Stupidity on the rise

I wanted to concentrate on writing my entry to this year’s Palanca Awards but I just couldn’t. So I’m using this entry as a lame excuse to vent my frustrations on my self-imposed writer’s block.

You’re an alien if you haven’t heard anything about the Canister Scandal at the Vicente Sotto Medical Center in Cebu. The doctors and the nurses involved in that operation can only be described as idiots, a**holes and mindless dogs who know nothing about genuine care for their patients. And the hospital is harboring these creeps. Last I heard, the 3 doctors and 2 nurses who were responsible are retained in the hospital because they are short of medical staff. I mean, is that even a reason? That’s just bullsh*t.

It’s numb skulls like them who give our health system an even stinkier image. After the leakage in the 2006 Nursing Boards and that remark from Desperate Housewives, what more could these brilliant retards do to further ruin and discredit medical practice in the country? For wannabe MDs like me, the future seems dotted with too much distrust and malice that frankly, anyone would think twice if they would proceed or not.

Earning someone’s trust is hard but losing it is as easy as uploading a video of a delicate operation on YouTube for all the world to see. It’s sub-human inconsiderations like this that make the world a darn awful place to live in. And what makes it worse is that the people who are supposed to be educated and smart are the ones who make it hell on earth (e.g. Politicians).

You see a doctor and you envision someone who would pull you from the brink of death and give you a new leash on life. You see a nurse and you envision someone who would take care of you while you lay on a hospital bed, drifting heavily on meds and with a sore body. Now, you see people in white and you get a hell of a scare. You see doctors and nurses and you think Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

It may not be that too big of a deal for others but it is an issue of trust and responsibility that we must address. This irresponsible and backward thinking is just disgusting and is so unbecoming of a professional. You see a helpless individual and you make fun of him and take a video of him and prize that as something of an accomplishment? That’s absurd! And it’s not just the 3 doctors and 2 nurses who should be charged but the hospital as well. What sort of hospital allows that kind of treatment to their patients? I’ve only seen bits and pieces of the video on T.V. Patrol and to be honest, I do not have the heart to see the entire clip on YouTube because I would be more enraged with the medical staff. They were said to have ridiculed the patient while he was on the operating table. Goodness me, even the student nurses were let in to view the operation. Worse, they took pictures of him with their handy-dandy cellphones INSIDE the OR. Madness, really or sheer stupidity and inconsideration.

For me, its events such as this that make my resolve to become an MD even stronger. Call me an idealist or a wide-eyed dreamer or whatever, but to clean the image of health workers or medical practice in the country will be my life-long mission. And it would not just be me but the entire community as well, working together to improve the current sordid state that it is in right now and to dispell it’s bad reputation. Its time for true compassion and sincere concern to reign over asinine thoughts.

Charge the medical staff in the PRC and in the Ombudsman and let’s hope and pray they get what they deserve. Investigate the hospital too. Actually, all the hospitals in the country if possible to make sure they follow the guidelines.   

Food Crisis

Last night, I was fortunate enough to catch BBC’s World Debate on food crisis. The  panelists were some of THE authority in finance, agriculture, economics, and politics plus a farmer who wanted his side to be heard. The debate was intense but substantiated what causes the world wide crisis in food and how to potentially solve it.

Essentially, agriculture is being neglected. Most countries tend to put huge amounts of money on everything else except on agriculture. There is but little investment or help given to the farmers and they end up losing. They practically put in more capital than what they could earn because as prices go up, so do farming equipments like fertilizers and seedlings and poultry needs like feeds etc. Plus, they are also in competition with huge commercial farmers and imported products. They are forced to sell their goods at a much lower price just so they could earn a living. Most of these farmers do not even own their lands. The government is much too focused on other issues like politics, technological advancement or even urbanization and globalization. There is too much emphasis on globalization that the most basic of needs is being side swept: food. As more and more people go to the city, the demands for meat, rice and vegetable are increasing more than the farmers could handle. Some farmers, because of meager earnings and neglect from the government, tend to go to the city and look for jobs instead.

