the allegations to her legitimacy as president? They didn’t prove that the President is innocent with all these controversies; they just proved that she could use her power, not for the benefit of the public, but for her own interest.

(ONLY) DUE TO TECHNICALITIES

2005-09-01T20:53:00.000+08:00

The nation have seen in the past few weeks the different emotions and events that occurred in the House of Representatives. I would like first to put it on record that although I support the amended impeachment complaint of the minority, I don’t think that the walkout of the opposition is a right move. (But we really can’t blame them for that)

As of the last two weeks of the justice committee hearing, there had been four major decisions made… all of them went in favor of the administration congressmen.

The first is the vote whether to consider first the prejudicial questions given by administration congressman Edsel Lagman, or to determine the sufficiency in form and substance of the three complaints. I believe that the prejudicial questions raised by Lagman were to delay the determination of the form and substance of the three complaints. But why did the minority wanted to discuss the determination of form and substance? And why did Lagman insist to discuss the prejudicial questions first? The motives are obvious. If the majority allowed the opposition to go to the determination of form and substance, they know fully, that the Lozano and the Lopez complaint will fail and the amended impeachment complaint will remain. (The amended complaint is the one filed by the opposition and endorsed by 41 solons when it was first referred to the committee on justice… it was also the same complaint that the administration wanted to kill! ASAP) To avoid such, Lagman laid the prejudicial questions, in the end the administration won and the House went first to answer the prejudicial questions.

Originally, Lagman laid seven prejudicial questions but the committee on justice decided to reduce it into two. The questions were: Should the amended impeachment complaint be treated as a separate complaint from the original Lozano comlapint? & Does the Lozano complaint barred the filling of the amended impeachment complain and the Lopez complaint? The congressmen from both sides stated their stand on the matter and it would be tiring if I would discuss it all here. XD But their points were clear, the majority said that the constitution only allows one impeachment complaint in one year. The point of the minority and also the point stated by constitutionalist fr.Joaquin Bernas in his column in the PDI, says that the constitution allows only one impeachment proceedings in one year. The minority points out that a “proceeding” is far different from a “complaint” But as all of us have seen, the minority was outvoted. The votes said that the Lozano complaint should be treated as a separate complaint among the other complaints and the second voting also said that the Lozano complaint had already barred the filing of the other complaints.

The motive of the administration congressmen is very clear at this point. They wanted to treat the Lozano complaint apart from the amended complaint and to determine the form and substance of only the Lozano complaint. As of this point they carried the Lozano complaint to determine if it is sufficient in form and in substance, and that was the last question in which the (majority) congressmen voted. The final result, it was dismissed because of its insufficiency in substance. At the end of the day, the amended complaint that is obviously sufficient in form and substance was dismissed not due to merits but due to technicality. What a very nice screenplay! Approving a complaint and eventually dismissing it at the end. Now tell me, is this why GMA asked the minority to bring their complaints to congress? Is this what she is talking about as the proper forum where she will answer all the questions about her legitimacy as president? With the dismissal due to technicalities, does that clear her name from all these political controversies? Does that clear the doubts in the minds of the people that she really cheated in the elections? Tell me, what do you think?

(the only hope now is the magic 79)

PIECE OF CHIZ

2005-08-29T18:18:00.000+08:00

Luckily I had the chance to interview Chiz Escudero last week. Like in my interview with Gilbert Remulla, I saw the sincerity in the eyes of the young congressman. Although admittedly, the staff of Chiz were not that accommodating compared to those of Gilbert’s. Maybe because they were too busy accepting interviews from different media groups and besides, they were also busy about the impeachment hearing.

In that interview, Chiz sounded more intellectual than Gilbert (sorry zel) He answers all the questions spontaneously with conviction and it is evident in his eyes that he knows what he is talking about. He answered all the questions in his own soft tone, a non-trapo way of speaking and not even a slight sign of arrogance can be seen in him, with the way he dress and the way he moves and mingle with his staffs, he is the same person we see on TV.

