Supersize Me

This sort of reminds me of this. Hey, maybe some ice will help.

Katrina has done more than rip levees and lives apart, it has exposed the rift between poverty and a government choked with so much bureaucracy that has cut taxes for the well-off and funding that could have prevented the hurricane's wrath from worsening.

You Dumb People of the Truth

When Jose Ma. Montelibano grabs his crotch, only I see it, it seems:

The long gray line is not about the uniform of West Point. It is about the long history of our flirtation with the lesser evil, with white lies. That is the problem with compromise. It starts so innocently, so quietly. It hardly does anyone any harm, a little half-truth here, a just-this-once exception there. Evil takes on a lesser form, and a lie becomes white.

Curious to note that in these postmodern times, your "gray line" is what Aristotle would describe as the "Golden Mean." Or, is it perhaps your interpretation of white lies and black Filipino hair, which when combined together in a Tupperware bowl reveals the so-called "gray area?" I don't know, but I'm responding to your rambling with some of my own.

Anyway, the state of affairs in the Philippines has triggered a surge for the truth, even from those who hardly know how to spell it.

Way to put down those little unimportant illiterate people they call the "majority voting bloc." And, were you chewing on kakanin when you said "surge" when you actually meant "search?"

Even better is the sudden inclusion of integrity together with the truth as now the demands of the times from politicians towards other politicians.

I don't get this sentence. I hate it, it makes me feel stupid.

But:

In other words, our love of country comes only after our love for our own interests. And if there is a conflict of interest, then personal interests come first. To paraphrase it, a Filipino says to the Philippines, "It is not that I love you less, but I love me more."

...probably makes *you* feel stupid! So, quits lang tayo! You have "In other words," and *then* you have "To paraphrase it." We got it the first time, okay?

The easy manner by which even our moral leaders have been able to live with the lesser evil is indication enough [that] the return of truth and integrity as dominant values in Philippine society will not come without a hard struggle.

Here's something I agree with you on. How can we be the most Christian country in Asia, with a priest-to-parokyano ratio of 1:24 (I made that one up, by the way), and have such questionable scruples? I think it's time that somebody who has a public voice (like you, Jose) to speak up and say that the so-called moral bastion that is the Roman Catholic church is dated. Threatening people with Hell no longer works. We have to punish them in this life.

The long gray line must be cut. It is so much easier to be simply truthful, to know the difference between black and white, and to choose right over wrong.

Well, there you go, contradicting your thesis again. First, you give the impression that this "long gray line" (LGL) was born like the bastard son of Satan. Then, LGL is "long, indeed." Then it's agonizingly personal. Then, you say LGL "will not be easy to break." Now, you go and say it is "so much easier to be simply truthful." Like how it's so much more simple to go and fire an arrow that hits you right in the eye! You offer no solution, no hope, just a soft, twisted, choppy, ditty (with an anonymous anecdote) where you continue to show that you have no business writing (but you're good blog fodder!).

Katrina's Wake: Brown Resigns, Bush Ratings Low, Coulter Spins

He's replaced by R. David Paulison, someone with three *decades* of firefighting experience. Sorry, no horseshow experience here.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the White House did not seek Brown's resignation.

"This was Mike Brown's decision and we respect his decision," McClellan said.

McClellan praised Brown's work but conspicuously left out any reference to his contribution to the Katrina efforts.

"The president appreciates Mike Brown's service," he said. "Mike has done a lot of great work on a number of hurricanes."

Meanwhile, Bush "ducked questions" on Brown's resignation:

The president ducked questions about Brown's resignation. "Maybe you know something I don't know. I've been working," the president said to reporters on an inspection tour of damage in Gulfport, Miss. Bush said he planned to talk with Brown's boss, Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff, from Air Force One on the flight back to Washington.

Bush's job ratings are lowest ever:

In Katrina’s wake, the president’s popularity and job-approval ratings have dropped across the board. Only 38 percent of Americans approve of the way Bush is doing his job overall, a record-low for this president in the NEWSWEEK poll.

A majority of Americans (57 percent) say “government’s slow response to what happened in New Orleans” has made them lose confidence in government’s ability to deal with another major natural disaster.

It hasn't been this low since Abu Ghraib. Meanwhile, Karl Rove's high-gear girl (aka Ann Coulter) had these twisted statements in defense of Bush:

When co-host Alan Colmes cited President Bush's claim, made during a September 1 interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, that he "didn't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees," Coulter interjected: "That's manifestly true." But after Colmes objected to her assertion, Coulter admitted she actually did not know "what the details are about this."

Video here.

Ahahaha, Ahahahaha

Republican and Senate Majority Leader Tom DeLay follows in Bush and Dick's (Cheney's) footsteps and tours Louisiana and Mississippi. He had this to say:

U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's visit to the Reliant Park this offered him a glimpse of what it's like to be living in shelter.

While on the tour of a shelter with top administration officials from Washington, including U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao and U.S. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, DeLay stopped to chat with three young boys resting on cots.

The congressman likened their stay to being at camp and asked, ``Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?''

They nodded yes, but looked perplexed.

He learned his crassness from the best.

By the Way Bushie, You're Doing One Heckuva Job

Brown is sent back to DC, and replaced by no doubt a more experience and likely a more capable Coast Guard Vice Admiral.

Sure, you can play politics at a time like this. Bush's ratings are at its lowest ever; and, if you're Trent Lott from Mississippi:

One Republican welcomed Brown's ouster with unusually sharp language. "Something needed to happen. Michael Brown has been acting like a private instead of a general," said Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, whose state was hard-hit by the storm.

Brown, who is a moron, had this to say when he left:

"I'm going to go home and walk my dog and hug my wife and, maybe get a good Mexican meal and a stiff margarita and a full night's sleep. And then I'm going to go right back to FEMA and continue to do all I can to help these victims."

And, this time, the White House (not Bush directly) refuses to acknowledge Brown's performance as a helluva job:

Less than an hour before Brown's removal came to light, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Brown had not resigned and the president had not asked for his resignation. McClellan did not directly answer a question about whether the president had full confidence in Brown. "We appreciate all those who are working round the clock, and that's the way I would answer it," he said.

Brown's Resume

Time Magazine is reporting discrepancies in Brownie's bio, including a misplaced preposition: is it "assistant to city manager" or "assistant city manager"?

Other discrepancies include whether he was a professor or a student at, er, Central State University.

Regardless, it seems that Brownie has no business running FEMA, what with paper thin emergency response experience. Heckofa job!

Read here.

W and Poor People

Like I always said, you can blame everything on your mother.

George W. seemed like he didn't give a rat's ass about New Orleans, and we find out why:

Commenting on the facilities that have been set up for the evacuees -- cots crammed side-by-side in a huge stadium where the lights never go out and the sound of sobbing children never completely ceases -- former First Lady Barbara Bush concluded that the poor people of New Orleans had lucked out.

"Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them," Mrs. Bush told American Public Media's "Marketplace" program, before returning to her multi-million dollar Houston home.

It's amusing to know that rich people can care.

FEMA's Brown To Blame

There's plenty of blame going around with what happened in New Orleans. How can reporters and Harry Connick, Jr get into NO when FEMA claims that, with its helicopters and trucks, it can't.

But that's not all there is. Michael Brown, FEMA director, was an idiot horseshow floor manager before getting a FEMA job, a product of cronyism. And, FEMA was chopped up and absorbed by, you guessed it, the DHS.

Hence, FEMA, needing all the help it could get, denied Amtrak's help in evacuation, turned away experienced firefighters, bars morticians from entering NO, and, god forbid, stops Wal-Mart's supply trucks.

This is what happens when the President takes too many vacations.

Manila Hotel Buys Manila Airport

The Manila Hotel management, which has done an excellent job at making a pisscan out of one of the most beautiful hotels in Asia, now has new gem to screw up: they've just bought the new airport.

These people knew nothing about hotel management when they took over the Manila Hotel (he's a publisher!) and it shows: The last time I was at the hotel the toilets at the Shell at SLEX were cleaner.

Nothing like good old-fashioned cronyism with a dollop of national patrimony to ge things done!

Lacking Judgment

Ooh, only 76 percent of judges in the Philippines had computers and only 66 percent had telephones -- and they're proud of that fact?

Majority of the judges also indicated that they lacked the legal publications needed to help them decideon pending cases.

Less than half or 43 percent said their offices kept volumes of the Supreme Court Reports Annotated, the compilation of SC decisions. Only 19 percent said they had the earlier legal tome, the Philippine Reports.

Talk about wheels turning slowly.

GMA Komiks 3

Garci goes missing. (Parts NSFW.)

Rape of the Philippines

I was having this conversation, I forget with who, about how wretched things are in the Philippines. How things seem so doomed. And a lot of that has been said, written and declared by columnists, bloggers and politicians.

I zeroed in on a word I often come across: rape. The grisly act of rape is often used to encapsulate the systematic plunder, destruction and mistrust that has led to the country's horrible state. Rape seethes to the bone, corrupting the morality with a dark evil, and leaving victims twisted with rare sight of full recovery.

Now, that's a bit of a misnomer. Rape -- or the sense of it being most alluded to -- is an often violent and traumatizing non-consensual act, usually involving a struggle and a weapon to subdue the victim. It is not isolated to strangers, as what evil might be lurking in the dark would suggest, rather it is sometimes perpetuated by a known assailant. A friend, an ex-lover, or even a spouse.

Extrapolating this definition to "the rape of the Philippines" is , however, incomplete. I believe it really should be "the date rape of the Philippines." Yes, what starts out as romance ends as one gruesome night to remember.

First, with date rape, there's a drug involved: it could be jueteng, a basketball court, a new city hall, or grease money for a vote. These are not complicated chemical substances; they are in fact, the simplest forms of flattery, or the vaguest yet sweetest-sounding campaign promise, or the glisten in the candidate's eye, or even the unforgettable "Spaghetti" number.

Now, before I get ahead of myself, it should be said that date rape happens 100% of the time between two people who know each other (or have at least met), and trust, or at least a modicum of it, has already been exchanged, to the point of taking a sip of the lined beverage. That is indeed a fit metaphor for how those who "rape the Philippines" are often those we thought we could initially trust.

This metaphor becomes more apt when we struggle with trying to determine, in a collective sigh of national consciousness, how the f*ck do we keep getting screwed this way; it's the drug, dammit.

There's an even bigger issue. With date rape, victims often wake up not remembering anything, but knowing something bad happened (see torn clothes, painful abdomen). There's yet another perfect analogy: the country wakes up with this overwhelming feeling that we know we got screwed, we just don't know who.

To be fair, the last two dates, well, we got 'em. It's as clear as a DNA test and hefty doses of Luminol. Erap, that monster, is in jail. Gloria, however, is still in office. We're still dating her, sorta. And that makes me sick.

What scares me more is the fact that we seem to not care, as if we're getting numb from all the abuse. Students, who used to be the vanguard of fairness, justice and democracy, have retreated to their computer games and their cellphones. Young, promising politicians sellout as soon as they smell the money. Vast numbers are leaving the country.

Rape is a such a solitary offense, one where the victim is so desperately isolated it paralyzes their courage to come forward and seek justice. Some might say we're so thick-skulled to have been victimized again. Nevertheless, as the date rape of the Philippines continues, there is only one who can deliver the country from its oppressor: the country itself.

GMA Komiks 2

A post-SONA special. Enjoy!

GMA Komiks

I had fun making comics from my personal pictures, and my brother said "gawa ka para kay GMA!"

And, so I did. I had fun making it. I could use some comments, like a title, and some ideas for the next one. (Click on the image to launch this edition.)

Dear Gloria

Let's be honest, you got caught on tape, you crazy bitch. So now what? Well, you can walk away from it and resign and let your airhead-mouthpiece former news anchor vice president take over, which would be just as crazy. Or, you can go out with guns blazing ala Butch Cassidy and let the sun shine for the last time on the legacy you have tainted beyond repair. To do that, you have to let all the cats out of the bag, name all the names, show all the receipts, and point with all eleven fingers.

You weren't as sly as you thought. Yes, making the phone calls yourself was an exceptionally poor lack of judgment (it really was stupid), but the worst mistake you made was marrying that slob you have for a husband. And then, you let your in-laws run for government too. You should have stopped them in the last family reunion.

Clearly, you should find consolation in the fact that they helped bring you down -- no, this wasn't all your fault. But since you flip-flopped between running the last time, you can indeed blame yourself for this mess.

So, in the haze of all this agonizing self-realization that you've completely screwed up, here's my suggestion on how you can go out in style: plead insanity:

Start drawing pictograms and sending them to the press, talking about how Adam and Eve is connected to Apple computers. Start building a house in your home province that looks exactly like Malacanang, for fear of missing it. As your final Executive Order, rename NAIA back into MIA and sign it quick. Then, dissolve the Department of Interior and Local Government and instead reinstutute the PNP as the sole policing body in the country. Also, make the native Texas panabong the national bird thereby making sabong unconstitutional. Finally, as a rider on the next congressional bill, move to erase all records and memory of Robert Jaworski's senatorship.

Then, after seeking psychiatric and spiritual help for your drinking and gambling problems, suddenly develop bad knees for which you are to receive treatment from a U.S-based doctor that can only operate on you in another country. Let your children and relatives continue to run for government and allow them to suffer the humiliation of your warped mind. Then, claim that you know who really killed Ninoy Aquino *and* Nida Blanca. Never mind if it's real, we just want names.

Finally, in your dying wishes speak to Mikey (Cojuanco, not your son) and tell her that she *can* be the next president if she wants to, and make her believe it. Make sure she gets a spiritual adviser early on, like now. Then, ask that your dead body be refrigerated for, like, ever, until you are allowed to be buried right underneath Malacanang, where you believe you belong in a final act of contrition and atonement for all you've done -- and let every single person coming through those halls step on your marker, which shall read: Here Lies Gloria. Likes Making Her Own Calls.

Erap Forgives Sin

Incorrigible womanizer, gambler and all-purpose thug Erap (also, former President) has forgiven Cardinal Sin for his role in getting the former fired from his previous job.

He says he's "forgiven everybody" -- yes, including you and me -- and that he includes Sin in his prayers everyday.

Erap: May Gad, plis porgib them. All op dem. Pati na rin ako. Plis lang.

My, he's beginning to sound a lot like Imelda.

Pentagon to Gather Data on Students

I would suspect that they've been doing this for quite a while now, but the twist here is that the Pentagon is going to do the snooping with a private marketing firm. And, they're capturing data on high school students as well.

No, it's not under the Patriot Act. Worse: it's for recruitment.

The program is provoking a furor among privacy advocates. The new database will include an array of personal information including birth dates, Social Security numbers, e-mail addresses, grade point averages, ethnicity and what subjects the students are studying.