Analysts say that unless the government would (1) give financial aid to the farmers, (2) control market prices from going up, (3) level-off competition with imported goods, and (4) give priority to local goods, the food crisis would continue.

We are expected to have rice shortage sooner than we think. And it’s not just about farming and rice hoarding; it’s about massive corruption and misappropriation as well. That Fertilizer Scam years back is now haunting us. Should the money been given to the farmers, this shortage could have been prevented. Or could it? The neglect on agriculture in this country had long been going on. Joc-joc Bolante’s evil doing is just icing on the crumbling cake.

Back in the 1970s or 60s I think, the Philippines was regarded as the most progressive in rice farming and technology, hence the birth of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in UPLB. Many of our Asian neighbors would send their researchers here to study OUR techniques in rice breeding and farming etc. But today, we end up importing the bulk of our needs from Thailand, Vietnam and even from the US. We cannot even produce enough of our staple food for ourselves because of faulty government policy, corruption, conversion of rice land to other uses, backward rice farmers, deteriorating irrigation systems and lack of farm credit, among others. We misappropriate the budget for something else like the ZTE-NBN Deal et.al. Heck, even the Cyber-Ed scheme for me is a sham.

Another thing that bothers me is Biofuels. I think it’s great that we have an alternative fuel solution but do WE PLANT EVERY AVAILABLE LAND IN THE COUNTRY FOR JATROPHA, SUGAR CANE AND COCONUT? Why not use those available lands for rice or other food crops instead? Please correct me if I’m wrong, but we use marginal lands to plant these crops and for them to grow, we’ll need to douse the land with fertilizer, which is an added expense. Plus we get only a small amount of biofuel from TONS of jatropha or sugar cane or coconut. Then of course, where do we put the waste products of jatropha which is poisonous/irritant? The output is too little compared to the input. Is that efficient? We are using lands to plant for fuel and not for food. Do we prioritize fuel over food?

Our problem is systemic and it’s not easy to pinpoint what’s causing this rice shortage in the country. But one thing is certain and that’s faulty planning and governing.

English and Comic Relief c/o Dense Modesto

This has got to be one of the most painful videos I’ve ever seen. And mind you, it has little to do with Janina San Miguel’s weak attempt at English. At least the girl tried, so let her be. Melanie Marquez must be this 17 year old’s idol, for all we know.

Actually, it would be imprudent to equate intelligence with broken English. Nowadays, people seem to think highly of themselves whenever they could speak straight English when in fact, these so-called PINOYS cannot even speak straight Tagalog and worse, they prefer to speak TAG-LISH instead. Most of the pa-sosyal people and kids do that most of the time and that’s more irritating. Have these people not been taught at school that you speak one language at a time if you want clarity and cohesion? If you want to speak in English, then speak in straight English and vice versa with Tagalog. You do not add and mix these two languages to make it seem like your cool and hip and smart. It makes you look cheap and maarte, actually. But of course, not all good English-speaking Pinoys are like that and it would be stupid of me to make such a generalization. 

To be honest, to be able to speak in English is essential because as we seek to move towards globalization, this language will help us gain the upper hand in getting a job or a career basically. I think it would be safe to equate good education or sufficient education with good English skills instead. Because not all well-educated, good English speaking people are intelligent, right? Some receive good education because they can afford it. But intelligence is rarely developed as it is mostly based in your genes. So some who receive good education and speak perfect English may not necessarily have the brains to think beyond speaking perfect English. Some.

Actually, you just need practice, patience and the will to do it. If you’re not good at something, then practice! I am not good at math (and chem and physics and statistics etc, etc, etc) so what I do is solve the practice exercises or problems that our profs usually give and pester them during their consultation hours. I am good at memorizing stuff (hence my biology course) so once I see a pattern in solving, I memorize that pattern and I apply that to similar problems. Frankly, my brain is not well trained to analyze numbers that’s why understanding the math (physical sciences) theories and concepts are not enough in my case. Know your strengths and use it. Get you ass moving, do something to improve yourself and stop being lazy.