Through that interview, I can say that if an open-minded solon, and I want to emphasize, open-minded solon (if there’s still some of them) would listen to Chiz, he/she might be convinced in what this person is saying. If political bias would be set aside, and the congressmen will just listen to what Chiz have to say, I believe that even without the help of other minority congressmen, he can gather even more that 79 signatures for the impeachment. XD but of course, they won’t listen to him if what he have to say will not favor their interests.

Honestly, I can say that he in some ways had inspired me to be dedicated in my studies and give more attention in acquiring all knowledge possible, because some day, I may have a better use for it. In a very discriminate world, knowledge would be one of the best weapons that should be part of our arsenal.

NO CLASSES

2005-08-29T18:05:00.000+08:00

I don’t know the problem of this government and its agencies why can’t they announce if there would be any suspension of classes as early as possible. They were used to announce it on the day of suspension itself and obviously almost everybody gets confused.

When I was still in elementary and high school, if there are incidents of typhoon, the PAGASA announced the suspension of classes when almost all the students were already on their way to school or maybe at school already, and end up being stranded because of heavy traffic. What’s worst is when they defended themselves in saying that the discretion whether to allow the students to go to class during typhoon is on the parents. There’s really nothing wrong in leaving the discretion to the parents, but what they do not understand is that even if the parents decided not to let their children to go to class, the students will still be considered absent. Teachers, especially the terror one’s don’t usually consider the discretion of the parents for as long as there is no official declaration of suspension of classes.

I don’t know why they cannot make their mind last week if there would be any suspension of classes today because of the National Heroes day yesterday. The government’s unstable decisions created many speculations with the real intention of declaring this day a holiday. Others said that August 29, should have been declared as a “Political Holiday” rather than a non-working holiday because they said that the suspension were made to delay the congressional hearing on the “Hello Garci” issue that supposed to be held today. Even the constitutionalist fr. Joaquin Bernas wrote in his column in the inquirer this question: Is the surprise declaration of the Monday holiday a ploy to prevent the collection of more signatures in a Monday session? This question sprout after the minority said they only needed a few more signatures to reach the magic 79.

As I can see, these were sensible questions that may have been prevented (just maybe) if they had announced the suspension of classes before hand. Actually, I can’t remember any Monday holiday confusion before the time of PGMA, pardon me for blaming her but she is the reason of these confusions.

YOUNG POLITICIANS

2005-08-26T21:09:00.000+08:00

Years before I entered college, what comes to my mind whenever I hear the word politician, is an old man, partly bald, wearing a piña barong and delivering a slow and boring speech in a pulpit. But some years back, I have seen new breed of politicians, young, soft-spoken but intelligent enough to be one. Although admittedly, most of them were just a young replica of what I pictured before as a politician, but still it cannot be denied that there were some of these young politicians who have shown the power of the youth in changing time respected traditions, including the traditional politics.

I don’t want to sound defending politicians, I know they don’t worth it, but I just want to commend what these young politicians have made. These young distinguished politicians have opened the awareness of the younger generations in national issues and social concerns. Before, the youth was only concerned with topics such as fashion, sports and show business depending on their class, but because of these creatures, many among the younger generation have tried to consider shifting their interest in other subjects such as politics, economics and other more serious topics. They have shown to the older generations that the youth’s perception must also be taken into serious consideration and they have made known what the youth power is.

THE GREAT RAID?

2005-08-23T21:30:00.000+08:00

Last week the operatives of the CIDG and the intelligence arm of the AFP, the controversial Isafp raided the safe house of Segundo Tabayoyong, witness of the opposition. This may seem late but I rather write on this than to let it pass XD
As I can see, that was a very desperate move from the side of the administration for the following reasons: first, Angelo Reyes himself cannot say any legal basis of the raid. Second, Brig. Gen. Jose Honorado said that the AFP has no police power and can only participate whenever national security is concerned and he admitted that the Isafp wasn’t supposed to be in that raid. And lastly If the opposition really has no evidence in proving the electoral fraud in the 2004 election, then why did they confiscated all the documents and ER’s in the safe house.