Text Official

Ang text pala ngayon ay official lines for interviewing na. Siguro kung email, kahit papaano, official. Pero ang text -- something hard to verify -- is considered fact by journalists?

Opposition Sen. Serge Osmeña remains convinced that the President is culpable of the charges against her and should have the decency to resign.

Osmeña called Mrs. Arroyo a "cheat."

"It is not only her close relatives who are cheats, she should include the person in her mirror," Osmeña said in a text message.

Delikado ang text. Daming naloloko sa text. Tama lang na i-tax nila para mag hinay-hinay ang mga tao. In the meantime, ang mga blog lang talaga ang maaasahan.

Gloriagate

Sweet Moses, there's supposedly a tape going around of Gloria conniving with the Comelec (run by an even bigger joke, Ben Abalos) to rig the elections. Just in time for the nationwide premiere of "Deep Throat's Secret Identity Revealed."

Then you have First Boy Mikey's jueteng problems, and First Old Man's unwillingness to answer questions, and you have yourself a Marcos legacy in the making. I'm titillated (how I love that word).

Even more interesting is how more tapes are coming out from the cracks, including some from the opposition. Shall we wait to see a Jinggoy Scandal -- a secret celebrity home video that absolutely no one could bear to watch? This is so much more fun that trying to figure out why Paris and Nicole aren't talking to each other.

More Glimpses from Mr. M

Mr. Montelibano continues to deliver outstanding writing! As you know, he is now my favorite columnist. Not since that Panorama guy Cirillo Bautista have I found so much contempt for verbal gymnastics -- it thrills me to no end!

Mr. Montelibano, who I will now call "Mr. M" for brevity, has a new installment whose first paragraph made me weak in the knees:

IT WAS an affair whose preparations were deliberately kept muted from undue public attention. There was nothing illegal about it, or anything that could not be exposed to the light of day. If anything, it was clearly the opposite. Once in a while, a beautiful event graces a troubled land. The possibility that jealousy or malice would rear their ugly heads to abort or disturb the beautiful unfolding of a miracle dictated that prudence would define the collective conduct.

"Deliberately kept muted from undue public attention," connotes a "due public attention." You can remove the last dependent clause and simply say "deliberately kept from public attention." These "fillers" stall your writing and keep you from getting to the point -- or, as I have pointed out before, helps disguise the fact that there isn't one. But, that's plain mean of me to say.

"The possibility that jealousy or malice would rear their ugly heads to abort or disturb the beautiful unfolding of a miracle dictated that prudence would define the collective conduct." Have you tried reading outside Tolkien lately? What the hell does "collective conduct" mean? George Orwell points to meaningless words, I point to empty ones: jealousy, malice, ugly, miracle, prudence, beautiful -- all these subjective ornery words that are not only clunky, they mean very little when lacking context. How you managed to roll them all into one sentence is beyond any English degree.

More surprisingly, it seems Mr. M does tell an interesting story: Christians and Muslims building homes together. That's all really nice and peachy. That anecdote about a General eating lechon is quite nice too. And your conclusion, although peppered with the naive sense that all this was heroic and patriotic (all right, some of it was), was nice and concise too. See! You can write well after all, if you just stuck to the turkey and left the stuffing out.

April 23 and 24 will always be historic days, the first unified effort by civilians to take destiny in their own hands and paint it rainbow colors, the colors of hope.

Ahh, "rainbow colors, the colors of hope." That's a buzzkiller right there. And you didn't explain the whole "jealousy or malice" thing, although I can kinda figure that one out. (What scares me more is that it's entirely possible that I'm the only one reading your work.)

Room With A Glimpse

Now, since I've been bored to my next birthday by having to "sit out" work until tomorrow, I wandered and found Jose Ma. Motelibano's latest installment of "Glimpses". Oh, what joy!

As usual, finding a thesis to his writing is like pulling teeth from a cow. I suspect, as I read his article, Americans in Mindanao is simply tangential to his point, wherever that may be. Instead, I relish his material simply for the exercise of teasing out the lack of lucidity and underscoring his poor grasp of all things obvious. For example:

Do not our officials see how Filipinos are being made to line up outside the US embassy when applying for a visa while Americans do not do the same outside of our Department of Foreign Affairs?

Hmm, gagu ka ba? There are hundreds of Filipinos visiting the embassy everyday, and only a dozen or so Americans at the DFA. The latter's building can comfortably sit all visitors (including the Americans, yes!), while the U.S. embassy, even though they have built a nice pavillion for those waiting in line, simply cannot hold a soiree for all those in line.

Lining up means our people want to either get out of the Philippines despite the humiliation they have to go through or are simply accepting of the truth about inequality. Either way, our government should take heed and do something drastic about both anomalies.

Okay, sobrang taas na nang ihi mo. If you haven't noticed yet, there are too many damn Filipinos. You go to an ATM, pila. You buy at the grocery store, pila. You pay at Meralco, pila. You apply for a U.S. Visa, pila!! If you find lining up so humiliating as to call on the government for help (calling it "anomalies"), well, wala, wala akong masabi talaga. Maybe you've had too much TV.

Hmm, the next three paragraphs are so disjointed that I can't even pull a punchline out of them. I don't know whether he's flip flopping over his own sentiments, or the lack of direction is his trademark and that's why they print this garbage. Still, Motelibano delivers a coup de grace:

It would be nice if Philippine officialdom resents the present setup with America and wants to dismantle it. Personally, I do not believe they have either the guts or the means to fight America, but they will gain respect for simply trying. And when they do, the Filipino people just might support tem instead of making a beeline for the US embassy. Courage is infectious, but so is cowardice.

First, "officialdom" is a word usually associated with a religious organization, such as the Catholic church. I would urge you to simply use "government" instead. Second, "nice" isn't a word you want to use in a column, unless you want to be laughed at. "Nice" is neutered sarcasm. It means nothing, no conviction, and certainly a lack of eloquence.

Thirdly, I don't get your point about Filipinos presumably supporting a Philippine government that wants to "dismantle" its relationship with the U.S. government, and in doing so, you believe Filipinos will support this new anti-U.S. government instead of leaving for the U.S. itself. It's bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Let me see if I get this right: so you believe Filipinos are leaving for the U.S. because they don't like the fact that their government has a pro-U.S. stand? (Leave the country for the country you believe our country should pick a fight with?) And, if this government shows some resentment for being a "third class" citizen to the U.S. and holds it's head up high and thumbs a nose at Uncle Sam it will keep it's people from leaving for Daly City? You're nuts.

Ah, but the zarzuela (your reference) yields an even greater gem:

We are third class because our leaders are third class. In fact, because we tolerate third class leaders, we might even be a fourth class people.

We are "fourth class" (dang, that's low!) because we have people who can't deal with falling in line and who publish spit like this and pass it on as good gospel.

More Verbal Diarrhea

My favorite PDI columnist has a new piece. He has offered up a 1,000+ word essay on Gloria's presidency, which has about as much substance as a tacky bus ad that it can be summed to a few words: Gloria's doing okay, despite things.

It would be nice if you had sage advice, or even interesting observations (Are you still in college? Could this be an essay for your Pol Sci 10 class?). But gleaning the news and augmenting your piece with GRE words doesn't make you a pundit.

I hope I'm the only one reading your work. Your editor sure doesn't care much.

Con-gress the Opposite of Pro-gress?

If there's any proof -- any proof -- that your congressman (or woman) who you so voted for firmly believing that he/she will rightfully and fairly represent you and work towards improving your condition; any proof, that he/she doesn't give a rat's ass about you, and has instead sold his soul to big business, stop-gap solutions, here's more tax on you, the average consumer.

I have no problems with VAT per se. Excise taxes, in the global economy, is both equitable and useful. The exemptions are in place for the "poorest of the poor". What is important to note here is that Congress, calling it a Bitter Pill Tax, did so to arrest the convulsions stemming from the huge budget deficit (which their fiscal mismanagement caused) and the low tax returns reported by the BIR (probably the most corrupt government agency). To generate 30 or 40 billion, in other words, they will simply tax you more, particularly you, the educated middle class.

Senate Hearings on Film Industry, Part 2

So I reviewed a pdf file I downloaded from the senate website on the various committees, following this entry. Here's what the document says on the jurisdiction of the Committee on Trade and Comerce:

All matters relating to domestic and foreign trade and private corporations; patents, copyrights, trade names and trademarks; standards, weights, measures and designs; quality control; control and stabilization of prices of commodities; consumer protection; handicraft and cottage industries; and marketing of commodities.

Shall we then argue that the local film industry is a "handicraft and cottage industry" alongside farming oyster and shiitake mushrooms? Or are they a better fit within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, which deals with, among others, "the preservation, enrichment and evolution of Filipino arts and culture." I must be reading this the wrong way.

Read more on the Senate here.

Senate Hearings on the State of Philippine Cinema

I guess this is what happens when you elect an actor to the senate. He seems to think that the government, despite a multitude of problems flanking it, is in the business of helping out fellow actors, directors, producers, scriptwriters, and other film industry workers. Unfortunately, his fellow senators, possibly blinded by the possibility of cameras and luminaries in the senate floor (yes, tv time), seem to agree.

I'd like to know for one what, with the exception of the independent few, these folk have done for their country that they deserve a senate resolution, if not just for a few more actors begging to mingle with the political limelight, hoping for some rub-off for a possible run. Yes, everyone's having a hard time, but it really pays to have friends in the big house, does it?

Indeed, how many people are employed directly and indirectly by the local film industry? No more, I believe, than all those uninsured garbage collectors, who pick up our garbage everyday. Or, those journalists, writers and reporters -- true to their mandate of helping the republic government itself by watching over their elected officials -- whose numbers are being decimated by death threats or gunfire from baby armalites.

Even more infuriating is how our senate has come to create a committee on "trade and commerce, cinema affairs" (what's in a name anyway when you have a senate committee on "ethics and privileges," another on "ways and means" and another on "rules"). I guess it's a sub-committee, since T&C is a permanent committee on it's own. Still, how important is the local cinema industry anyway? Do they bring in much needed dollars, as much as, say, our mango industry whose state and importance certainly deserves senate attention? Are they so important that if they shrink to a less impressive number, the price of longganisa will rise?

My lack of sympathy is not meant to take away from Joel Lamangan's mission:

The film industry has been on a slump for several years now. Film production has declined steadily from an average of 130 full-length features films about seven years ago to only 80 in 2003 and to no more than 50 movies as of the end of November 2004.

But, let's face it. The local movie industry did it to itself, and Hollywood movies sell better than the sophomoric attempts they put out with very little pride. They poisoned their own well with brainless nude flicks, unintelligent teen bombs, rip-offs and low-budget cops and robbers productions, and actors who seem to think they can run for office, sing and dance at the same time. Their best-paying customer base, the middle class, is now far more enlightened possibly beyond the grasps of their pens and cameras. They must surely think that aging Enteng Kabisote is not Harry Potter. And if anyone out there can afford a movie at the mall, you might as well grab the bootleg and watch at home.

So now they need government protection and tax incentives, possibly more, to survive. They certainly don't need senatorial oversight, much more senator's precious speechtimes. No one batted for the local jeepney manufacturers when their industry grounded to a halt because of cheaper vehicles manufactured by multinational corporations.

Certainly, none of this really matters to the electorate, of course. They're too busy going gaga with images of Richard Gomez in the senate. That should certainly help him get a good script.

Out or Getting Out?

GMA says today, according to the PDI, that we are "now out of fiscal crisis".

PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday declared that the country has wriggled out of fiscal crisis barely three months after admitting that her government was in dire financial straits to coerce Filipinos in accepting painful reforms such as high taxes, higher power rates and spartan expenses.

Now, here's a quote from the same story, barely a line down:

In a brief talk at the headquarters of GMA Broadcasting Corp. in Quezon City, Ms Arroyo said: "We are now getting out of that (fiscal) crisis and I told my Cabinet members, let's not talk crisis anymore. We rang the alarm bell and the people and the institutions (responded)."

"We are now getting out" is significantly different from "we are now out", as the headline reads. Meanwhile, GMA demonstrates the kind of papertrail bureaucracy she wants:

"Just today, I got some coins from some children in Tiaong (town in Quezon province) amounting to P700. I asked my finance officer to write a receipt and thank you letter for their contribution in solving the crisis. If that is our attitude, then we are out of the crisis," the President said.

Dang, Php 700 goes a long way for column inches huh? ( Bet that Finance Officer would looove to write that thank you letter.)

Boycotting my Blog

Due to my utter disgust at the results of today's elections (people ACTUALLY voting to ban gay marriage; Bush and Dick, winning and grinning) I will not be blogging for the next week or so in order to clear my head of profanities and disillusionment.

The world take note: there are Americans out there, lots of them, who think that this man deserves a second term. Obviously to them, the economy, human rights, environmental rights, women's rights, the advancement of medicine, the future of the supreme court, healthcare and the war on terrorism is not important. Or they simply got it horribly wrong.

Two for Bush

In a conversation with two people I ran into today, about why they voted for Bush:

1. Bush is a Christian. Kerry's "Pro-Choice" -- he doesn't mind killing babies.

2. I voted for Bush. I'd much rather have someone who never served in a war, than someone who did and turned his back on it like Kerry did.

God, if you're out there, bless America.

The One-Finger Victory Salute

Back when Dubya was Governor: would you like me to be your President? He's going to flash that finger when he gets re-elected. (Blurs mine, but the full movie has it all.)

The Nation: 100 Facts

I wasn't all that impressed with Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. I guess if you were around blogs and newspapers as much as I was (especially before I found a fulltime job), some of the issues he opened up were already stale. And I do think he sensationalizes a bit too much -- good for movies, bad for documentaries.

Here, however, is a more thought-provoking collection of the Bush administrations missteps, gaffes, and outright misgivings, everything from Iraq, to cronyism, the economy, national security, healthcare and the environment. A hundred indisputable facts and a better, more unbiased (less subject to editings-out-of-context), less subjective and shorter survey.

NYer Breaks 80 Year Trad: Endorses Kerry for Pres

The New Yorker has never endorsed a candidate. This time, they were compelled to:

Kerry has insisted that this election ought to be decided on the urgent issues of our moment, the issues that will define American life for the coming half century. That insistence is a measure of his character. He is plainly the better choice. As observers, reporters, and commentators we will hold him to the highest standards of honesty and performance. For now, as citizens, we hope for his victory.

Quite lucid and direct here:

But the challenger has more to offer tha the fact that he is not George W. Bush. In ever crucial area of concern to Americans (th economy, health care, the environment, Socia Security, the judiciary, national security foreign policy, the war in Iraq, the fight agains terrorism), Kerry offers a clear, correctiv alternative to Bush’s curious blend o smugness, radicalism, and demagoguery

Read it.