Another thing that bothers me is that why did the judges let Janina San Miguel win? Because being able to speak in English is an entirely different thing to being intelligent. She could have answered the question in Tagalog. But then again, could speaking in Tagalog saved Janina San Miguel’s ass from ridicule? It would have if she had a truly intelligent answer lurking inside her head. In the end, I see the dysfunction in the pageant itself. And I agree with Ruffa Guttierez, that physical beauty and brains should come together in competitions like these. Blame the judges for putting you on the spot, Janina. If you did not win the crown, then perhaps the critics would not be this harsh on you. You could use an interpreter in the Q&A portion in the Miss World Pageant, you know, if those speech lessons cannot help you.

On a happy note (if you can call it that), here are Dense Modesto’s dance remixes of the two clips above. His sarcasm in doing these videos (he also did the Saging Lang ang may Puso Remix feat. Mark Lapid) has a way of putting lessons in my head. Enjoy lang.

Holy, Holy, Holy

Weeks before the Holy Week, the church usually recommends getting a confession, observing fasting and abstinence, eating no pork or beef on Fridays, praying the rosary, and guarding yourself from sin.

At the St. Therese Chapel at UPLB, I usually attend the 5:30 pm mass as much as I can. The chapel is often packed with students, faculties and nuns at this hour. The slow setting of the sun provides warm hues of orange and yellow as the mass proceeds. The wooden altar, with the glass encased images of Mary and St. Therese, is bathed with natural light coming from the tall glass-stained windows from the banister. The sight is just awesome, and couple this with the outstanding choir (Lisieux), you’ll feel like something is possessing you to stay put and absorb the entire homily. It’s the sort of calm that keeps you sane despite voluminous projects, insane reports and deadly exams.

Lately, I’ve been going to the chapel because of an entirely different reason: a crush. He’s a classmate from Class X this semester and just last February, I’ve noticed that he sits at the outer benches to hear mass. At first, I didn’t care. Then came a sort of recitation in our class; the type that makes you do calculations on the board. I’m not so good at math. I can’t do quick mental claculations like other people can and I just hate these on-the-board-calculation-recitations because I tend to freeze and get my solutions wrong (I did fine with my problem by the way). Anyway, when he came to solve his assigned problem on the board, WOW!, he just stood there for about 10 seconds and he’s done! He did it so fast that even my prof was surprised. I have a weakness for guys who are math geniuses so forgive me, please, for being a tad shallow. After seeing that, I saw him in a different light (naks!).

It’s nothing serious, really; besides him being tall and cute and smart (Electrical Engineer!), wala lang haha. Point is, I felt guilty that I go to church because of him. So, I stopped going to church for a while. Eventually, after one week, I went to church again and saw him there on his usual place with his crisp white shirt, clean-cut hair and a guy friend sitting next to him. I found a seat near to them and spied shamelessly on their conversation. I looked back to catch a glimpse of him when, OMG, I saw him hold the guy’s hand! WTF!? I looked away and I thought to myself, hhmmm…baka close lang talaga sila…best buddies I suppose. So I ignored what I saw and tried to concentrate on the First Reading. But something kept nagging at me to look back at them again. And so I did. But Lo and Behold, the guy had his arm around my crush! They were giggling and whispering and looking at each other’s eyes while making kilitian! Okay Fine! I thought, circumstantial evidence lang…not good enough to convict.

I didn’t look back until the mass ended. When I did, I saw them taking pictures of themselves at the their seats. Cam whores. After that, they walked out of the church and I followed. At this point, I wasn’t even sure why I was trailing them but still I did. They were laughing as they passed Click; they were walking with a nanometer apart from each other while they kept looking around as if checking for something. They disappeared into La Ville and the second they stepped into the dimly-lit alley, my crush gave the guy a quick peck on the cheek. Ay, ako din. 

I get it, Lord. Thanks for teaching me another fun, life lesson.  

The Messenger of Truth

After being tagged as the NBN-ZTE Star Witness and Pinoy Jedi Knight, Lozada is now regarded as THE MESSENGER OF TRUTH. At least to Sen. Pimentel that is.

Lozada’s crusade for the Truth has continued on to Cebu where he will do his usual routine of touring colleges and universities and other publicity stints. These days, I’m not sure exactly what Lozada is going around the country for: for Truth, for Justice, for People Power or for PGMA’s resignation. These may sound the same but actually they’re not.