Sec. Ermita said in an interview that the president knows nothing about it and he seems to acquit GMA from responsibility. I don’t believe so, simply because under the command responsibility, the highest authority is responsible for all the actions of his/her subordinate and GMA is the commander in chief of the military and therefore she should be responsible for the actions of the Isafp for that matter. Another thing is that they raided the safe house without any search warrant. The Isafp said that they just responded to the call of the owner of the house and the owner let them enter the room of Tabayoyong. I believe that they should be accountable to it simply because… I will just quote what chiz himself said:
”We would take to task the CIDG “so far as the illegal raid is concern for the following reasons: first, no warrant. Second, they only asked the permission of the owner of the lease premises knowing fully well that once premises is leased out, the owner has already given away the possession of the property and therefore the lessee has full control of the property. She (Cabuhat) cannot consent for people to enter the premises and third, they should have made an inventory at the time of the seizure or the raid, not a week, not two weeks, not even the day after.”

TAKING STAND

2005-08-19T12:26:00.000+08:00

I watched Debate last night and saw how the guests defended their belief on the issue of Impeachment or Truth Commission. The guests stated their different points of view in the issue and in my perception; the Impeachment side got it although the televotes showed that it only lead by a single point.

What I noticed in the program that somehow irritates me was the moderator. Oscar Orbos and Winnie Monsod are supposed to be the mediator of the program, to give it a formal and proper flow. In fairness to Oscar Orbos, he behaved well enough as a moderator but Winnie Monsod…
As a moderator she is allowed to throw certain questions that would start the debate and some intelligent queries that would put the stand of the guests into test. But what she did is directly contradicting the guest, as far as saying phrases as “I don’t believe you” “What you said is not true” etc. I think that was very unethical for a moderator. In the name itself, a moderator should moderate and not to take a stand regardless of her belief on the issue. If she wants to air her side and to make certain pronouncements of her principle then she should be on the side of the panelist and not as a moderator.

********************************
In some scenes on that debate, one of the panelist said that the only proper venue for the president to answer all these controversies is through an Impeachment proceedings, the questions to her in cheating, stealing and lying can only be resolved in an impeachment court. At this point Winnie Monsod take her stand, she said that “So what if she cheat? So what if she steal? So what if she lie? Would that resolve the problem of the country? I don’t think so.” Monsod means that whether GMA is proven guilty or not, that would not change anything in the country, still the problems will remain. What should we do now? Let it pass and ignore it? If we leave the issues unresolved then the political crisis will continue, if we would not mind such allegations for the reason of nothing would change, then we will be on chaos. Everyone will just do whatever they want however grave it is and say, so what? Nothing will change even if they do otherwise. Huh? If a murderer was caught in the act of killing, should the police not arrest him? Besides nothing would change, there were other murderers somewhere else so nothing would change if they arrest this killer. That’s nonsense. If a criminal whether it is an ordinary citizen or even the president of the Philippines, that has been proven to be guilty beyond reasonable doubt suffered the appropriate penalty of what they have done, then at least others would hesitate to do such delinquency, at least obviously.

CONGRESS VISIT

2005-08-18T22:00:00.000+08:00

My first visit to the House of Representatives was luckily in the height of the impeachment case against GMA. Although I planned to watch several hearings including the “Hello Garci” issue, I was not lucky enough to have the time to be there. Now I am supposed to be in the congress not to watch the impeachment hearing but to interview Gilbert Remulla and it is not I that scheduled the interview but the hyper Elizel, I just asked her if I may join her in the interview.

I noticed that the congress just like any other government agencies has the attitude of discrimination toward those who are less fortunate in this life. The security was very strict with those who were dressed not too decently although it is a public office anyway; people should go there even with their simplest clothes.
Before I went to the congress I looked for my peach polo to show that “IM Peach” XD but unfortunately I cannot find it so I ended up with my pink polo and it looked like “I'M Pink” Just for the record I am in favor of the impeachment because it is the only proper venue for the president to answer all the controversies swirling around her so I hope there would be no more technicalities to delay it.