NYTimes: Kerry for Pres

An endorsement of Kerry from the NYTimes wasn't a surprise, but what was a surprise to me was that the op-ed piece lacked much-needed substance in endorsing Kerry. Plenty of facts against Bush, but nothing more than prospect and potential for Kerry. Indeed, the Times instead unapologetically cast a light on the Democratic candidate as merely a better than the incumbent because the incumbent was, well, a horrible failure. If you go by column inches, much of the piece was spent Bushbashing.

We look back on the past four years with hearts nearly breaking, both for the lives unnecessarily lost and for the opportunities so casually wasted. Time and again, history invited George W. Bush to play a heroic role, and time and again he chose the wrong course. We believe that with John Kerry as president, the nation will do better.

True, a lot of voters are voting ABBA (Anybody But Bush Again), but to be fair to both candidates, they're both lacking in character and record for what these times need. Record deficits, alliances in shambles, a war America didn't need, Bin Laden still a fugitive, the Supreme Court, women's rights, gay rights, healthcare and the environment at stake, and Big Business and the Far Right in charge.

What America needs is someone who can rally the people with charisma and firmness, charm her friends back, and know when to apologize for bad behavior. What America needs is someone who has unquestionable leadership qualities, true gumption and an economic acumen that can reign in the largest economy in the world. Someone who cares for the environment, the middle class and can lower crime. Someone who can stand up for stem cell research, gay marriage rights and the rights of women to choose. Someone who understands the law, can work with a partisan congress and understands that one's ability to bend under pressure is just as important as not cracking beneath it. Someone who won't put Rummy, Tom Ridge and John Ashcroft anywhere near government. Someone who won't flip-flop on key issues and weaken his position. Someone who can speak up a storm, never stutter and never have embarassing underarm wetness.

Re-elect Bill Clinton for President. And get Madeline Albright her old job.

Election

I haven't really weighed in on the upcoming U.S. elections, partly because everyone else is, and mostly because I haven't gathered my thoughts well together enough to blog about it. Not to mention the flurry of events that are all worth looking into (the Norwegian's ad in WP, Bush wearing a wire, Cheney never meeting Edwards, blah, blah).

That, and a new phase (teaching Page Layout) plus weekends trailriding. So I give the reader some of the most poignant images I've come across while reading about the debates, the campaigning and the upcoming U.S. elections.

An Open Letter to The Filipino Youth

Dang. Somebody tell these folks what's going on. And, if you ever get to read it, for those of you who went to U.P., doesn't the whole "U.S. Imperialism", "underground revolutionary" and "armed struggle" language just conjure up so much disgust? When will we stop blaming the U.S. and start looking at ourselves for our systemic "delusions"? Kainis.

CBS Apologizes over Guard Memos

CBS says that it was misled by the fake documents. Sure it's a major media and journalism scandal, because it's Dan Rather. But if it's Michael Moore, it's entertainment. The Republicans are all over this, as expected.

"We made a mistake in judgment, and for that I am sorry," Rather said. "It was an error that was made, however, in good faith and in the spirit of trying to carry on a CBS News tradition of investigative reporting without fear or favoritism."

True, what was an honest mistake became a hairball because CBS defended the report despite the overwhelming evidence mounting against it. I hope Kerry won't take the larger blow.

E-Learning User Error?

I was just browsing the Infotech section in the Inquirer and ran across this article. It details an ASEAN initiative called AVIST whose goal is to interconnect the various country's academic and research institutes and provide learning material online. The Philippines, through the DOST, is a beta test site. Here is Darwin Santos (ironically named after Charles Darwin of course, and not Darwin Ramos of Marikina City, which is another story), the "senior science research specialist" at the DOST, bitching or scratching his head, tell me if you can tell:

According to Darwin Santos, a senior science research specialist in DOST and one of the three test phase beneficiaries of AVIST, the system basically depends on basic Internet connection, though it has problems passing through the firewalls of the DOST’s network though the enrollment interface was readily accessible.

Santos said that after enrolling, he was unable to connect to the AVIST training modules since their network firewall, filters and antivirus applications were blocking connection. He said that if any of these were to be disabled, the whole DOST network would become vulnerable to attacks.

The only way he was able to access AVIST was from his home PC with a prepaid Internet card. Even then, the connection was unstable.

“I wasn’t able to connect to the video files through RealPlayer, though I was sure my connection was very fast,” he said. “I couldn’t do anything even after several tries.”

Santos said that the other AVIST recipient, Meraida Reyes, also a research scientist of DOST, had the same problem.

“We already reported the problem to Felix Librero of the UP Open University and he promised to address the problem,” Santos said.

Tell me why on earth would you go on a major daily newspaper representing the project you are working on only to complain about it? A complaint which, at face, seems utterly simple to remedy: go to your firewall setup, dummy, and fix it. It obviously works for direct connections to the internet! Since you're the "senior science specialist" maybe you could do something about it rather than be a dummy and complain.

On the other hand, it seems the DOST needs a systems administrator to manage their intranet. Santos may be good at signing people up, but saying he tried several times and exclaiming that he was "sure (his) connection was very fast" doesn't sound like a tech guy to me at all.

Which begs the question: doesn't the DOST have a PR department who can step in and edit or replace this guy? At least put someone in there with some spin ("The system is currently being tested now and some technical parameters are being worked out." instead of passing the blame (yes, the blame) on to the Open University?)

Make me put my foot in my mouth and explain this all to me please. Grrr. Nakakainis.

Lifestyle Check

Read this:

The Ombudsman’s investigation disclosed that Domingo started as a senior clerk in the bureau in 1988 and was promoted to her present position.

In the same year that she was hired, the Ombudsman said, Domingo was able to buy two cars for P366,000, when her annual income was only P29,676.

In 1996 she was able to buy a house and lot in Biñan, Laguna, worth P100,500 when her annual income was only P63,864.

Then in 1998 Domingo was able to buy a car worth P640,000 when her annual income was just P83,028.

Domingo and her husband were also able to acquire a Starex van, Pajero, Toyota Revo and an Elantra Sedan, all worth P2.378 million, which were not reflected in her 2002 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

Orbeta, meanwhile, was hired as a messenger in 1992, a position which he held up to the present.

Although Orbeta’s annual salary was only P71,592, he managed to buy a Honda Civic worth P395,000.

I had to check that there were no typos: P29,676 a year? That's our minimum wage is it? About P2,500 a month? Kawawa naman Pilipino. Makes you believe that if they had decent salaries, they'd probably stay straight. Or, maybe not.

My Two Bits on The RNC

There's the banner on the right side of this entry, and this:

Here are the numbers, a sober and powerful counter-argument to any declaration that the recession is long over and good times are back for everyone. Poverty is up in the United States for the third consecutive year, the Census Bureau says, with 40 million people now afflicted. Median household income is stagnant at a little more than $43,000 a year. That, after three years of decline and still lower than it was in 1999. And the number of Americans without medical insurance is up, too, as it has been each year since 2001, to 45 million.

The President will tell people this:

"Because we acted, our economy since last summer has grown at a rate as fast as any in nearly 20 years," Mr. Bush said Thursday. "Since last August, we've added approximately 1.5 million new jobs."

What he won't say is that there are fewer jobs since he took office, the surplus he inherited is now a gargantuan deficit, and his lack of environmental and fiscal discipline has created problems that will take a generation to undo. And, btw, what's wrong with legalizing marriage between same-sex partners?

Jay Leno on RP Pullout

Jay Leno:

"A new world record has been set in the 100 meter dash,” Leno said on his television show Wednesday. “It was set by Filipino troops fleeing Iraq.”

The other night Leno made fun of the fact that the Philippines only had 51 soldiers:

“Fifty-one? P Diddy has a bigger posse than that. ‘Come on, everybody in the Humvee. We’re leaving,’ “

Okay by me. We had no business to be in Bush's War in the first place.

OFW E-Cards

Now I know this is a pretty good idea: an ATM and ID card in one for the OFW. Plus, the old certificate is easy to misplace, and the ATM will let you access your Philippine peso account (with a fee, I can't tell). But why is it that you can only access one bank -- Equitable PCI -- with it? If they will let you get on the ATM network that Equitable is on (is that Blancnet or Megablink?) why can't you access any other bank? Oh, that's another round of bureaucracy, right, right. For now, Equitable is an inequitable step ahead of other banks (read: DBP or PNB?) in serving the high-earning, high-remittance OFWs.

Lifestyles of the Rich and Guilty

On the upside, you have Salvador Pleyto who is alleged to have acquired wealth far beyond his 37 years of continued service as a civil servant in the DPWH.

1. He amassed and failed to declare about P16.6 million in wealth and assets.

2. Property and businesses (grocery store, computer shop, etc) under his family's ownership, and no corresponding tax returns.

3. His family allegedly took trips abroad costing roughly P3.7 million. (Did you like the Disney cruise?)

On the downside, this is most likely small fry. Pleyto, all too ready to admit he got caught, claims in his defense that the lifestyle checkers "selectively applied" their witchhunt. Crab mentality, as they say, even in defeat.

"There are others in the Cabinet who are really corrupt," but the graft complaints and charges filed against them are being ignored by the Lifestyle Check Coalition, he said in a phone interview.

Sure, but right now, you're it. And, you're scum.

Asphalt or Cement?

In the classic Pinoy way of disagreeing and letting everyone know (in this case, the press) what a queen you are, four government agencies are thinking of cancelling (thus, the "queen" reference) the much needed P1.4 billion rehabilitation of EDSA because they can't agree whether to use asphalt or cement.

As with any public works project in Manila, there are several layers of wrong here:

1. How can you have an existing budget without it's creators having specified such a crucial parameter as cement or asphalt? Wouldn't that dictate the budget in the first place?

The administration's answer:

"There has not been any Cabinet decision on the cancellation, although there was a consensus reached among the DENR Secretary, NEDA Secretary, MMDA Chairman, and DPWH to 'recommend' its cancellation," said director Julian D. Amador of the Environment and Management Bureau in a memorandum for Environment Secretary Elisea G. Gozun.

Honey, it's a consensus only if it means that you can act based on it. I guess this whole double-presidency thing has got you thinking twice about "majority opinions". A case of too much democracy and twiddle-your-thumbscracy.

2. Because it's such a big pie, there are four executive departments involved, whose decisions are of equal weight. No wonder nothing gets done in Manila.

3. The project is actually part of the Metro Manila Air Quality Improvement program of the ADB. Hmmm... rehabilitating the roads to improve air quality. This could be the only reason why the DENR, who should be ought protecting our forests, instead gets its director to weigh in on road projects in Manila. Someone explain this to me.

4. The last layer of wrong is, again, the curse of the elections: nothing gets done until after the casino parties and the "destabilization efforts" have faded away. In the meantime, we live with the bad roads, the traffic delays, and console ourselves with the fact that somewhere out there, some government official's relative has the purchase order of his life.

GMA Gets Second Term

So now it's over, Congress is set to declare this week that GMA has won the presidency by about a million over erstwhile actor Fernando Poe Jr. Somehow, we ARE better off.

Of course the sore losers will continue to "destabilize" the government, because that's just the Filipino thing to do, you know, civil disobedience and that People Power thing. At least the government has someone to blame -- others -- if they can't get things going this time around. Better than scattering spikes on EDSA.

Death and Stupidity (and Taxes)

Since the BIR cannot catch the crooks who evade billions of pesos in taxes, they've become creative and started taxing the easy stuff -- like SMS text messaging -- and continue to take money from the purses of the lower and middle classes. These are the very people who have taxes mandatorily taken off their paycheck by their employers (and therefore making evasion unlikely), not to mention they have little to start with.

Now, the BIR is set on taxing the internet. This is something worth lobbying against. They want to slap on VAT, although exactly how is unclear. It will kill any hopes for local industries looking to expand their market by selling on the internet.

Maraming Salamat, Ping Lacson

Playing Ralph Nader, Ping Lacson has gathered a total of 1.7 million votes -- votes that most will say came from a majority of pro-FPJ voters. With GMA's lead a slim 200,000, had Lacson stayed out of the race, we would probably see FPJ with a sizeable lead instead.

Thank you Ping Lacson! Keep them coming!

Who Really Killed Nick Berg?

If you saw the video, just like I did, it was at best blurry and poorly edited. Condolences aside, there are some significant anomalies and "fishy circumstances" surrounding Nick Berg's murder that cast enough doubt on it for even the least skeptical to take a second look.

Kuro5hin has 50 listed and detailed, including why Nick Berg was wearing an orange jumpsuit similar to those worn by Iraqi detaines in Gitmo and Abu Ghraib, that those weapons brandished by the "insurgents" were actually Israeli made and not AK-47s, the origins of that Monobloc chair, and, if these really were "insurgents" running from the U.S. military living in caves and tunnels, why they all seemed to be a bit overweight.

Of course, there's the strange timing: Nick Berg's captors killed him (at least on video) as a retaliation for the "shameful pictures" of Iraqis being abused at Abu Ghraib. How could this be if, according to the news reports, Nick Berg was killed two weeks BEFORE these pictures were made public?

Worth reading the long entry, including the comments and the links.

NYer Puts the Blame for Abu Ghraib Squarely on Rummy

Further strengthening the rally cry for Rumsfeld's resignation, Seymour Hersh continues his investigation into what lies beneath the prisoner abuses in Abu Ghraib:

According to interviews with several past and present American intelligence officials, the Pentagon’s operation, known inside the intelligence community by several code words, including Copper Green, encouraged physical coercion and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners in an effort to generate more intelligence about the growing insurgency in Iraq. A senior C.I.A. official, in confirming the details of this account last week, said that the operation stemmed from Rumsfeld’s long-standing desire to wrest control of America’s clandestine and paramilitary operations from the C.I.A.

Apparently, Rumsfeld was precluded by law from mentioning these so-called "highly secret matters" in an unclassified session. These matters included a program that:

was given blanket advance approval to kill or capture and, if possible, interrogate “high value” targets in the Bush Administration’s war on terror.

With their lack of success fighting a growing -- and elusive -- insurgency, Rumsfeld had endorsed a solution to:

get tough with those Iraqis in the Army prison system who were suspected of being insurgents. A key player was Major General Geoffrey Miller, the commander of the detention and interrogation center at Guantánamo, who had been summoned to Baghdad in late August to review prison interrogation procedures. The internal Army report on the abuse charges, written by Major General Antonio Taguba in February, revealed that Miller urged that the commanders in Baghdad change policy and place military intelligence in charge of the prison. The report quoted Miller as recommending that “detention operations must act as an enabler for interrogation.