When Lozada is for the TRUTH, to me that means calling for Neri et.al to come out and tell all. Never mind their fishy and muddy background, just tell all to convict the masterminds; we’ll worry about sending them to courts and forgiving them later. I mean, look at Lozada: he admitted he’s involvement and now, we’ve forgiven him. Well, not entirely because I still want to put him on trial for those anomalous deals he did while he was the CEO for PhilForest. That’s fair right? Erap, who never admitted to anything except being played for by his enemies, has even been given a pardon. See? That’s how forgiving and forgetful we are. While it may be true that the Truth protects him now, let us not forget that LOZADA’S TRUTH CAN ALSO BE RELATIVE. He’s not only capable of telling the truth, mind you; he can also tell lies to protect himself. He’s only human after all.

When Lozada is for JUSTICE, to me that means equality to all; that he and all those hauled in the deal will get fair trial and convictions, if found guilty. No one should be above the law, no guilty one should be spared because of mass appeal or popularity or because the opposition is for him. If we want the truth, justice should follow to dispense the might of our law. To what purpose do we have the law if it is repeatedly ignored? It’s about time we let the institutions in this country do their duties with honesty and integrity.

When Lozada is for People Power, to me that means creating another political tragedy. Not only do we risk being used by those stinking trapos but we expose our naivety and immaturity towards politics. How do we choose our leaders or rather, how do we let ourselves get tricked by their speeches and promises? They don’t even write their own material, for goodness’ sake. Well my point is that Lozada should not call for a People Power because he is in no position to do so. Is he in politics? Does he want to be in politics in the future? When he gives his speeches, Lozada seems more of a politician than a crusader. It’s pretty ambitious of him to aspire becoming an icon of People Power 3, if ever.

When Lozada is for PGMA’s resignation, to me that means giving authority to an illegitimate rule and clearing the presidential position for whoever. Last I checked, no clear line leading to PGMA has been established in the investigation of the NBN-ZTE Scandal right? Though to me it seems so obvious she’s in it, still if we want to prove her guilt, we should have concrete proof that she is and put the case against her in proper channels e.g. impeachment because I think it’s the only way to bring her to court or charge her. But since the 1-year ban of impeaching a president is still on, goodluck to us all. And since the Senate investigations of the NBN-ZTE Scandal is in aid of legislation, why not do something with the 1-year ban? Or would that be too reckless?

Also, I think we should stop harassing CBCP or the church to support Lozada’s rising career. It’s in the law that the church and the state are separate entities. I find it rather confusing that we, as a secular state, demand that religion get in between state affairs. If we want that to happen, the government will lose its mandate and do we want the church to dictate our laws? Conflict of interest, that’s it.

How to recycle garbage

Tomorrow, another rally will be held at Makati by a mix of anti-PGMA people to sing for her resignation for the gargantuan heap of crap her administration had brought upon the people. I say only this: keep the trapos, ESPECIALLY ERAP, out of the stage and clear from holding a freaking microphone. I would feel thrice as bad if I ever see him up on that stage again; mourning and weeping because he got jailed for corruption and PGMA has not.

What does ERAP mean in Pinoy Poly-ticks?

Right now, he’s the standard bearer of the opposition. Before, he was PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER 1. He resigned because of People Power and later found guilty for accepting jueteng payola and was sent to prison. But PGMA gave him pardon not too long ago which he accepted. So he basically licked the shoes of the b*tch for his freedom. And that sells him out as a classic trapo.

Erap even has the nerve to deny his guilt because ‘64% of the Filipinos believe that he’s innocent’. I don’t know where he got his stats but to bypass or belittle a high court’s final decision over some lousy survey is an indication of a rotting political and justice system.

Why does the Opposition have Erap?

Or rather, does the opposition exist because of Erap? If this is the case, we’re damned for sure. The lack of political choices leave us with nothing more than garbage and scheming politicos who makes their living out of politics. After Erap, PGMA followed. Before, PGMA was all good but by some twisted horrific turn of events, PGMA is now PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER 1. This means both are evil. Whether lesser or not, the wickedness that these two, and most of our politicians, exhibit should not tolerated. 