The staffs in the office of Gilbert were very accommodating, they didn’t treat us as students asking favor for the interview but instead they treated us as a formal guest. Until the time Gilbert came, they talked to us casually with different political issues in the country. Gilbert himself was very humble and apologetic, and as I have said in my comment to Elizel’s blog, he didn’t treat himself as an important person and he has his way of making other people comfortable talking with him. The interview went ok and within my heart I can feel the sincerity of the person we talked to. For complete details of the event…visit Elizel’s blog hehe. (I am hoping to have at least a longer post after my interview with chiz, my alter-ego, on Monday hehe)

2005-08-12T21:08:00.000+08:00

MARS?

Planet Mars will be brightest in the night sky starting August. It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will culminate on August 27 when Mars comes to within 35 million miles on earth. Be sure to watch the sky on August 27 12:30am. It will look like the Earth has two moons. The next time Mars will be this close is in 2287. Share this with your loved ones and friends as NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again.
(I also wanted to prove if this is true hehe, so I just hope the sky would be clear on that night)

2005-08-11T11:37:00.000+08:00

Lousy Lawyer

GMA until now is very quiet with regard to the person she said as an election official which she called to during the 2004 election. Although she confessed that her voice was on the “Hello Garci” tape, she didn’t reveal the identity of the man on the other line. (Of course everyone knows it’s Garci) Although the president is hiding its identity, her lawyer yesterday had revealed it and confirmed that it was Garcillano. After a while he said that he was just misquoted (a person is misquoted if what he said is different from what is written in the news) after realizing that he was not really misquoted he said that it was just a slip of the tongue. (nadulas lang daw)

2005-08-10T12:34:00.000+08:00

DISAPPOINTED

I tried to finish reviewing all the readings for the prelim exam in Filipino just to be able to monitor in the congressional hearing for the impeachment case of GMA. Luckily I finished reading last night just to be disappointed that the chair of the hearing called for an executive session… so there’s no media coverage. I’m just wondering why they have to be in an executive session when they only have to talk about some procedures. As one of the congressman said, executive sessions may only be applied when the sake of national security is concerned. I think there is no such matter in the procedural debate.

2005-08-05T12:27:00.000+08:00

Not about politics

Something not about politics… It’s always fun to write something that is current or somehow controversial but writing something else would also be delightful.
Honestly I haven’t written anything that is like this before so this would be a sort of experimental. I can’t decide of anything to write but something just came up that gave me an idea, so I decided to write this just to make a record. :D

Some years ago I had met a friend that became close to me. We always have a quarrel at first but that quarreling just started up our “friendship” We always argued with our different points of view, sometimes it leads us on a formal debate. We haven’t noticed that somehow our arguments became sharing of stories, struggles in life and personal mischief. She became my closest friend during that time. Before we used to disagree with one another but eventually we end up defending our beliefs against others who tried to dispute it. Our “friendship” lasted for some years and then we separated ways. All the while we still kept in touch with each other, sometimes even arguing again despite the distance. Some months ago, I hadn’t heard of her, no messages, no news or whatsoever until the other day when I heard that she has a serious problem. I don’t know if I should contact her, besides who am I to interfere with her life, but still I tried. She said that she has no problem, but deep within I know she has but she doesn’t want to tell me. So I go on with my life, I don’t want to bother my self thinking of someone that doest care about me at all.

I am just wondering about what could have happened, her openness to me suddenly disappeared without any reason at all. I though that she just wanted to deal with her life and that I don’t have anything to do with it. Yesterday, I heard from someone, that my friend is soon to be married. I still don’t know if that was her problem, but I think everyone has a life to deal with. Everyone has a decision to make. But why she didn’t inform me? I still don’t know. Well maybe she doesn’t want me to know.

“As time passes, we miss people less… but the loneliness stays forever”

2005-08-04T11:01:00.000+08:00

Where's Garci?

I remember during my childhood days where I played hide and seek. I seldom became the seeker because I’m very good at hiding during that time But with the few times that I became one, those that were hard to find were those that hides themselves in a very far place, as far as their cousins house in the next few blocks. That was hard to find but the hardest is the one who would go home, sleep and forgot that he is playing the game. (I admit being one, but I did it only once) But why did that happened? It is because of that clumsy seeker, who would look to places that obviously no one would hide like in a main road, and those who hide get bored and end up going home; sometimes even the seeker goes home and didn’t bother to seek. In a hide and seek, the seeker cannot find those who hide if, they were good at hiding, or they went home, or the seeker is a clumsy seeker, or the seeker is really not seeking.