Thus, the term "Gitmoize", where Abu Ghraib and presumably other prisons in the Iraqi system was turned into a hellhole for detainees.

He also briefed military commanders in Iraq on the interrogation methods used in Cuba—methods that could, with special approval, include sleep deprivation, exposure to extremes of cold and heat, and placing prisoners in “stress positions” for agonizing lengths of time.

Read the article here.

Purgatorial

Losing touch, and possibly some relevance, in this day and age? The Vatican, seat of the Roman Catholic leadership: a few weeks ago, there were rumors that the Catholic church would deny John Kerry communion, presumably for his pro-choice stand. Lately, the Vatican has been in the thick of controversy, first by warning against marriage with Muslims:

When "a Catholic woman and a Muslim wish to marry," the document says, "bitter experience teaches us that a particularly careful and in-depth preparation is called for."

It also says "profound cultural and religious differences" exist between the two faiths, particularly concerning the rights of women, who are referred to as "the least protected member of the Muslim family."

then the sainthood of Giana Beretta Molla, an Italian pediatrician who died a week after giving birth to her fourth child, even under advisement from her doctors that it would be dangerous to proceed with the pregnancy because she had a tumor in her uterus. Her "extreme sacrifice" (and her anti-abortion stance) was praised for its "simple and profound message"

And, after the Vatican's criticism on the "pranks" in Abu Ghraib, a Rep. Peter King (D-NY) had this to say about the Catholic leadership:

Whatever the United States has done to prisoners in Iraq is nothing compared to what priests and nuns did to Catholic kids for decades while the Catholic hierarchy covered it up,'' King said. ``Think of the thousands of kids in the U.S. and Ireland who were abused by priests and nuns - you wonder where the Vatican's moral compass is.

This amidst the upcoming June 4 Bush-Pope John Paul II visit.

Informed sources in Rome said Iraq and the Middle East would be at the top of the discussion agenda. It will be the third meeting between the two leaders, and the first since the start of the Iraq war, which was strongly opposed by the pope and his aides.

Vatican officials have said for months it would be unusual for a pope to meet with a sitting president during a re-election campaign, because of the risk that it could be seen as partisan. But after careful consideration, the reasons for such a meeting prevailed over the Vatican's usual caution, a Vatican official said.

These days, it seems, everyone's "lost the moral high ground".

Election Day

Actually, I didn't get to vote. That's because I was too lazy to fly to Chicago or New York, register there, and manage to show up there again to vote. Maybe there was another way, but I didn't know of any. Either way, I didn't get to cast my vote. If I could have, this is how I would have:

President and VP: Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Noli de Castro. After which, I would have to ask for forgiveness. I would have cast this vote only to make sure that no one else fills in the blank for me and that one more vote for GMA is one negated vote for FPJ.

Senator: One vote for Mar Roxas who, should he win the Senate Presidency, will surely run for Malacanang in 2010. Mr. Roxas, if you are reading this, I would like to help in your election bid in 2010.

Okay, back to work.

This is The Day

Only one of these candidates will have their prayers answered. As an estimated 43 million make that decision, the powers that be have already decided late last week: GMA will get another 6 years.

Student Killed: A Fine Example of Horrible Journalism

From the PDI, no less:

Student killed after concert project of Vilma Santos Posted: 10:52 PM (Manila Time) | Apr. 27, 2004 By Mei Magsino Inquirer News Service

SAN JOSE, Batangas -- A college student who watched a band concert in Lipa's Plaza Independencia on Thursday night was killed on his way home from the concert, a project of Lipa City Mayor Vilma Santos.

San Jose police said Rey Vallenas, 17, a second year Associate Computer Technology student of Lipa City Public College was with six of his classmates when they boarded a jeepney bound for Cuenca, Batangas, at about 11 p.m. Thursday night.

But the jeepney driver then shouted that his brakes were not working. The vehicle was already near the Pinagtung-Ulan bridge in this town when the jeepney swerved and Vallenas shouted to his classmates that they should jump out of the jeepney.

Vallenas, who was sitting beside the driver, jumped out, but his leg was caught. He also didn't see that the jeepney that was already out of control was going toward him. His chest was crushed when the jeepney ran over him. He died at the Mary Mediatrix Medical Center in Lipa City.

Ghastly. Now, how on this blessed earth is Rey's death connected in any way to Vilma Santos other than through your mind-bending extrapolation. Let's see, Vilma caused the brakes to stop working? Besides the real story here is: how come the students of Lipa City Public College were required to attend this politcal rally? Now that's twisted.

Electionchatter, Part 4

Lito Lapid (in Tagalog):

I only finished high school. What I have learned in school is insufficient. I have never read a book in my life. What I have done... I want to do in the Senate.

Sicat Sheds Light on The Economy After Elections (Pun Intended)

Gerardo Sicat, Professor Emeritus at UP's School of Economics, writes lengthily and somewhat confusingly about the Philippine economy's future, and says that if we don't pay our taxes, lower labor costs, change parts of the constitution, and stop making babies, we're screwed. No detailed solutions offered either, but he has some insightful, if not cheeky, commentary on the two leading presidential candidates.

When [GMA] assumed the presidency, she said, she wanted simply to be a good president, not a great president.

That is a low ambition. What the Philippines needs today is a great president with a clear vision to make up for some disastrous presidencies in the past.

Gloria Runs Government Via Text

GMA today admits she uses text -- SMS -- messages to "run the government". She admits she sometimes even gets reports from the National Security Council, yes, reports on matters of national security, through SMS; for more important matters, she takes them via voice calls.

Does she ever get those Great Text Hoaxes of the past century? Like the one about the dead Pope, or the one about Craig David coming to Manila?

Electionchatter, Part 3

There are 20 days left.
There will not be a united opposition.
There will not be a united opposition.
There will not be a united opposition.
There will not be a united opposition.
There will not be a united opposition.
There will not be a united opposition.
There will not be a united opposition.

Electionchatter, Part 2

In the spirit of equal media access rights, here's something from a Bulletproof Vest reader to chew on for those following the local local elections:

yang si joey marquez lang nagawa sa pque yan kundi mag nakaw ng magnakaw.imagine they used to rent their house in tahanan ngayon kanila na pati katabing bahay kanya na dun. how about that ayala alabang house?the flat in Fort Bonifacio?e ung McDonalds ni alma sa kabihasnan?e langya panay nakaw yang ginawa nyan.mamatay na yan at masunog sa impyerno

I am Bulletproof Vest and I approved this message.

Hand and Arm: What Did I Tell You?

Grrrr.

FORMER president Joseph Estrada asked the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court on Tuesday to allow him to celebrate his birthday in his rest house near his detention cell at a military camp in Rizal province, GMA Network radio station dzBB said in its report.

The report quoted a petition Estrada lawyer Noel Malaya filed at the court's special division as saying that it would be more practical for the former leader to accept visitors at his rest house on April 19 than at Camp Capinpin in Tanay town to avoid security problems.

And, he's also asking for permission to go to his resthouse periodically for "therapy". What is this?!? A 3rd-grade classroom? "Ma'am, may I go out?" It's a detention cell, and he's in there under suspicion of a crime. Leave him in there until he fesses up.

Electionchatter, Part 1

Jose Maria Sison and the rest of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People's Army are not only remnants of the past century and the inadvertent product of Marcos' dictatorship, they have lost sight of their original ideals (though once thought noble and purposeful) and are now just a bunch of irrelevant ragtag hateful fugitives and extortionists with itchy trigger fingers who steal rice, hogs and useless column inches.

They once was a relevant cause: agrarian reform, justice, and hope for the most impoverished. Now, they are part of the little boils on the butt of our nation.

I am Bulletproof Vest and I approved this message.

Easter Break

The Sandiganbayan has allowed Erap to go on Easter Break too.

"Let's give him [Estrada] what he wants so he can overcome the bitterness in his heart," said Chief Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio.

Given that he has 4 days to reflect on Christ's sacrifice in his newly-refurbished, airconditioned vacation estate, I humbly recommend this itinerary that will overcome the bitterness in his heart:

Day 1

5:00 AM - Wake up; Unassisted squats sets of 4x8 to improve knee ailment
5:15 AM - Leg adduction and abduction exercises
5:30 AM - Pray for the country and the eternal repose of his soul
6:00 AM - Breakfast of oatmeal, 12 grain bread, and half a grapefruit to improve heart ailment
7:00 AM - Read the Gospel of Matthew
12:00 PM - (Hey, he's a slow reader) Lunch of steamed tilapia and brown rice
1:00 PM - Watch The Passion of the Christ
3:00 PM - Watch The Passion of the Christ
5:00 PM - Afternoon swim: 12 laps for every Station of The Cross
6:30 PM - Bath and Exfoliation (ask someone else to do it for you)
7:30 PM - Dinner of steamed brocolli, carrots and asparagus with corn on the cob. No butter! He gets a Slim Fast milkshake if he's been a good boy.
8:30 PM - Pray for the country and the eternal repose of his soul
9:00 PM - Call Mom and Jinggoy. Tell them you are sorry. Apologize for everything.
9:30 PM - Crank call Teofisto Guingona
10:00 PM - Lights Out

Day 2 (Good Friday)

Same as above except:

7:00 AM - Read the Gospel of John
7:30 PM - Dinner of tomatoes, salted eggs and rice. No milkshakes.
9:30 PM - Crank call Orly Mercado and Ping Lacson.

Day 3

Same as Day 1 except:

7:00 AM - Read Revelations. Make sure that he reflects on Hell.
1:00 PM - Mock Death Row walk to practice in case of eventuality. Use chains for authenticity.
2:00 PM - Practice singing baritone for "Hallejujah Chorus" (Singing for prison guards on Day 4).
5:00 PM - Afternoon swim reduced to 8 laps but with 12 pushups at the end of each lap.
7:30 PM - Dinner of vegetable lumpia and a slice of key lime pie. Slip in a laxative.
9:30 PM - Crank call Frank Drilon.

Day 4 (Easter)

Same as Day 1 except:

7:00 AM - Read Revelations. Reflect on Hell again.
1:00 PM - Practice singing
2:00 PM - Return to Camp Capinpin and host an Easter Suaree for all the Guards (like you do every week) but this time, sing the Hallejujah Chorus instead of "My Way". Make sure Jinggoy is invited
3:30 PM - Watch The Passion of the Christ
7:00 PM - Back to cell.

Terrorist Target List

In a time where the U.S. is in turmoil over what their government knew and did not know about the events surrounding 911, could it possibly take a page out of our government's own policy with counter-terrorism intelligence? Frankly, I'm shocked and awed (pun intended) with the release of this so-called "strategic targets" that the PNP confiscated from Alhamser Manatad Limbong (aka Kosovo), an Abu Sayyaf explosives expert. The list contained:

these targets in no specific order of importance: the US and Israeli embassies, the buildings housing the Senate and House of Representatives, the Philippine Stock Exchange, the Manila Electric Co. facilities, the Sual power plant in Pangasinan province, the oil depot in Manila's Pandacan district, telecommunications facilities, and gas stations.

Seriously, that would have been a lot of TNT. And I believe we have the vigilance and the sleuthing of the PNP to thank for. In the spirit of true terrorism, there were civilian targets as well:

Also listed, according to Delfin, were: Eastwood City in Libis, SM, Rustan's, Gotesco and Robinson's shopping malls, Glorietta, Makati Cinema Square, Harrison Plaza, The Landmark, Star Mall and Star Mart, Araneta Coliseum, Philsports Arena, Cuneta Astrodome, casinos and bars in the Mabini area in Manila.

Sadly, the PNP had to add that the PICC, the CCP and the MRT were not on the list of targets, just to make sure the public doesn't panic too much. What does publcizing this list do other than galvanize insecurity and send jitters down the markets? Indeed, a win over ASG is a point or two for GMA in the midst of a heated campaign. Meanwhile, business is troubled, investors are leaving, and parents can't send their kids to school.

But that's all business as usual in Manila.

You Give A Hand, They Take An Arm

Now Erap wants to visit his vacation house, conveniently located across the street from his detention camp, for two hours a day everyday due to the severe heat and an irregular water supply in his cell.

Let me see, let's just bring him the water to where he is, shall we? More concessions, more feet-kissing, more back-at-yous. His lawyer even had the chutzpah to say that it's a:

simple matter of human rights of the former President. In Sweden and Switzerland, even ordinary prisoners get supplies of clean towels and bed sheets everyday.

No, duh.

Maybe he takes baths instead of showers? And it takes him two hours to do that?

Bush Makes Fun of Missing WMD

In yet another display of utter lack of class and decency, Bush makes light of his war on Iraq in a black-tie dinner party:

In several photos, he appeared to be searching the Oval Office. A photo of Bush looking under a piece of furniture was flashed on the large projection screens in the ballroom.

"Those weapons of mass destruction got to be here somewhere," Bush said in his narration, drawing laughter from the audience of journalists, politicians, government workers and other guests.

Another photo showed him looking through a window. "Nope, no weapons over there," the president said.

Troops are dying to find those weapons, for the very reason you sent them there. Not only were they now found to be unsubstantiated claims, but now they have become gag fodder. How distateful.

Yet More Proof that Entertainment and Politics are Conjoined Twins

It is my pleasure to announce that Kris Aquino will most likely vote for GMA (if she wants to keep her job). Sorry, Ping.

ABS-CBN executives have ordered the network’s talents and contract stars to campaign only for President Arroyo and the rest of her ticket on the Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan (K-4), the opposition said.

The opposition Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) said on Tuesday that it received information about the ABS-CBN directive a few weeks ago, thus boosting talk that the comedy king Dolphy had been sacked for defying management orders by campaigning for Fernando Poe Jr.

Sen. Vicente Sotto 3rd, KNP campaign manager, said the decision of the ABS-CBN management to pull the plug on Dolphy’s long-running show, Home Along Da Airport, was a warning to other ABS-CBN talents and contract stars that they might suffer the same fate if they defy the management’s directive.

First off, why didn't anyone tell me they had moved from the railroad tracks to the airport? Second, and more important, if ABS-CBN can ax a Dolphy show, boy, they can do anything.

Like Putting Fog in a Suitcase

This is the sound of 1 billion pesos -- or an amount equivalent to the daily household income of 200,000 filipino families (or the daily cost-of-living allowance for all the people in Pasay City, Muntinlupa City, Mandaluyong City and Marikina City) -- down the drain:

Lazaro said the consortium should not be faulted if the Supreme Court found irregularities in the bidding process because it is the Comelec which is in charge.

“Did we violate any provision in the contract? The SC on technical matters principally accused Comelec of not following its own rules, so where did MegaPacific have a hand in that?” he asked.