Does this mean Erap is the ‘good one‘ now because through the ZTE-NBN Scandal, we were able to prove that PGMA is a much bigger evil doer than he is or is it because the opposition backs him?

Let’s backtrack a bit. It wasn’t because of the ZTE-NBN Scandal alone that the people have raised their fists against PGMA. It started years back mainly with the Hello Garcy Tape, The Jose Pidal Accounts and the Fertilizer Scam. Then more followed with the ‘Extrajudicial Killings’, the Bedol Magic in Maguindanao and now, even the country’s territorial islands, Spartlys or Kalayaan, are under scrutiny. We need not add more wood to keep the fire burning. Goodness me, even with spontaneous combustion the fire WILL burn. 

I hate to say this, but the administration and the opposition are all alike. Timing is the key here. During Erap’s time, he was the administration, he was the evil one and by virtue of elimination, PGMA et.al at that timewere the opposition, the hope and the good ones. When PGMA became President, she became the administration and, as we all know now, is the evil one whom we must all purge ourselves of. AND by virtue of elimination again, the opposition is now the saving grace of the country, with or without Erap, with or without evil intent.

The administration is the government. But why do we see the government as the evil one most of the time? 

This is an issue of trust. If we cannot put our trust in the government, then something must be wrong. It’s okay to have doubts or other opinions different from that of the government’s but I think it’s necessary that you place at least 51% of your trust to them. This indicates that you believe in the government, in the institutions and in the leaders who are running this country. Do we choose who is good or bad via elimination only? Now that’s a much bigger problem.

We do not label the opposition automatically as the ‘good ones’ because doing so is reckless. Just because they oppose the tyrant doesn’t mean their party will not breed would-be tyrants in the future. Just like in any courts, both sides are heard and tried first before passing on the verdict. The court is unbiased and cannot be swayed by the complainant’s distressed or harrassed look. And just because Lozada appears like a meek sheep doesn’t mean his innocent. He maybe a wolf in sheep’s clothing too, you know. For all we know, he and Joey and Madriaga are doing it for Ping’s 2010 candidacy. Or maybe the witnesses are indeed doing it for the TRUTH. Whatever the reason, PLEASE, let us be fair. The cases against Lozada in the Office of the Ombudsman are pretty heavy and these are the ones that cannot and should not be forgotten because the star witness is popular. It’s just like voting for Sen. Revilla or Former Sen. Jawo or Goma or Montano or VP Noli de Castro: they got support because they’re popular PERIOD

Whether or not Lozada and Joey and Madriaga are fake, my money is still on them. Only, do not let Lozada call the shots for a People Power because I don’t think he is in any position to do so. But then again, who should: Ping, Binay, Cory, FVR, the CBCP, or some random trapo again? Should People Power depose PGMA, the next President after her would again owe his/her vote to the people. And if by some annoying wicked deja vu, that President would again turn out to be tyrant (or worse) like the previous one, what then? Do we march down the streets and do People Power 4? If we do this tactic again and again, we do not only abuse and disrespect the true essence of the peaceful revolt, but we come through as an immature and fickle-minded nation who doesn’t know what it wants and is unable to pick the moral of the story after history has repeated itself countless times. 

The best way around this predicament is if PGMA would resign by herself, without People Power. With that, the power of the people can not be used by any trapo for his own agenda and the end result is that NO TRAPO would ever think that his mandate was given by the people (unless of course we do elections). Is this even possible? Let’s just believe in miracles.

May mga kumakalat na balita

na ang kaligtasa’y madaling makuha.

Bago maniwala, mag-isip-isip ka muna

Marami ang namamatay sa Maling Akala.

- Maling Akala (Ultraelectromagneticpop!), Eraserheads.

Simmer

Whenever I see Lozada on t.v. these days, I cannot help but feel slightly annoyed at his pseudo superstar status. The hype surrounding him is just too crippling, too indulgent. I think it’s unnecessary to give him this much attention; I mean like giving him movie offers, touring colleges and universities and treating him like he’s the standard bearer of the opposition. It’s scares the hell out of me to think that this man is soaring too high for us to critically observe him.