That brings me to the where’s Garci issue. The Congress had invited him not just once and there were also two subpoenas issued for him. The problem was no one had received the subpoena because no one knows his whereabouts. It is very obvious that he didn’t want to show himself in the House of Representatives, don’t tell me that he didn’t know about the congressional hearing. That is a nonesense. The congress decided to issue a warrant of arrest yesterday to forcefully bring him to the hearing and copies of the warrant were given to the PNP, AFP and some government agency to serve it to Garci. The problem is, those who will serve the warrant were the same that were supposed to issue the subpoena to him.

Can they now find Garci? What is the difference of serving a subpoena and serving a warrant of arrest if Garci cannot be located? That would mean the same. No Garci, No Subpoena, No warrant of arrest. The question is why they cannot find Garci? Is it that Garci went to a far place? (as far as London) or they were just a clumsy seeker who were looking in places that obviously shows no signs of Garci? or is it that they are really not looking for him? or worst, is the seeker the one who is hiding garci?

*****

In a classroom situation, the professor told the students before the exam “Do your best” and the students says “ok sir, we will do our best.” After the exam, some students failed. The professor asked “did you do your best?” Of course the students answered yes. The professor said “your best wasn’t good enough.”
That applies to those who are looking for Garci, “did you do your best?” if yes, “your best wasn’t good enough” if no, “Do your best stupid, look for Garci!”

2005-08-03T12:30:00.000+08:00

Poor Philippines?

I can’t really recall the exact figure but as if I remember it right, the news said that there would a P64B budget for the Charter Change that would be taken from the government allowance.

P64B? I thought the Philippines is a poor country… am I wrong? Is it that the Philippines is just pretending to be poor? and it is not true that our country has a big budget deficit? and our country doesn’t really need the help of other country to lend us money? and our government offices are just saving their money for a future use like chacha?... I don’t thinks so.

Is our government saying that it is better to use that budget for the change of the constitution rather than to the malnourish children of this country dying because of hunger? or because of eating spoiled food? Is our government saying that the P64B is better to be used for the change of the constitution rather than to the change of public classrooms that looked more like a stockroom? Is our government saying that it would be better to use the P64B to change the constitution rather than using it to provide shelter for the homeless? Well… maybe that is what our politicians want to say.

2005-08-02T11:38:00.000+08:00

Now it's clear why

The congress now had finally come up with the decision that they would adopt the same rules of impeachment used against former President Estrada. Surprisingly, the majority did not hinder the adopting of the same rules. In it, the minority can legally gather signatures to complete the magic 79 that would transmit the case to the senate. Before, some majority congressmen are saying that it is not possible because the only signatures that will be recognized were that 42 that were in the complaint.

As said by Chiz Escudero, the majority may think that they cannot gather the signatures needed. That is quite logical, because if the majority is sure that the minority can gather the votes, they would have not allowed the same rules. But there maybe some other reason behind?

Administration congressman Marcoleta who endorsed the first impeachment complaint filed by also an administration lawyer Oliver Lozano is now desperately working for attention. He is now saying that the impeachment complaint that the congress should recognize is the one he endorsed and not the amended complaint by the minority.

Can you see the picture? If the congress agreed to work on the original complaint endorsed by Marcoleta, the complaint will just be dismissed even if the minority succeeded in transmitting it to the senate because of its lack of substance. What the minority wants to work on is the amended version and not that original that would certainly fail.

This is why the minority called to the administration before that they should not preempt them in filing the complaint. It is just like that the administration decided what questions to answer. (Like what they did in the last press conference) That is clearly a strategy from the administration, to file their version of the complaint just to escape the main issue. The administration knows that they can easily break from the complaint of Lozano that?s why they are pushing it, they don?t want the amended complaint, they only want the Lozano (administration) version. That is a very clear example of using legal tactics to hide something. In the first place the administration would not have endorsed a ?weak? complaint if it was just for nothing.