Lazaro said MegaPacific could not be compelled to return the money since it has done its part of supplying the ACMs in good condition as prescribed in the contract with the poll body. “We gave all the machines and (they) are in the possession of the government up to this very day.”

Lazaro added, “The problem is since the government is not capable of restoring the machines in [their] virgin state, the demand for a refund is offline.”

Rumsfield: Pants on Fire

"I can't speak for nobody in this administration." (Cue in elongating nose.)

Here's a shout out to Moveon.org.

Damaging to My Husband's Memory

While Imee Marcos proposes to scale back laws on libel, her mom sues Ruben Carranza et al for calling her beloved husband a "thief and a dictator."

"Malicious imputation of a crime" is what's happened here, according to Philippine libel laws. And, it's intended to "blacken the memory" of this man who once held the highest government office in the country. I emphasize the last part because in the defendant's side is the truth. Our libel laws have made it clear that proof of the truth of an imputation of an act or omission not constituting a crime:

shall not be admitted, unless the imputation shall have been made against Government employees with respect to facts related to the discharge of their official duties.

So, having ill-gotten wealth isn't proof that you are a thief, oh dead president? Imposing martial law wasn't "dictative" enough?

The problem with our laws is that every defamatory remark is presumed malicious. Can't I say "you liar!" without malice? And as frivolous as this suit may be, so too is this entry that bemoans it.

Faithful Respond: Yes, Let Erap Go to Rest House

Ugh. Now, I'm really upset.

GMA's campaign spokesperson today said they were surprised with statements from both the Iglesia ni Christo and the El Shaddai saying that they agree with GMA's seeming misstep in allowing Erap to leave his jail cell and go to his vacation house.

"We are wondering why certain sectors are making a big issue out of former President Joseph Estrada's occasional visits to his vacation house in Tanay, Rizal. He is not trying to escape from the law when he does that, as the said house is just across from Camp Capinpin where he is supposed to be detained," said the statement distributed by Defensor and signed by Bienvenido Santiago and Mel Robles, spokespersons for the INC and El Shaddai, respectively.

He is not trying to escape, no, he's just merely making a mockery of the law. And it surprises me to read that these religious groups would support such actions. No, it is beyond me.

Herein lies the problem: it's not a matter of compassion or humane treatment, my god, I'm sure Camp Capinpin is not a horrible dungeon. But it's a matter of jurisdiction, that is, the Sandiganbayan and not GMA can and would, if they find it in their mercies, allow Erap to leave Camp Capinpin. Of course, "jurisdiction", that being a legal matter, is not something easily grasped.

Not easily, as in:

They [the church groups] compared the government's present treatment of Estrada to that of Abu Sayyaf leader Ghalib Andang and cult leader Ruben Ecleo.

"If Andang was accorded special treatment upon his capture and Ecleo was granted bail so he could seek medical treatment for heart ailment, why couldn't a former president be accorded with compassionate accommodation," they asked.

For the love of god, these were for urgent treatment of medical ailments! Commander Robot was wounded and bleeding from the leg! Erap went to see his mother (which, by the way, he could have seen as easily in Capinpin, no?) and went to Jinggoy's birthday party.

Bernas, Amicus Curiae

Writing for TODAY, Joaquin Bernas delineates what it is exactly the SC ruling does, and what it fails to do. In his and the SC's words:

There is in the decision near unanimity in saying that, provided filiation is proved, legitimacy or illegitimacy is irrelevant to citizenship even if the distinction is important for civil law purposes. But whether FPJ is a natural-born Filipino citizen, or even just a citizen, is not conclusively settled. The lead opinion itself says that the totality of the evidence does “not establish conclusively that the respondent FPJ is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines.” The core of the opinion simply says that there is a preponderance of evidence that FPJ “cannot be held guilty of having made a material misrepresentation in his certificate of candidacy.”

This doesn't clear the matter of FPJ's citizenship, or lack thereof. It may have just merely postponed it later when he has become president.

So those of you hankering for "where are the CSI's?" in this case, your day in court is yet to come. Proving his citizenship is indeed a matter of evidence.

Assuming that the grandfather became a Filipino citizen and passed on such citizenship to his son who is FPJ’s putative father, did FPJ receive his citizenship from such father from birth or did he receive such citizenship only some time after his birth?

A natural-born Filipino is one who is a citizen from the moment of birth. The debate here would involve interpretation of old and new Civil Law provisions on the manner of establishing paternity. It would also involve the novel question of whether civil law requirements should be used or whether new political law rules should be devised.

Brace yourself for that time. Losing candidates will be locked in a legal battle. People will take to the streets yet again. More woes.

Saliva, Bell, Food

Let me see, Erap is in jail. He showers his guards with food and affection (perhaps more) and is rewarded with trips to his resort across the street. He is happy about this, and when exposed, begs for compassion and asks for some latitude.

Meanwhile, GMA says that it was her goody-two-shoedness that allowed for it to happen, as a reconciliatory move to Erap supporters, whom she is said to be wooing in her campaign for re-election. She gets cited for contempt of court that, according to Erap, is by her own doing, ostensibly to show that she's willing to "take one for the team".

One way to look at it is that Erap, whose knees must be getting stiff from living in plush Camp Capinpin, is biting the hand that feeds him (that Pavlovian hand that rings the bell) to show that he is not a hungry animal (dogs, in the original experiment). He is doing this, say, out of showing disrespect to his captor.

Now the other way of looking at it, the Erap way really, is that he didn't need GMA to get in and out of prison at all, which is despicable and dastardly to say the least. To extrapolate, he is saying that GMA is merely taking advantage of a crime of his own making to show support for him and capture pro-ERAP votes.

That, my friends, is a sign of how long this man's tail has grown. And how incapable GMA's campaign managers are. Here is Erap:

The move drew protest from Estrada, who phoned the Inquirer to say he saw nothing wrong in spending time at his rest house across from the camp. "Ano ba yung visit sa rest house? Is that a crime?" he said.

Here is Malacanang on the suit:

Malacañang, however, was unperturbed, and stressed that there was noting wrong in Ms Macapagal's policy of humane treatment for Estrada.

"We welcome this case as we've always welcomed the cases that are filed in the appropriate forums for us to make clear the soundness and legality of the government's position," Ricardo Saludo, deputy spokesperson for the President, told reporters at a briefing.

"She has always maintained that the rule of law must be followed and at the same time ... the humanitarian condition of the former President should be given attention because of the empathy that our people, particularly the less privileged segments of our society, feel toward [his] condition," Saludo said.

Erap: Calling All Catholics

I have long wondered -- and in vain --about how we can let the Marcoses and their cronies, and Erap and his cronies, walk amongst us, freely, and allow them to hold crucial government offices, conduct business, and leave the country as they please. True, their cases are mired in court or have been thrown out, but plunder is a non-bailable offense, much more, non-house arrestable.

Not to mention those tortured and killed under Marcos' martial law. Okay, so I'm stretching it.

But while the Marcoses, whose stolen money is now probably somewhere between candidates and their supporters, continue to enjoy their freedoms, Erap, from his comfortable jail cell, asks: bend the rules, show compassion. Let me visit my resort which is conveniently located across the road (less than 100 meters) from where I am being held.

"This is supposedly a Catholic country," he said. "Why is it that some of our countrymen do not even have compassion? We’re a Catholic nation and yet they are so inhuman."

In the spirit of Lent, maybe the Christ, asking for forgiveness for the two crucified next to him because they "know not what they do" was a great example of compassion that we all should aspire to.

But two-thousand years and 175 million pesos later, doesn't this plea from a womanizing, gambling, deposed president who would threaten "civil war" should his showbiz pal be disallowed to run, ever be considered as "not knowing" what he has done?

Doesn't it make you mad that this man is taking advantage of the very tenets of your faith? Mocking your principles? This man, a crook in jail who once was a strong proponent of capital punishment, and openly brandished guns?

Letter to The Filipino People

Dear Filipino,

I've been getting a lot of letters addressed to you in my email that I decided to send you one myself.

I wanted to tell you that never in my entire life have I been embarassed to be you. Never.

But recently, I cannot hold my head up high when I read about how you are compelled to send Fernando Poe Jr., a man of good honor but unqualified character and experience, to the highest, most important office in the country.

The country will not survive him, if the dollar exchange rate is to be any indication. I've heard some of you foolishly disregard the peso-dollar exchange as an important indicator -- remember, when the peso shrinks, it decreases the value of what you do, what you earn, and what your children will earn. The same amount of work you put in in an hour 10 years ago is now 25% less valuable. That means you, my Filipino, are unfortunately, becoming increasingly worthless. And why? Because it looks like that this May, you will send FPJ to Malacanang.

Yet, I am willing to overlook the fact that I, who has 10 more years of education than he does, would find it ridiculous to run for any government office. Not because I cannot, but because you, my Filipino, who has fought tyranny for centuries, who was one of the first countries in Asia to declare independence from colonists, who once was only second to Japan in Asia in countrywide development, who has thrown out despots without a drop of blood, you who are brilliant even in the darkness of poverty, deserve so much more. Much more.

I overlook that because I can see that, in your blinding zeal for the miraculous, in your hope of all hopes, you look upon the presidency as The Deliverer, the Great Messiah, the One; he is someone who will magically transform the country into a prosperous and powerful nation. He is in your prayers. His sword-wielding, gun-toting, crime-fighting image on your bedroom wall. He is good-looking and gets the girl every time -- all that you aspire to be. You have prayed fervently for him for years. (He is not Kuya Eddie). He is FPJ, you say.

I have nothing against that. Prayer is important. Prayer gives us hope. But action, FPJ himself a star in this field, speaks louder than words. And what have you done, Filipino?

You have not stop making too many babies, stretching your meager household budget to less than zero. You continue to poison your land and your sky. You have encouraged yourself into debt, buying more than you can afford, and you continue to gamble. You have torn down institutions of value, and in their stead built monuments to banality. You smoke too much, and you continue to steal money from your own coffers. You forgot about tending your sheep: children are less capable now than they used to be and they start drinking and smoking earlier too. You continue to aspire to become professional basketball players when your average height is 5'2".

And, of all things, you mix up entertainment with government, the latter being the sole entity that can possibly save you from what you have done. And you turn it into a circus.

Worse of all, you have disgraced your ancestors -- the men and women who bled and gave their lives for your independence -- by abandoning their steadfast principles of honor and dignity, and their dreams of a bright, peaceful and hopeful Philippines.

Alas, in this my Filipino, is my prayer, with a hope that you will still become who you are truly meant to be:

I pray that You will awaken my fellow Filipino And make him realize that he, not someone else, will deliver himself. That if he will call upon Your name in humility And in Your mighty name awaken the Filipino to work and to prosper and to forge unity, to think and to understand and to care, to rise and believe and to share and to be grateful, then and only then will you heal the land you have given him.

Please write back soon. Regards kina Misis. We miss you out here in Philly.

Sincerely,

Benito (Filipino)

SC: FPJ Filipino

(Oohhhh) Someone please tell me what's going on here.

Allan Poe was a Filipino because his father,Lorenzo Poe, while being a Spanish subject, was not shown to have declared his allegiance by virtue of the Treaty of Paris and the Philippine Bill of 1902.

“I agree with the amici curiae that this provision makes no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children of Filipino fathers. It is enough that filiation is established or that the child is acknowledged or recognized by the father,” Davide said.

So, first there was no proof that Allan Poe (father of FPJ) was not Filipino. Then, it was enough that the father, later on, acknowledge that FPJ was his son for FPJ to be legitimate?

What sort of mind-bending, illusionary decision is that (I have no words for this, really)? The fact is Poe was born to Bessie Kelly out of wedlock. Bessie Kelly later on married Allan Poe, but the fact remains, FPJ was born out of wedlock. A postdated marriage does not change that.

I simply cannot reconcile that with Article IV Section 2 of the Constitution:

Section 2. Natural-born citizens are those who are citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship. Those who elect Philippine citizenship in accordance with paragraph (3), Section 1 hereof shall be deemed natural-born citizens.

If indeed he was born out of wedlock, and thus took on the citizenship of his mother, and should FPJ become Filipino after his mother and father married, then aren't those the very acts that were performed to acquire citizenship? Ergo, it was performed and ergo FPJ isn't a "natural-born" citizen?

UPDATE

I scanned the PDI writeup, and apparently, part of the ruling was based on the rules of Citizenship established in the 1935 Constitution, which reads thus in Article 4, Sec 1(1-3):

Section 1. The following are citizens of the Philippines:   (1) Those who are citizens of the Philippine Islands at the time of the adoption of this Constitution.

(2) Those born in the Philippine Islands of foreign parents who, before the adoption of this Constitution, had been elected to public office in the Philippine Islands.

(3) Those whose fathers are citizens of the Philippines.

So, despite the reasonable doubt about Allan Poe's own citizenship (his father was not shown to have declared allegiance to Spain; what if he got up late that day?) FPJ is made a citizen by virtue of Section 1(3). This is the same Constitution that did not give women the right of suffrage.

I guess depending when you were born, a specific Constitution thus applies.

Further, Joaquin Bernas, a friend of the court, had this to add:

“To disqualify an illegitimate child from holding an important public office is to punish him for the indiscretion of his parents. There is neither justice nor rationality in that. Blood injected out of love or passion is the same blood ”

Is this ad hominist a true and impartial amicus curiae? With all due respect sir, we are all being punished for the indiscretions of our parents.

In Tinga's dissent, echoes of my own:

"Especially blatant to my mind was the conclusion of the Comelec that Lorenzo Poe 'had ceased to be a Spanish subject and had become a Filipino citizen' by operation of the Philippine Bill of 1902 and the Jones Law, despite the absence of substantial evidence to support this claim," Tinga said.

He said that there was no proof of Pou's acquisition of Filipino citizenship and that candidate Poe's paternity had not been "conclusively established."

"The truth is that no incontestible proof establishes that (Poe) had been acknowledged by Allan F. Poe as his son," he said.

Hence, since the petitioners look like they failed to meet the burden of proof (according to the majority opinion; Tinga adds that BOP rests with FPJ), the case is thrown out and resolved? That's not the same as saying he is irrefutably Filipino.

God save the Philippines.

Candidates on Issues: FPJ Mute (and Dumb)

Thanks to Sassy Lawyer for the link.

The Inquirer has generously provided us with the answers generously provided by the would-be presidents on questions ranging from who they will have in their cabinets, where they stand on population control, and, broken down here, what they hope to accomplish in your first 100 days in office:

Eddie Gil and FPJ provide no answer. Lacson wants to purge the judiciary system and the police, and focus on immunization and wants the private sector to be more involved in public works projects (aren't they already?).