I do not object to his testimony; for all we know, he’s helping heaps to pin PGMA and her cronies down for corruption. Personally, I believe him. Even if he and Joey lack the hard evidence to prove their claims, I would still believe them rather than the government’s smug-ass cover-ups. In our politics, it’s either your PRO or your ANTI PGMA. You cannot sit in between and be quiet: you have to decide which side your taking or else you’ll be caught dead and STUPID.

But unfortunately, politics in this country doesn’t have any distinct line between good and evil, right and wrong. The line isn’t even blurred; heck, there’s no line to speak of actually. It’s all about the classic cliche of LESSER EVIL and EVIL, of moderating evil and not eliminating it. The overall color scheme of politics in this country is gray, dirty gray to be exact. You cannot distinguish any side unless you tolerate and acknowledge that evil must co-exist with good in one freaking party.

Lozada may be a pawn of Lacson or of the opposition in general. Who knows? He maybe telling the truth but what does Lozada stand for actually? 

Last midterm elections, Trillanes’ win was predominantly interpreted as a vote against PGMA. But what did we think about his coup attempts? We condemned them. Personally I did. He was reckless and we knew he was planning to make a transition government should he and his coup plot have been successful. 

Then a year ago, Armando Ducat hostaged a bus load of kids. Our initial reaction? We almost wanted to cry because of his seeming innocent demands for his wards. Most people sympathized with him, I mean even the arresting team and negotiators went easy on him. But then again, to threat or endanger anyone, especially kids, is one big unforgivable mistake. That, we cannot let pass.

And along came Lozada. His ‘abduction’, his tears, his testimony and his ‘probinsyanong intsik’ image endeared him to us. He became the unlikely hero facing against the bigwigs in the government concerning the ZTE-NBN Deal. His shield were the holy protection of the La Salle Brothers, the nuns and THE TRUTH. But after some time, black propaganda against him started to come out and we begin to question the integrity and credibility of this so-called star witness.  

To set things straight, I believe Lozada. I mean, we all know PGMA is a cheat and it wouldn’t surprise me now if she’s corrupt as well. But what I’m afraid of is if Lozada isn’t doing this for THE TRUTH, that instead he’s doing it because he’s asked to or worse because he’s fueling his own agenda, whatever that may be. Point is, whether Lozada is telling the truth or not, his testimony should not absolve him from his mistakes. For that matter, let JDV and Joey owe up to their own indiscretions, e.g. nepotism in the NBN Deal basically. 

The following is a transcription of the alleged tapped phone call between Joey and Lozada (courtesy of PIAN and track 3 from patriots4truth.blogspot.com): 