2005-07-28T17:41:00.000+08:00

Do not enter

Yesterday GMA finally made a press conference in Malacañang since the biggest challenge on her administration burst on June 6. But it was not as everyone thought it would be... The press conference is supposed to be part of the new image of the president, and she would start her friendly looking image to the media. But what happened? yes, It is he again... Sec. Bunye cast away the journalist and photographers from the international media, and that is without any precedent notice.According to him, the press conference was exclusively for the Malacañang Press Corps. So the poor media members, with all their efforts wasted because of the good secretary just packed up and walked away. As Time Magazine correspondent Nelly Sindayen said, It never happened before, even during the darkest days of the Marcos years. But the circus doesnt end there, because according to the news, the questions to be answered by the president were asked to be given before the start of the conference and only the chosen few were allowed to ask questions. (She should have chosen Mr. Bunye, Mike Defensor and Raul Gonzalez as her Malacañang Press Corps). As expected, no queries with regard to the hello garci tapes and the likes were brought out. Why? go ask Mr. Bunye... that is if he allows you to ask.

What is wrong with answering every questions that the journalist wants to ask? besides, it would have been the chance for the president to clear her name to all these allegations. This scenario looks familiar... when the president would just ignore all the questions as her way of scaping the issue. That is what she did before... before she confessed that the voice on the tape belongs to her. In accordance with the ordinary promptings of man, or woman for her sake, a person whose character is being bombarded by criticisms, and especially negative criticisms would immediately clear his/her name. In fact, other people would call for a press conference, just like what the president did, but this people would appreciate all the questions to be asked simply because that would clear all the doubts in the mind of everyone. But the president did otherwise, she didnt entertain questions that the people wanted to ask, why? is she hiding anything? that impression cannot be hindered to enter the minds of every thinking citizen. As my highschool friend says, "If you really have no pimple... then go ahead and show your face" If really the president is innocent of all these allegations, she should be proud to let it be known to the public.

Others said the president is hiding the truth... well, maybe it is partly true, why? because I believe you couldnt hide anything you dont have... You cant hide the truth if everything that is in you is a lie.

2005-07-23T16:57:00.000+08:00

Laban o Bawi?

If I remember it right, I thought GMA told the opposition to bring their complaint with regard to election fraud to the congress and to follow the rule of law. That is what she said in the height of this political crisis along with her “I’m sorry” line and that “lapse in judgment”

But what is the administration doing? First, they have preempted the Impeachment complaint that will be filed by the opposition by filing their “weak” version of it by a majority congressman in the name of Oliver Lozano. The opposition has been greatly opposed to it because according to them, its lack of substance may just give the president another one year if the complaint was dumped. But realizing that they can’t do anything about it, the opposition said that they will just come up with a concrete complaint to amend the one filed by Lozano. The amended version up to now is under process and would eventually be filed when the congress opens on Monday.

But before the opposition can do the complete amendment of the complaint, GMA had another tactical move…

GMA filed an answer to the original Impeachment complain filed by Lozano. What’s the point? GMA answers the complaint by Lozano, and according to the rules of court, when the accused had already answered the complaint; it would barred the complaint from any possible amendments. Does that make sense? Of course, because the complaint of Lozano is “weak” and she has a grater chance of escaping the real issue.

Is that an act of cowardice? Before, she was brave enough to face the issues in an Impeachment court, but now she is asking the congress to dismiss the case. (That is part of the answer of the president.) Well, conviction is to stick to your guts. If really GMA didn’t commit any impeachable offense, then she should have waited for the stronger complaint promised by the minority. In the first place she is the one who challenged the minority to file a complaint in congress, so why doesn’t she allow that complaint, and I mean that legitimate complaint of the minority to be filed? What is she afraid of? I just wonder what fairy tale Bunye would say.

2005-07-19T11:34:00.000+08:00

Ratings=Economy

I saw an article yesterday that caught my attention.
The famous Presidential Spokesperson Igacio Bunye talked with regard to the popularity rating survey conducted by the Time Magazine and CNN. The survey says that 57% of Filipinos do not trust Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo tsk!