Roco, who is great as the Incredible Hulk here, is doing the right thing with education and taxes. GMA promises to continue the good work that she's already started, and Brother Villanueva has too much to say, really, that I find it a nuisance.

-----

Curiously enough, when FPJ does provide an answer he sometimes refers to himself as "we". Then there is this nugget from FPJ:

We are against any form of discrimination regardless of sex, economic status, race and religion.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with being against discrimination in spite of your own sex, economic status, race and religion. :-) But, I think what he wants to say is:

"We believe every human being should have a chance to run for president of the Philippines regardless of sex, economic status, race, religion, citizenship or educational attainment."

Lim, Two Actors and Miriam Ahead - Latest Survey

God, the problem is people think Philippine politics is one big pinata that everyone can take a whack at, even if they're blindfolded.

And the citizens, hopeful for manna from heaven, wait for someone to get lucky.

Alfredo Lim, who would paint the doors of suspected drug-dealers red in his former mayorship, is leading the pack of Senator candidates in the latest Pulse Asia survey. He is followed closely by actor Bong Revilla, whose father-actor is still completing his term. Fellow action star Lito Lapid is not far behind (Lapid who did not finish high school either (like FPJ), and donned leather chaps and rode a horse to his inauguration as governor). Jinggoy Estrada (son of ousted president, also former actor) and Robert Jaworski (a former professional basketball player) seem to have a lock on the midtable.

When supporters of one-time action stars -- Revilla, Lapid, Jinggoy and FPJ, that's three, two without a high school degree -- tell you that they're voting for their "idols" because they want new blood in government, well, heck, they're lying. Miriam (pulled out of retirement, who no one wants to hire; what a story!) is tied with Bong Revilla for second place, and Aquilino Pimentel is knotted up with Jinggoy. John Osmena, who is 104 years old, is showing well too.

On the upside, Mar Roxas and Orly Mercado seem to be doing well. On the deeper downside, Kit Tatad might make the round of 12.

Listen to one Bulletproof Vest reader, egging on another action star, his idol Robin Padilla:

hey IDOL..tatakbo ka pala sa eleksyon?bakit vice-mayor naman ang napili mo?dapat sayo president ng pilipinas..idol sana manalo ka sa eleksyon at lam naman namin na tlgang mananalo ka.. idol baka pwedeng bigyan mo ko ng tip sa panliligaw?hehehehe email mo nalang sakin kung pwede.

Translation: Hey, idol, are you running in this election? Why are you just running for vice-mayor? You know, you should run for president of the Philippines. Idol, I hope you win, and we all know that you are a winner. Idol, could you possibly give me tips on romance and bigging up on the shorties? Hehehe, just email me if you can.

I say, if this is how you are voting (Jinggoy Estrada, for pete's sake) then you deserve the government they'll give you.

Listening to FPJ Supporters

was left almost speechless after listening to some phone in comments at DZBB (Thanks, Me-Anne!) from FPJ supporters defending their candidate's citizenship, lack of education, lack of government office experience and his sincerity in running for office. I've done my best to remember and translate here:

On Citizenship

Caller: You see, it doesn't matter whether FPJ is Filipino or not. His heart is with the Filipino people.
Host: Well, it's this way: it's in the Constitution that the President must be Filipino.
Caller: Oh, yeah? Well, who wrote that Constitution! It's the rich and greedy people who have been controlling this country for centuries.
Host: That's not true.
Caller: You know, they are attacking FPJ's citizenship because they are afraid of him. He is a very strong candidate.
Host: But that is not to say that he is or is not Filipino.
Caller: It matters only if he will not serve the Filipino people.

On Education and Experience

Caller: How can we judge FPJ's lack of education when if we look at our selves, we have not accomplished what he has.
Host: He has accomplished a lot for movies and film. This is the country we are talking about. That's very different.
Caller: It's not different for FPJ. He will apply the same courage and strength he has shown ever since he was a kid who decided he would work and help his family instead of going to school.
Host: But wouldn't you want someone who is at least a college graduate to lead the country?
Caller: You know, those "educated" people, I never understand them anyway. It's too serious. When they call on debates, it's all talk, and they never get anything done. They only show if one candidate is smarter than the other.
(Me: Exactly!)
Host: But isn't that what's good for the country?
Caller: The Bible says do not judge others. Let's not judge FPJ yet.

On Sincerity

Caller: No one asked FPJ to run. He asked the Filipino people if they wanted him to become president and we said yes. He is offering his help. He doesn't need money. He is a billionaire.
Host: But what of the rumors that Erap and his allies just talked him into running?
Caller: Those are just rumors. FPJ is honest about wanting to help the country. He has worked hard all his life, and has remained quiet and now is the time for a hero (bayani) to come out of the ashes and save our country. He is offering his help.

FPJ for President!

t looks as though FPJ has lined up a who's who of economic advisors. And, these are not hacks folks. Should FPJ actually listen to these people, and not just have them as window-dressing, it's possible that FPJ could actually turn things around.

Bernardo Villegas, Raul Fabella, Ponce Intal, Romy Bernardo and Los Banos-bred Leo Gonzales among others. Again, if they do have the ear of FPJ, these academics (and not politicians) can tip the (im)balance of (lack of) education in Poe's favor.

FPJ Spokesman: "There are more of them"

Speaking about FPJ's loooove children, his spokesperson said there are more. Didn't stop Erap, no, not in this Catholic country.

Filipino bishops said Poe should be given credit for admitting adultery, while stressing that morality is a key component of leadership.

He cheated on his wife, for Christ's sake. Doesn't character account for anything? Apparently not in this elections, as with education, experience and a platform.

God help us.

Senate: Manapat Forged Microfilm

This is of course a blatant case of choosing who to believe: Manapat, who if correct, has the power to disqualify FPJ, and the testimonies of three disgruntled National Archives employees, and two Florophoto employees who said they microfilmed the documents.

There are several blatant mistakes in this investigation. For one, those Florophoto employees, at face, care not a world if those items are forgeries. They just film them. They stand as no reliable witness until the authenticity of those documents.

And, secondly, neither do those employees. It's whose word against the other. In the world of primetime scientific investigation, where are those experts now? Seeing pictures of congressmen holding to the light microfilm and appearing to be able to decipher it and make conclusions as to their authenticity is breathtakingly ridiculous.

This Senate -- run by Legarda (FPJ's running mate), Angara (the opposition leader), and Oreta (one of FPJ's campaign managers) -- is embarassing and despicable. They owe their constituents the ability to present an upstanding investigation with bulletproof scientific evidence, and not conclusions and heresay.

This from Belinda Olivares-Cunanan:

Last week, the media saw for themselves how current issues such as the peso's volatility and the widening budget deficit simply went over Poe's head. Queried on these issues, he replied after long hesitation, "I am at a loss for words." When a media person insisted on pursuing the subjects, he tossed the question back with ill-disguised impatience, "How would you handle it?"

One wonders how the more intelligent politicians like Senators Edgardo Angara and Aquilino Pimentel can continue to inflict Poe on the nation, solely because he has a strong following among the "masa" [masses]. The opposition has a lot to answer for our instability. First, it has threatened civil war or revolution if Poe is disqualified. One can surmise that they're saber-rattling because they can sense that proof that Poe is a natural-born citizen is rather weak and that the Supreme Court would disqualify Poe. Then sensing that the popularity of their candidate appears to have hit a plateau, the opposition is now raising the specter of cheating by the administration. All these are contributing to the instability.

Meanwhile, Jollibee serves Gloria rice.

It's, Er, Microfilm. Use, Er, a, Microfilm Reader

Somebody should tell these folks not to make fools of themselves on the front page of a national daily.

Senatoriables?

I was going over a list of Senatorial candidates. Of course, it gives me pure joy.

FPJ's KNP party is a who's who of highly qualified candidates. Jinggoy, for one, who is his father's son. Jamby Madrigal, union-busting owner of Jam Transit, among other businesses. There's a Rasul (sino to?) and Enrile, who is about 96 years old. Add to the mix a Bagatsing (Marcos crony?) and Alfredo Lim, who violated many a civil right. Interestingly enough, they add Ernesto Maceda, who is about 103 I think.

Lakas CMD has it's fair share of strange bedfellows, Lito Lapid and Robert Jaworski among them. Tried and tested Orly Mercado is running again, and so is, for God's sake, Ramon Revilla. Jaworski and Revilla probably has about a 190 IQ, combined. Neither one, I believe, has successfully authored and passed a bill. I would say though that, in a drinking game, Lakas CMD would far outlast the other parties, except maybe for John Osmena.

Tatad is leading a bunch of unknowns, at least from where I am seated, under the PMP banner.

There are a couple more interesting names: Miriam is running as an independent. Roxas II is pretty much in the same boat, and deserves a lot more support. Same with ex-Solicitor General Frank Chavez. Jay Sonza, yes, of Mel and Jay, is also in the running, as well as Bong Coo (the bowler, right?) Cristy Ramos-Jalasco, daughter of ex-president Ramos, is running under the Aksyon Demokratiko ticket. I was hoping my favorite movie action star Ronnie Ricketts was going to run too, but, alas, there is only so much room for action stars in the Senate.

You can view Senate bills here by the author. Unfortunately, you only get bill titles and not the actual content, but at least you get a sense of where the Senator stands.

SC Could Take FPJ Out: Erap Warns of "Civil War"

Here is a man who used to rule this country. He also happens to be FPJ's good friend, sending him and his cronies straight back into power should FPJ win.

"We suspect they are really going to disqualify him before the Supreme Court," he said. "I'm warning them not to do that, lest there will be civil war, revolution or massive civil disobedience," Estrada said.

He said he was praying this won't happen to the country. "I hope this will not come to pass. But there's no stopping FPJ from becoming President," he said.

This kind of chest-thumping flamboyance would normally cost a candidate his campaign, but it's exactly this kind of triumphalist machismo that got Erap into power, and so FPJ.

You see, that's the problem with the framers of our Constitution: they never saw FPJ running for president:

They cited Section 4, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution which states, "The Supreme Court, sitting en banc, shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns and qualifications of the President or Vice President, and may promulgate its rule for the purpose."

"We will discuss how this will affect the case pending before us because that I do not want to happen -- I'm not preempting the position of the Comelec -- but I don't want that the Supreme Court and the Comelec will have different positions. It is practically the same issue," Abalos said.

Of course, no one thought the same about Erap too. And no one thought that the Comelec, not long ago a bastion of campaign chicanery, would be put in a position to actually determine who will win the elections (if FPJ is a sure winner). Angara and Sotto has part of the blame for this legal mess, but they know what they're doing. Good lawyers are on both sides:

Meanwhile, an official of the Freedom Peace and Justice (FPJ) movement yesterday said they will ask the SC this week to disbar lawyers Victorino and Andresito Fornier.

Julius Raboca said that under the law "any person who shall knowingly offer in evidence a false witness or testimony in any judicial or official proceeding" are liable for the offense.

It's inherently our problem: no one is afraid of the laws of the land anymore, partly because of the people who are not trustworthy enough to enforce them, and those that flaunt the fact that they are above it. Yet, this is a new breed. Not since Erap's trial has a consciousness of Philippine law and procedures been at such a high awareness among so many -- and how flimsy and flexible it can be made out to be.

Remember, Miriam is a lawyer too. Not to mention a member of the Y.

Comelec Clears FPJ: SC Might Hear the Case

Well I guess they've heard enough, but the SC should really handle this legal matter in my opinion. Actually, maybe they shouldn't. Do a damn test on the archive papers, dammit, instead of serving up one accusation after another.

If the Comelec has it in its hands the capacity to decide on the matter of citizenship, and its domain in the Constitutional right to become President, then it must wait to know without doubt the legitimacy of the candidate. It's not a mere violation of Comelec rules (which is grave indeed) but also of the Constitution. And since it's a matter of Constitutionality, then the SC should hear the case.

On the other hand, the candidate must have burden of proof to prove that he/she is legitimate (that is, meets the condition of being a natural-born Filipino). And this "meeting of conditions" is done solely at the level of the Comelec. Should the Comelec find the candidate fit -- meaning the would-be candidate has met the burden of proof -- then he is fit to run.

Looking at it further:

On the issue of Poe being an illegitimate child of Allan by American Bessy Kelley, the commission said the 1935 Constitution states that one’s citizenship is based on the father’s nationality and does not distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate children.

But in the petition filed by Tecson and Desiderio at the High Court, they argued that assuming his father is a Filipino, the marriage of Poe Sr. to American Bessie Kelly “was bigamous and void” since Allan F. Poe was previously married to Paulita Gomes. “Thus, respondent Poe being illegitimate, he assumed the American citizenship of his mother.”

Tecson and Desiderio noted that based on the mariage contract of his parents that Poe presented to the Comelec, his parents were married on September 16, 1940, then: “This only means that because he was born prior to his parents’ marriage, Poe is an illegitimate child contrary to the declaration of legitimacy in his certificate of birth.”

Still, the Comelec says that they are...

not the venue to establish one’s nationality. “We feel we are not at liberty to finally declare whether or not the respondent is a natural-born Filipino. The Comelec is not the proper forum. But we are called upon to decide the question of whether or not the [COC] filed by the respondent should be denied due course or canceled.”

So is it the Comelec's decision or what?!?! At the end of the day, isn't there a deadline for filing for candidacy that has since passed? Certainly, Poe should be pumping hands by now.

Manapat Fired

The man who runs the National Archives and is now in the middle of a forgery controversy over FPJ's candidacy (his "qualifications") has been fired by GMA. His replacement is a former National Commission on Culture and the Arts Board Member.

Senator John Osmena believes that FVR had something to do with the forgeries.

Among those who demanded the axing of Manapat were Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. and Sen. Loren Legarda.

Villar said the National Archives must “be run by honest and incorruptible public servants who would not allow themselves to be used by any party for political purposes.”

Interesting to note that Manapat, as steward of the archives, has been instrumental in providing evidence against Danding in his coconut levy fiasco -- where he stands to lose P 130 billion. Danding and Ka Ronnie (FPJ) are good pals, together with Erap, of course. Smell any dead fish?

Bottomline, it throws off the validity of everything in the Archives, possibly including telltale leads that could solve this mystery.

FPJ: False Pinoy?

I'd like to weigh in a bit on this issue. What it is doing is that it's exposing just how stupid our senators, party leaders and those lawyers and spokespeople that surround them are.