Joey (allegedly, Joey de Venecia): Hey Jun.
Jun (allegedly, Jun Lozada): Hey Joey.
Joey: Jun, can you hear me?
Jun: Yeah. Go ahead.
Joey: Yeah, where are you to put Chair (Abalos)?
Jun: Ang formula ko doon is kuha ako ng points dun sa 130.
Joey: Uh-huh…
Jun: Di ba? Kasi saan ko pa kukunin di ba? (laughs) Itong mga …
Joey: Kaya lang pare, we need to get some… at least from… something from them, di ba?
Jun: Yeah.. from both sides. P*t@ng!na…
Joey: Pare.. start from the thing.. Because he’s the gatekeeper of the votes. P*ta. I can understand, but not that amount.
Jun: Oh yeah. that’s too big, right. That’s too big.
Joey: Pare, let’s develop a plan to talk to him.
Jun: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So…
Joey: And you know what he told me, between you and I. When we were in Hong Kong… in Shenzen. Don’t quote me ha. Sabi niya kasi, marami akong…… Tinanong ko bakit ba ang laki-laki? Singkwenta.. Sabi niya marami ako kelangan bigyan. Pati yung NEDA. He said the word NEDA ha. P*t@ngina. For your information pare.
Jun: Information? I would understand that… He’d like to look at…
Joey: Maybe, wait, you can quote me and say, sabi ni Joey meron daw… sabi mo sa kanya may NEDA dun. (laughs) Di ba? He told me pare. (laughs)
Jun: Sige, sige…
Joey: P*t@ng!na, baka magwala na naman yung… (laughs)
Jun: For some reason, I have this chemistry with him. Sabi ko Chair… In fact, sabi niya, Jun, ikaw na mag-referee bukas ha. Sabi niya, I want you to be there. Ikaw na mag-referee, ikaw na magsabi kung papaano. Sige po Sir, ako na ang mag-aano sa ano… (laughs)
Joey: Well anyway, so that’s where I’m looking at right now. .. ought to get you.. And then, uh, think of a strategy for Ben (Abalos?), and if you need me to back you up, I’ll be there.
Jun: Hey Joey, regarding this Chinese embassy thing. I think I struck a motherload no? I’ll put them in Roxas Boulevard. P*t@ng!na, di ba?
Joey: In the Reformation? (Reclamation)
Jun: No, p*t@ng!na, that’s not prime. We’ll put them in the CCP complex.
Joey: Yup, got it.
Jun: P*t@ng!na. Yeah, that’s, wala.. I can ??? that ??? agreement. (I can swing that gddam deal pare)
Joey: You mean, owned by the Central Bank?
Jun: Yeah! Can you imagine? P*t@ng!na, same stature as the American embassy, better pa, di ba? The Japanese Embassy is in Roxas Boulevard. The American embassy is there. So p*ta, I just arrived that we put the Chinese embassy right in the midst of it all, di ba? Joey: Yes, yes, of course. That’s ??? to hear. That’s foresight. (That’s perfect)
Jun: … don’t mention my name. I think he knows me well.
Joey: Gaano kalaki, pare?
Jun: P*t@ng!na, as much as 15 hectares. (laughs)
Joey: P*t@ng!na. Tapos siguro kumuha rin tayo dun. Pero we need 10 finances. (10 financers)
Jun: No, no, no, no. P*t@ng!na. I cannot just tell you all the things that I’ve been asked to do. But that one I think, I can ??? for ourselves.
Joey: I’ll talk to the…
Jun: Talk to him right away.

And I remember Lozada confirming that it is his and Joey’s voice alright but he thinks it was spliced. Personally, I don’t think it was. This transcript clearly shows of Lozada’s and Joey’s initial involvement and motive behind the ZTE-NBN Deal. And it’s not a pretty and innocent one. Is this the reason why he constantly apologizes? Even if he’s sorry, still he (and Joey) should be equally subjected to a court. But will the court be biased? To some extent, I think it will. The priviledged thieves of this country have always been let go easy and why should the people involved in this scandal be treated otherwise?

The most irritating thing about all of this is that the people are the ones who are at the losing end. The crocs are all fighting each other at the top; they’re too busy to pay us any attention or serve us like they should. All they do is grab power from whomever and suck our taxes to do whatever. At this point, I believe Lozada because he’s ANTI PGMA; not because he’s innocent and certainly not because he’s the hero of truth. Frankly, why let a man like Lozada call the shots for a people power? He’s dividing us even further by doing that. Why not call for PGMA to Resign? That way, we save ourselves from being used by the trapos...right?

Are we ready to have Noli de Castro for president should PGMA get ousted? I think we should be. Let’s brace ourselves and pray to God De Castro doesn’t screw up. Better he than PGMA…right?

The search for the next Pinoy President

If Pinoy producers are so keen on copying US reality shows e.g. America’s Next Top Model, American Idol, PBB etc, then why not pattern a new reality show entitled: The Next Philippine President? That is if PGMA would (1) resign, (2) get impeached, (3) get ousted through a coup d’etat, or (4) by People Power.

There are tons of politicians who would die just to get included in this show. I mean, there’s Noli de Castro, Ping Lacson, Loren Legarda, Chiz Escudero, Mar Roxas, Bayani Fernando, Jojo Binay, Sonny Trillanes just to name a few. Then let’s throw in some of the panggulo like Bong Revilla, Mike Defensor, Miriam Santiago, JDV, Teofisto Guinggona, Ben Abalos, and even Jinggoy Estrada. And let’s not forget to put in some more surprise by adding Erap and Jun Lozada in the mix and voila! You have yourself a certified hit.