(How can you lead a country in which majority of its people doesn't want to be lead by you?... but that's another issue)

Time Magazine and CNN are known for their credibility, so it's just ethical to believe what they have to say...
That is why Sec. Bunye did not deny the result of the survey but rather came out with a (stupid) response.
Bunye said that GMA wants to focus to the economy rather that to give attention to all these surveys... he says that the presidency is not matter of popularity...(???)

I am not an anti-GMA or an anti-Bunye for that matter but Bunye always has his own way of irritating my ear (just like Raul Gonzalez)

Does Bunye mean that the ratings of the president doesn’t have anything to do with the economy? Bunye should think. If he was a foreign investor, would he invest in a country that has a leader that even its people do not trust?
If the ratings shows that the president do not have the trust of her constituents, how can investors give their trust to her? If the people close to you do not trust you, how can others do?

Mr. Bunye should think before he speaks... being a spokesperson doesn't mean he only have to speak... he also needs to think.

2005-07-14T17:54:00.000+08:00

Ang gulo...

Ang ating mga magulang ang nagtuturo sa atin ng maraming bagay, sa kanila tayo unang natutong kumain, uminom, magbasa, magsulat at marami pang iba... kung minsan pati mang-asar.

pero hindi maiiwasan kung minsan e sadyang mahirap silang "ispelengin" o yung mahirap malaman kung ano ba talaga ang gusto... unpredictable ba. Pero hindi naman ito madalas...

Sa minsang pagkakataon habang pinagagalitan ng tiyahin ko ang aking pinsan... ako mismo ay naguluhan...

Tita: walang hiya kang bata ka... gabi ka na naman umuwi! hindi kana nakakatulong dito sa
bahay! puro ka laro... nagubos kana naman ng pera mo ano...! #@45!*%#$@!!!
Pinsan: ...
Tita: Ano saan kana naman nanggaling hayup ka?
Pinsan: ...
Tita: pag kinakausap ka sasagot ka! hayup ka talaga @3#$%^&*
Pinsan: pumunta lang po ako kinaaa... (hindi na natapos ang sinasabi)
Tita; AH! sumasagot ka pa ah! tok! slpag! sinasagot-sagot mo na ko ngayo ah! 3%#$&*@##!

Ang gulo talaga ni tita, di mo malaman ang gusto... pero di pa natapos dun...

Tita: ikaw bata ka talaga hayup ka napaaway na naman ako sa kapit bahay dahil sayo
puro kalokohan ang alam mo sa buhay... puro kahihiyan nalang ang binibigay mo sa 'kin!

Ayos lang sana, tahimik lang si pinsan dahil alam naman nyang siya ang mali at natural lang na pagalitan siya ng ina... pero makalipas ang ilang araw e napagalita ulit si pinsan...

Tita: Ano ka bang bata ka wala kana bang alam na gawing matino sa buhay mo! @#$%^^!!! hindi mo na 'ko binigyan ng kahihiyan!
Pinsan: ...tsk! pag bininigyan ng kahihiyan galit. pag hindi binigyan galit...

Ano nga ba ang gusto ni tita? hmp... malamang ay nadala lang siya ng emosyon at hindi na namamalayan ang sinasabi... alangan namang galit kana e iisipin mo pa yung grammar mo... pero buti nalang at hindi ganun si nanay...

2005-07-14T17:30:00.000+08:00

Philosophy

Pilosopo nga ba talaga ang mga pinoy?
sabi nila marami daw sa mga pilipino ang pilosopo...
pilosopo in its negative connotation... un bang tila nangangatuwiran ng baluktot...
un tipong makapangatwiran lang... at the same time e makapangasar na din...
likas ba sa mga pinoy yun?

Nung minsang nakasakay ako sa jeep, byaheng "Monumento via Letre"...

Sa simula palang mapapansin na ang pagiging palabiro ng driver... lahat na ata ng makasalubong na kapwa driver ay kakilala nya at kabiruan...

Sa isang kanto ay may sumakay na isang lalake, yun tipong tatay na ang itsura, naka-maong, T-shirt at alpombra na sinelas... Tila bago lang sa lugar ang lalake kung kaya nagtanong ito sa driver ng halaga ng pamasahe...