In the age of Fil-Ams legitimacy to play in the Philippine Basketball Association, and Asi Taulava's I'm-Filipino-No-I'm-Not carousel with the sport's board of elders, how unlikely is it that Poe, the son of an American and a Spaniard, is not a Filipino citizen? It doesn't matter WHAT he's done in his lifetime (buying property, owning businesses, heck, being a Filipino film superstar), but this goes back to that moment he was born. Are his parents Filipino citizens? Because FPJ is a bastard son (low, I know) he automatically takes the citizenship of his mother, so says those bringing the case forward. She is said to be an American citizen who never became Filipino. The issue is that whether FPJ was indeed born out of wedlock.

Sotto is immeasurably dumb in his defense, at least from what I've read. First, he doesn't counter with proof, and insteads accuses the documents (proving FPJ was born out of wedlock) as forgeries and that there should be a senate inquiry. If there were forgeries, why call on the senate to inquire? So that the investigation can be in YOUR court and you can grease your way out of this one?

Of course, he means to bring it into a venue where it can be investigated properly and with conduct becoming. Meanwhile, they accuse GMA of "masterminding" the disqualification petition. Sure, that's okay. They're doing their friggin job as the opposition. And the public deserves to know whether FPJ has been lying since his very genesis on whether he is indeed qualified to run for president.

We forget that he is Erap's good buddy. And that he has never held a government position, and that he has never had more than a high school education. But that's beside the point now is it?

But perhaps the most dumbfounding comment of them all:

This, as Poe’s supporters, led by Boots Cadsawan, president of the FPJ for President Movement (FPJPM), threatened to launch mass protests equaling that of the so-called EDSA 3, when a mob attacked and almost captured Malacañang.

“The people might hold an uprising [because] no one will believe that [FPJ] is not a Filipino. If he is not a Filipino, who else is?” asked Cadsawan.

We don't even know who has the right to rule over these matters. Comelec, SC or the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

Dean Jorge Bocobo examines at length. There are now witnesses saying they were asked to falsify these documents.

Poe is Not Filipino: Run Roco Run!

Documents submitted as evidence that FPJ is not a natural-born Filipino were taken straight from National Archives.

THE CHIEF keeper of the country's records Monday bolstered the disqualification case against movie star Fernando Poe Jr., testifying before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that some of the documents earlier submitted were copies taken from microfilm records of the National Archives.

National Archives Director Ricardo Manapat identified some of the documents as a bigamy case petition filed by a Paulita Gomez against Poe's father, Allan Fernando Poe, on July 16, 1939; a marriage contract between the two, supposedly signed on July 5, 1936; a birth certificate of Allan F. Poe's; and verification that Lorenzo Poe or Lorenzo Pou did not reside in the Philippines before 1907.

The documents in the government's Records Management and Archives Office show Poe's mother, Bessie Kelly, was an American and his father was a Spanish citizen. If Allan Poe did marry Gomez in 1936, that would make Fernando Poe Jr. an illegitimate child, who would take the citizenship of his mother.

All Sotto can do is hurl back accusations of his own. Other that, or sing a song about homophobia or hirsute women. What a gyp.

More here.

Raul Roco Ruminations

Surfing again. Getting sleepy over my video training courses. And I found Raul Roco's website. Pretty vast, if you compare it to FPJ, who doesn't have one (correct me if I'm wrong). So Roco, a career politician, is running as a corruption-buster. It's really difficult to get the multitude of votes -- most of them with less than a keen sense of how government works -- to understand how corruption affects the individual voter. This is Roco's main problem: he's a middle-class educated voter's candidate, and the poor, which represents the large majority of voters, have consistently shown that presidential elections are a popularity contest. However, anecdotes I hear on the street and whispers from local polling and research agencies suggest that it is more than mere name-recall: it's a disconnect from reality and a misunderstanding of the role of government that makes less-than-educated voters vote for candidate. It's been said that they are often not looking for a president, but a hero.

Back to Roco, sorry. It really is too bad that most people won't read a candidate's bio and platform before voting. Roco has done a heck of a lot in government.

So, along comes Roco, who has been noted as a graft-buster (about as tough as Ernesto Maceda, who *can* be tough despite all that's been rumored about him) and has done an excellent mop up of DECS. No one likes a straight guy in government, so the wagons circle him all the time. Hence, he's left to run alone, without a party machinery to back him up and make sure his votes get counted.

Roco did go to UPenn, where I am right now. Not that that means anything, but it was an interesting surprise. Most unique is that he *does* have a local film industry connection (and is not unlike FPJ): he produced Lino Brocka’s movie Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang. How's that for character?

Anyway, the real reason why I started this entry (as I babble on) is this little nugget from one of Roco's speeches:

For Filipinos abroad who have achieved success and recognition, we must bring them home. Retirement homes near the beachfront or in the mountain resorts, shall be encouraged. Successful Filipino doctors, nurses and other professionals must come home to bridge the gap created by the outward migration.

Pretty ambitious. But when you have a platform that reads like a tech industry business model (with words like "networking", "value creation", "disseminators" and "intellectual property rights"), I think it can do two things. Either it turns you on or off. If you get it, you'll like this guy. In fact people I know who support Roco are simply fanatical about his candidacy. The rest, the very large rest, just don't get him. That probably includes FPJ.

Meanwhile, Lito Lapid Readies for Senatorial Seat

So, FPJ never went to school. Lito Lapid either. The latter has hired a few "mentors" to school him on "current affairs" and, gasp, the Constitution, which is being spoonfed to him in Tagalog -- so he can "better comprehend it" he says in a phone interview.

He says that he wants to push a bill that will give free computer education to deserving but poor students, and mentions food security for farmers. Btw, his eldest son, Mark, 25, is running for governor of Pampanga.

God Bless America? No, God Bless the Philippines. We are in deep.

Comelec Readies for Mano-mano Counting

Ahh, 1.3 billion pesos of taxpayers money fleeced away once more. It's nothing irregular, it's just the way our government officials run the country.

So now Comelec is meeting in Tagaytay (god, any friggin excuse to go out-of-town) to ready themselves for manual vote-counting.

The Comelec was forced to use the manual mode of counting and canvassing of votes, which they described as "Jurassic type", after the Supreme Court nullified the contract on automated counting machines (ACMs).

I dare ask: can we get our money back? Can we punish Mega Pacific Consortium? Can we dig out whose pockets have been lined by this apparently bogus deal?

"I believe we have recovered from our initial blow. With or without the counting machines, a clean and credible elections remain to be our goal. Whatever it takes, and whatever the odds, I must overcome, I shall make sure that this is attained," Abalos said.

Polls Could Get Postponed Because of Stalled System Upgrade: Someone Call in Red Hat

Unconstitutional, schmunconstitutional, here's the real show-stopper:

The SC today scrapped (invalidated in lawspeak) the gazillion peso deal to shady Mega Pacific Consortium, citing bidding irregularities. It throws the entire system awry, I presume, since these are the folks (along with the Comelec) who will be counting the country's votes, which will be cast about 100 days from now.

The SC even wants to know whether criminal charges will be filed. Now who wants tainted hands to be counting our holy ballots? Better yet, who believes the SC anyway, flipflopping on Erap and all.

JV Running Unopposed

Although I've been waiting for the dust to settle on the ballots (it doesn't look like it will be soon, with the elections so near), somebody might see this and do something.

Electronic Voting

Since we're about to have one next year (or are we?), I'm borrowing a few links from Slashdot's discussion on the recently-flaring issue of voting and the computer.

Here are the promises:

Voters will still have to show up to cast their ballots at polling precincts on May 10. But by doing away with the cumbersome manual count, the new system is expected to name the winning president within 30 hours instead of after several days or weeks as before. 

The government has awarded contracts worth three billion pesos for hardware, software and satellite links to register voters, count ballots and bounce official returns to the national canvassing centre, election officials said. 

Using computers reduces opportunities to commit fraud although it cannot prevent "the problem of coercion, terrorism and vote-buying," said Benjamin Abalos, head of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the official polls watchdog. 

"For the first time only real people can vote. No more birds, no more bees, no more turtles," he said, alluding to previous problems in the rebellion-torn southern Philippines where ballots have been cast by corrupt officials in the name of non-existent voters. 

The machines in the U.S., although varying, are generally far more hi-tech than what I think we will have (I'm certain we don't have touch-screen machines). What we do have are electronic counters.

1. E-voting companies form a trade group to counteract, among other things, possible adverse security in their machines.
2. A blog about electronic election.
3. And, tossing around the idea that the creation of a database can invite others to invade your privacy.
Have the elections ever been this crazy?

Divine Intervention and the Elections

This is just me needing some anger management: what part of "separation" did you not understand? I have to be cynical about this, but it is precisely why it's called Divine Intervention: it is unwarranted, certainly unanticipated, but most often welcome.

If it wasn't for Namfrel, they say, Marcos would have remained president. I agree. But isn't it time we realize that WORKING TOGETHER AND NOT AGAINST EACH OTHER is a better option? For such a small country, why do we belligerently seek out each other's faults and sins, only to stall governance, in the guise of a holy crusade.

Okay, I'm getting carried away here. My point, albeit unsubstantiated, is this: the Philippines is helpless as a nation. It will never become developed without some unhappy perversion of democracy, freedom and prosperity. There is no Great Philippine Dream. There is no hope. Our children know it.

For this generation, there will be no freedom from poverty, crime, pollution, graft, illiteracy or oppression. The reason why is that we do not know how to go about the business of our nation and of surviving in our country without these evils. Simply put: we've forgotten how to be good people.

No God, working in mysterious ways or otherwise, can undo what centuries of intolerance, infighting, marginalism, greed and snobbery has done to our national psyche, our values, our discipline, our self-worth. I believe that with my whole heart. We have never been united under one nation, unlike Japan, Malaysia Thailand or China. We're like Indonesia -- ethnicities and ideals strung together by duct tape. We act like immigrants to our own country. The fact that several people, from actors to news anchors, believe that they "have heard the people" and can run the country is a shameless admission that we as a nation do not know what the hell we are doing. There are things to be proud of, only if we compare ourselves to countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan or Cambodia. We do not have a sworn enemy: not terrorists, not kidnappers, not criminals. Our greatest enemy is our own poor often wicked governance, and we only have ourselves to blame. Our chief export is our people: people who can stay and make a difference in the country, but instead leave. If they could take their family with them, then they would, and they're lost forever. We don't even have heroes. I think it's because we don't like others being better than us.

When you fly into NAIA, you realize how small our country is. It's a few islands, collectively the size of Nevada. Yet somehow we managed to mess it up. In my lifetime, I will do what I will can to show my children and others that hope never fades. I have to make them believe that some day we will make it.

But until then, let me take my first point back: our last hope IS divine intervention. Keep praying, dear bishops. Otherwise, us voters are all alone.

Why Will BM Support Poe?

Well, they seem to be leaning towards that, at least.

Loste added that all signs indicate that Poe, whom he described as the perfect choice of the common tao, is running for the highest position in the land.

“Besides, FPJ was never involved in anomalies, which have political colors even he is the best friend of deposed President Joseph Estrada,” he said.

Bayan Muna played critical role in the EDSA 2, a popular military-backed people’s uprising that toppled the Estrada administration and paved the way for the assumption in Malacañang of President Arroyo.

Last week, Loste said that the 2.9 million BayanMuna members nationwide would dismiss Mrs. Arroyo in next year’s polls.

So, hey, he's never been in office so he's never had any anomalies. Duh.

Politicos Must Learn to Be Good Sports

Conrado Banal explains, maybe too conveniently, why political instability (at least in the three houses and the local government) continues:

AS expected, with barely six months to go until the next national elections, the candidates are already talking about massive electoral fraud. It is only to be expected because, in any election in this country, it is a standard practice to blame one's loss on "massive electoral fraud."

It takes a Filipino candidate to be a victim of massive electoral fraud, always, when he or she loses in the elections. What's that -- fraud to be Filipino?

Nobody ever loses fair and square, and if we believe all the losers in all the past elections, none of our electoral contests was ever resolved by the electorate themselves. They were all marred by massive cheating.

It was the surest way for the animosity between and among the contending parties to continue even after the elections, even years after, long after votes were counted.

That, I think, is the main reason behind what we often talk about today - political instability. It is not just about coups and stealing. The politico must learn to become a good sport.

They can continue to be on opposite sides, but playing fair is statesman-like conduct. We probably haven't seen that since Claro Recto. Then again, it's hard to play by the rules when candidates are mostly only after their pork barrels. You know what though, Herbert Bautista has done a great job as Sonny Belmonte's vice mayor. A lot of heart from a diminuitive foe turned friend.

Local Vigilance

All government is alike, it seems, whether local, provincial or national. They're all corrupt. PCIJ's report reveals how Makati paid P90 EACH for pencils and how Cainta lost Php 135 million in irregular deals.

I've long desired to be a textbook publisher, with a contract to print millions of primary level books every year for the government. Easy money. And the market never goes away. (Well, that depends on who's at the DECS).

GMA has taken notice, and has urged "private citizens" to "remain vigilant and form watchdog groups". Obviously, she can't handle it herself.

Various contractors, former local government officials, auditors, academics, and NGO workers interviewed for this report say that pay-offs in procurements by local governmentswhether they involve supplies or servicescould easily range from 10 to more than 40 percent of the contract price. There is no standard percentage, as the “SOP” (or payoff) often depends on how much the corrupt officials involved want out of contracts or transactions.

According to Jose Edgardo Campos, a World Bank governance expert, bribes at national and local levels translated to anywhere from P45 billion to P220 billion of the total procurement budget in 2001 alone. The World Bank says that even a mere P21 billion “could have been used to fund the (Department of Health) twice over, or build more than 16,000 school buildings, or construct about 3,000 kilometers of concrete farm-to-market roads.”

They're stealing from your children, citizens. If that doesn't make you mad, nothing will.

Counting Machines, 1-2-3, HA HA HA HA!!

So, there's something really wrong here.

The 2004 national election will not fail because of unreliable automated counting machines, the Department of Science and Technology maintained on Thursday.

The engineer Rolando Villoria, chief of the department’s Metals Industries Research and Development Center, told The Times that contrary to earlier reports the counting machines acquired by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from South Korea are not defective.

1. Someone tell me when does an engineer from the Metals Industries Research and Development Center of the DOST become an expert on automated counting machines?

Villoria explained that Mega Pacific, the distributor of the machines, have already made the necessary redesigning to correct the lens assembly, which had caused the machines to malfunction during the first testing.

“Based on the testing we made, there has been no failure in the functions of counting machines to be used in the 2004 computerized election. We also believe that the remaining machines will pass our standards because of the necessary corrections made,” Villoria ascertained.

2. Since the suspect machines were the "9 out of 30" in the first delivery, I don't understand why he believes the remaining machines will be okay only after the corrections are made. Does that mean that they're all really defective (regardless of when they are shipped) and they have to be corrected here in order for them to pass the tests? That's the way I read this.

Meatheads Meet

Like Referee Mills Lane likes saying: "I'll allow it."

Election Fraud Even Before the Elections?

I do have gossip on this, but that's just gossip. Besides, I want to keep my friends, and, I do my own stunts. However, this is pretty nagging. Angelo Castro of the World Tonight reported last night (no, I don't have TFC, I have I-Channel) that the computerized ballot counting may be engineered to breakdown and eventually allow GMA to get re-elected.

Now, it seems that, like every government contract (remember PIATCO and the old new airport among others?) has some evil invisible hand signing it:

THE SUPREME Court has asked the Commission on Elections to produce several documents including the contract it had with a consortium that won the 1.3-billion-peso poll automation project in the next 20 days.

The Court had earlier found that the contract stipulated that the software be ready before it was to be bidded out. Now, waitaminutehere. Even if the bidders had it on beta, the Court has apparently never heard of versioning. But apparently, the software and hardware is coming from election.com, which I will get to later.

But they did hear of the irregularities from the Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines , which s behind the case. They found:

"The machines submitted for testing by the two bidders both failed to even attain 99.5% accuracy, which means they were registering more than one error in 20,000 marks. That alone should have been sufficient reason to declare a failed bidding," he observed.

Mr. Lagman further explained that the Comelec accuracy rate required the machines to register only one error in 200,000 marks.

Perhaps most questionable is the identity of the 1.3 billion peso winner:

He pointed out that the Comelec awarded the contract to a company called Mega Pacific Consortium "when no such animal existed during the bidding procedure."

Mr. Pastelero stressed that it was a venture called Mega-Pacific eSolutions, Inc. that submitted the bid for the contract. Yet, he said that the Comelec's notice of award cites Mega Pacific Consortium as the contractor for the project worth one billion Philippine pesos.

"Even if eSolutions assigned its privilege to Consortium, it was already not qualified to begin with because it was formed only two to three weeks before actual submission of documents. Comelec required bidders to submit three years of financial statements to qualify," he added.

Currently, the consortium is composed of MegaPacific eSolutions Inc., weServ, ePLDT, SK C&C, and election.com. Who are these folks? Well, what I do know is that weServ is the software arm of Fujitsu Philippines. SK is a systems integrator from Korea, which is bringing in the hardware. Election.com is where the software should be coming from. And, everyone knows PLDT. But the leader in the pack, Mega Pacific e-solutions is a holler.

Now, what exactly is involved in this PC (I imagine they won't be using Macs) ballot counting business? It's not like they're building a new mouse trap, the software and the hardware is already there. These people know what they're doing (same people who worked on Arizona's online poll a few years ago).

I imagine that what would take long is the process of setting up the system's backbone, a network of secure LANs and servers. There's lots of testing there too. And I really don't know how they will integrate all the votes. Then there's training people how to use the system. But at this point -- less than a year away from election day -- the fact that they have not even had a successful demo tells me that this is going to be one of those government projects that will be 80% done and 100% useless. Another 1.3 billion gone.

Absentee Voters Turnout Low

Personally, this is a surprise to me. Filipinos overseas complain about the Philippine government all the time, but it seems they are not interested in shaping it are they? This despite fiesta-like promotions at the embassies to get people to register and vote.

The turnout of registrants for overseas absentee voting remains well below the government’s expectation: only 286,666 Filipinos have registered since Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs reported.

At 12 noon on Monday, the figure accounted for 17 percent of the total 1.7 million potential absentee voters and 32 percent of the target 900,000 overseas workers.

The government earlier reduced its target to 1 million registrants from the original 2.5 million, then trimmed it down further to 900,000, but the outcome was still way below its estimate.

As the two-month registration for overseas absentee voters ends today, the foreign affairs department believes that the total number will reach 350,000.

Danding Being Stripped of His Campaign Chest

So, Danding lost UCPB, then now the government is after SMC. SMC has not seen the kind of growth it has had since Danding took over. Of course, there could be a lot of loans and dealing left out of print that may surface later. Needless to say, the powers that be don't want Danding sitting on that warchest with his eyes on the presidency.

400,000 Names Purged from Voter's List; More to Come

I wonder about FVR's winning margin over Miriam when he won back in 1992. But, considering that Metro Manila only has about 4.5 million registered voters, 400,000 seems a lot.

Arroyo Says She's Worth P72M

Properties in 5 provinces and a P3.5 million Lexus.

Arroyo's Ratings Rise After US Visit; May Yet Run in 2004

Quick and dirty article on Arroyo's approval ratings and how Washington may yet want her to stay for another term.

Here, she denies thinking about it.

Miriam to Host Weakest Link; Seeks Senate Seat in 2004

The show is perfect for her, because she's such a bitch. The article rightfully puts all the facetime positioning in line with next year's election. I want to get on that show and bitch at her back.

Says Miriam: "I have accepted it simply because it might be fun. It will allow me to work with young people which I like doing anyway."

Blow me.

De Castro, Roco, On Top

Former ABS mouthpiece Noli de Castro and former Education Secretary Raul Roco has topped a nationwide survey on who people would vote for if the 2004 elections (which is exactly 12 months away from this date) were held today.

Just Like Lito Lapid, Joey Marquez Proves He Is Outstanding in Government Office

Joey Marquez, who, according to my fiance (who interviewed him for her undergraduate thesis), prides himself as not having finished high school (and therefore, can relate better with his constituents), is fighting a case that prohibits elected officials from engaging in other business while in office. The case is primarily directed at actors who continue to work as actors despite having a government office.

Marquez says:

his "very splendid career" as mayor is due to his performance as a local executive and not to his popularity as an actor. He said his performance "must have been outstanding and certainly one that is highly commendable," because he was voted mayor three consecutive times. To say that he was elected because he is popular "would be considered an insult or attack on the wisdom and integrity of (my) constituents," Marquez added.

He said many artists also ran for elective posts but lost.

Oh, please. Isn't there a law that prohibits oneself from saying something self-incriminating?

He continues that this right to work as an actor:

may not be taken away or impaired unless there is a paramount and compelling public interest.

Of course, this flies at the face of the Local Government Code of 1991 which states all local government executives "are prohibited from practicing their profession or engaging in any occupation other than the exercise of their functions as local chief executives."

See Lito Lapid's defense here. I find it un-f*cking-believable that these people can say that they were elected and re-elected solely based on their performance, and not their popularity (no doubt gained from their acting).

Crime Pays in the Philippines

Reading like a CIA capsule, Sheila S. Coronel of the PCIJ's write-up on organized crime in the Philippines. Excerpts:

The cost of producing shabu is ridiculously low, and the PNP estimates that dealers make P2,000 for every P10 they invest. The market, currently about 1.8 million Filipino drug users, is also an expanding one.

Kidnappings are another source of easy cash. This year kidnap-for-ransom gangs netted some P212 million in payments, and that's only for the reported cases. Anti-crime groups estimate that kidnappers were paid P1.4 billion in the last 10 years for the 124 kidnapping incidents that were reported to them during that period.

Bank robberies are another lucrative income source for criminal syndicates. PNP statistics show that there were 37 bank robberies in 2002, compared to only 27 the previous year. The number of armored van robberies saw a 60-percent increase from 27 incidents in 2001 to 44 last year.

Smuggling ? of everything from garments to rice to handguns ? is perhaps the most profitable of all. The Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) claims that close to 80 percent of consumer goods sold in the country are smuggled. FPI chairman Meneleo Carlos Jr. said that some 50 percent of industrial goods are likewise smuggled.

Those numbers aren't small. Coronel estimates that organized crime nets something equivalent to about 10 to 20% of the country's GDP.

Maybe if I go to the underground urban water supply business...

Governor Lito Lapid Proves Being An Actor Does NOT Get You Elected To Office (and also proves he's stupid)

The PDI reports:

In his appeal to dismiss a suit that would bar entertainers holding public office from appearing in movies and television shows, Lapid told a Manila judge that "movie stars win in an election ... because of their inherent and sincere intention to be of service to their constituents."

He said there were many actors and actresses who ran for public office and lost. He said this is proof that "being in the world of show business does not guarantee a movie star-candidate to win any elections."

Inherent and sincere intention, hmmm. I'm sure Erap and Jinggoy were sincere in their intentions.

Yeah, but the point here is about whether you can work as an actor, or work at all outside of your duties in office. In his 7-page affidavit (cover page, table of contents, author's bio, back cover, double-spaced with 1.5-inch margin left and right) Lapid's eloquent reply:

The governor said that after he was elected, his movie career took a back seat and he focused his attention to the Pampangueños.

But due to financial constraints, he explained, he could not fully address their numerous concerns "so (I) started doing movies to earn extra money for the financial needs of (my) constituents."

He said he makes no more than two movies a year, and every time he does, the contract provides that he gets to work only on weekends or after office hours.

"In which case, (I am) on call on a 24-hour basis."

So he actually works to raise money for his constituents. If he does so directly, then he is employed as the Governor of Pampanga, not as a private citizen. To which, further legalese must unfold. But, that might be too much for the Governor.

The SJS cited the Local Government Code of 1991 which states that all local government executives "are prohibited from practicing their profession or engaging in any occupation other than the exercise of their functions as local chief executives."

More on Ping Part 3

Ping was a graduate of the PMA 1971 Matatag. Look at which other suspected killer and Senator was in his class (lower right hand).

More on Ping Part 2

Here is a reprint of Mon Tulfo's July 2001 column on his expose on Ping Lacson. Tulfo writes that Ping:

...ordered the execution of two girls, 19 and seven years old, when you were still at the MISG because they were witness to the "salvaging" by your men of a crime suspect. The 19-year-old girl was the crime suspect's girlfriend and the little girl was her sister. The crime suspect, his girlfriend and her sister, were at the Kobe Restaurant in Quezon City when your men came for him. The suspect was shot dead even while he allegedly had his arms raised in surrender. To cover up your men's execution of the crime suspect, you had the two innocent girls likewise "salvaged (summarily executed)." But their executions were done in another place.

Whether or not all these things are true, there is enough evidence that Lacson is a monster. He must not be made President.

More on Ping

The PCIJ's August 1995 write-up on Ping. Buried in the article was:

Chief Supt. Panfilo Lacson, who has been convicted of human rights violations, including torture, arrests without warrants and confiscation of property. In a case filed in February 1993, Lacson and other members of Task Force Makabansa, a composite group of AFP intelligence units, were ordered to pay five victims-former detainees of the Camp Bagong Diwa Detention Center-P350, 000 each in damages.

This man is running for the highest office of the Philippines. Somebody stop him.

Former Governor and Lt. Col. Tingting Cojuangco on "Womanspeak"

Tingting writes like a gushing teenager about the high school jock in her diary, lost in thought. The Philippine Star publishes this mindless crap:

A man once asked me, "Do women really mean what they say?" "No, not at all," I answered. "But we want a reaction from the men to whatever we say, or not say all the time."

This is exactly why men cannot understand women like you, Mrs. Cojuangco. She continues:

My friend Joe cancelled more dates with Janina than kept them. Each time he cancelled and offered an excuse, Janina would simply say, "I understand." And Joe would tell all and sundry how understanding Janina was. Until Janina broke up with him. And Joe, poor Joe moaned, "But I thought she understood, she said so!"

Sure Janina understood... that Joe had to work late that’s why he was canceling a date.

But Janina also understood... that Joe was giving her a lot of bull.

And Joe, poor Joe, couldn’t understand that.

EXACTLY WHAT F*CKING BULL???!?!? The guy was being honest!! She was not being straightforward about disliking him working late! If she had told him that she didn't like it, he would have probably changed things. (God, am I giving relationship advice now?) The former Governor elaborates:

Contrary to perception, not all women are master communicators. The preconceived idea that all women are naggers is a myth. Actually, don’t men realize they sometimes nag more than we do? And while I’m on the subject, women are said to be notorious as gossipmongers. That’s another myth. I know for a fact that when men get together... wow, do they gossip!

WTF are you smoking, Tingting? The fact that men gossip too does not negate the idea that women gossip too. Let's see: Women gossip, men like to "talk shop". There!

But back to women as communicators ? don’t men realize that we, too, tend to repress some of our emotions? We don’t want to be branded as naggers, so we sacrifice in silence.

If we don’t always mean what we say, haven’t men figured out yet that we don’t always say what we mean either? Say for example, when wives insist, "I don’t have anything to wear." Does that mean our closets are empty? Nope. It’s only an implication. It’s either we don’t want to go to wherever men want to bring us or worse, we want money to buy something nicer and we won’t come right out and say it. Men just have to figure it out.

So, how they F*CK are we suppose to understand if you don't say what you mean and mean what you say?!?!? We just "have to figure it out"? Grow up, lady. Those games are only cute if you still are.

Learning how to communicate with women is just the tip of the iceberg and getting past this iceberg is a feat in itself. A woman is a maze of mystery. And that‘s why men haven’t figure us out, because even we haven’t figured us out.

I swear she's not smoking it. She's snorting it. I mean, it's a well-intentioned piece. But she can't write through her through her make up because it's too thick (looow). She's trying to decipher the Filipina who, unfortunately, suffers from the stereotype of being home all day with Tessie Tomas waiting alone for her man to come home from work. Tingting not only befuddles it even more, she casts a sense of hopelessness that the indifference between worker and homemaker is as, well, thick as she is.

So next time you think you can outspeak a woman, think twice. She may just be allowing you.

But then again, when she does speak, make sure you understand.

The same way you think she does the way you think she should.

Okay, can someone please explain the last line? Thanks!

Chronology of the Kuratong Baleleng Case

As reported in the Manila Times.

Robin Padilla for Vice-Mayor

He is reported to be thinking of running as Alma Moreno's vice mayor. What the HELL right?!?!

Get Ping

So, someone's scared that Ping is going to be Prez. The PDI is reporting that the government is reopening his case. If Ping knows his way around -- and he probably does -- he'll spin this around making him look like the victim of a government-led witchhunt to discredit him as a worthy opponent in next year's elections. Or, he'll pay off the witnesses like he did last time.

One word on Ping: he did clean up the PNP, which later turned against him in Edsa 2. Writes Lacson: "I also stop the bad habit of some senior police oficers who used to play golf during office hours, leaving their subordinate officers to serve the public in their stead. I wanted them to be at their desks and in command of their posts. That was a natural and fair thing for me to ask of my subordinates because I was at my own post all the time myself." This essay is in a fansite. But, he's a crook, nonetheless.

Ping Running for Prez

Another all-time low. This way, we can legitimize gambling, gun-running, drug-pushing and prostitution. Did I mention rubouts?