Pasahero: Manong magkano Monumento?
Driver:(habang nakangisi) Monumento? tanong mo kay Mayor... hindi ako nagbebenta nyan
Pasahero: putcha!

Sa isa na namang pagkakataon, habang nakasakay ako sa jeep ulet... byaheng "Gasak-Recto" naman..

Pasahero: Manong bayad oh...
Driver: Saan galing to?
Pasahero:Saan galing? dito sa bulsa ko...gago

Ang akala ko ay yun na ang huling beses na makakasabay ako sa ganung pasahero pero...
sa jeep ulet... byaheng "Recto-Gasak"...pauwi naman...
Nagbayad ang isang pasahero....

Driver: Saan sumakay to'?
Pasahero: Saan sumakay? bah edi dito sa jeep mo saan pa ba?

Hindi ko alam kung bakit pero mukhang talagang swerte lang ako na makakita ng mga ganoong usapan sa jeep dahil sa isa namang byahe..."Recto-Navotas"...
Pasahero: tok! tok! tok! (kinatok ng lalake ang kisame ng jeep para pumara)
Pasahero:: tok! tok! tok!
Driver: Bukas ho yan.. tuloy kayo...

alam kong hindi pa ito ang huli....pero.....

Pilosopo nga ba ang mga Pinoy?

ewan...

basta ang alam ko... karamihan sa atin e mapang-asar...

2005-07-12T17:28:00.000+08:00

Look Alike

When I was walking with my friend the other day, we were talking on different issues and sharing our ideas, our conversation went through different themes such as politics, religion, humor etc. Amid our conversation, my good friend suddenly asked me a question which I don’t know if that belongs to the topic of religion or humor… maybe both. His question was…

Bakit ba gumawa ang Dios ng mga taong pangit, bakit hindi nalang Niya ginawang makakamukha lahat para pantay-pantay?

At first, I was startled and ask him if that was a joke and if I am supposed to laugh. But he reiterated the question… hindi nga… pwera biro? I supposed he really wants to know my opinion on his inquiry. So I did answer… and my response was something like this…

Alam mo tol, simple lang naman e. una sino ba tayo para questionin ang Dios db. Tapos isipin m nalang kung lahat magkakamukha… imaginin mo… naglalakad ka sa kanto tapos nakasalubong mo yung kaaway mo… sinapak mo ngayon tapos tumakbo ka na… paguwi mo sa bahay nyo nakita mo yung tatay mo basag ang mukha… bakit? Kasi un palang sinapak m e tatay mo kamuka lang nung kaaway mo…

… ang masama sabi ng tatay mo kamukha daw nya yung sumapak sa kanya.
ANG GULO NUN DIBA??!

Here’s another thing to think about…

May criminal na tumakas sa bilibid tapos hinahabol ng pulis… tumakbo sa palengke nagpalit ng damit… sino kaya huhulihin ng pulis e kahit sya kamukha nung criminal…

I believe that there are things that we just didn’t think about, there are things which we thought should be better, but eventually it’s not. Come to think of it… are we wiser than God? ...nope.

2005-07-11T11:04:00.000+08:00

Commitment
is the enemy of resistance...

anu un? anlabo...

well its the first thing that came to my mind... but as I walk around going home... still i didnt know what it means...

the next day... nakakaantok! its 5:30am and I have to wake up and go to school just to meet my spanish professor, great! I dont think anyone would be happy to see her... (just imagine a dirty old witch speaking spanish)

I dont want to go to class....period. But the phrase suddenly pops out of my mind. Commitment is the enemy of resistance...

what does it mean?

When you commit yourself on something, you would do everything just to make your commitment. Whenever you feel hesitant, or you want to resist something you should do, think of your commitment and it will help a lot. We always have our excuses especially I, but in commitment, we should challenge all our excuses.

Commitment is running another mile, when your strength is gone... It is standing for another 3hours when you are so tired...

In Commitment... strictly no excuse policy...

Commitment is giving your best shot... no matter what