They’ll have challenges ala Survivor and Amazing race plus, they’ll even have the boardroom feel of The Apprentice. They can form alliances and prey on the weak; the rules are not new to them considering they’ve been doing that their entire political careers, right? They have to outwit and outlast their opponents to be named The Next Philippine President.

Noli de Castro is practically posing now; he’s sensing it, he’s feeling it. And the worse part of it is that he’s a (1) PGMA cronie and (2) he’s a dumb-dumb. When, by whatever force there is, PGMA gets booted out, he gets to be president automatically. All he has to do is pose, wave to the cameras and wait for PGMA’s instructions. The situation is very much like Nograles taking the speakership away from JDV: both are PGMA fans and both are super power-hungry. The difference is just in the body, not in their principle of ruling.

Posing and promising: that’s the best characteristics most politicians have right now. They are good public speakers but they rarely act on their promises. They see public service as a tool to catapult their own names into history, not to serve the people as they should.

And what about scrapping EO464? That’s grandstanding tactic yet again. Are we even sure that Neri et.al would tell the truth if this EO gets trashed? Of course not. The government just wants time to help them make the people forget about the scandals. Duh, like that’s anything new. Cover-ups, lies, and even more cover-ups.

By now, aren’t we all tired of being treated like idiots? Pin our hopes to the SC and the Senate (no thanks Office of the Ombudsman) and maybe, just maybe, they’ll wake up and do the right thing(s).

Gloria needs help

I wouldn’t know what to make of this picture.

First, it’s scary and second, it’s confusingly erroneous. I personally object to PGMA’s wearing of super bright colored clothes, especially for red, amidst catcalls to her like ‘bitch‘ and ‘evil‘ because it further strengthens the adjectives. Not that her face cannot portray enough deceit as it is. Its just that her clothes make her more ugly and unbearable.

If I were to read and understand this picture ala Humanities 2 style, I’d say she’s calling for help. Not to mortals though but to the heavens. I figure she wants to stay longer in this world to finish her projects for the poor and stuff. Yes, that must be it. Could you count the number of clergy surrounding her in the picture? Goodness me, even that many holy men cannot cleanse such a vile woman.

Does she not burn from the immediate contact from the priests? Her carabao skin a.k.a. kapal ng balat is shielding her from pain. I wonder, has the skin completely covered her from head to toe that she cannot feel any shame? I bet, her brain is too well covered that her conscience has been left hovering outside her head, waiting to be let in. So what’s inside her brain? Sipon.

But then again why resort to the heavens when she has her loyal governors, mayors and congressmen willing to give their lives to her? I say use the mortal resources first then, if nothing happens, if the people are still clamoring for her resignation, cling to religious groups that are so willing to support her. After that, go to the AFP and PNP. PGMA doesn’t need to declare martial law anymore because that would be a waste, I mean, aren’t we in a pseudo-martial law environment now?

People Power, Interfaith Rally etc. They are different names but basically they are calls for PGMA to step down. For what are we demanding the truth if not to remove her from office? All this hype about Lozada giving inspirational speeches to universities and rallies, to what is he gathering support for? Though I am so tempted to bash Lozada in the head for being pa-showbiz at times, the man is doing the PR for the opposition and for those who want PGMA out.

But please tell me why Erap is heading to the interfaith rally tomorrow at Makati? What freaking right does this equally corrupt penguin have to go there and look innocent? Mind you, he took the pardon from PGMA therefore, he acknowledges her legitimacy as president.

Damn it, my worst fear is happening piece by piece. First Erap to head the rally, next Guinggona, Ramos and Cory, Chavit etc to go there too, then the 2010 presidentiables to stage their rally at the Edsa Shrine and worst, for Lozada to accept the movie offers.

Is this country going to be big joke?!

PEOPLE POWER or POWER PLAY?

The 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution freed us from a dictator. The 2nd People Power put pressure on Erap to resign. And after that chaos; back to square one.

When the 2nd People Power (PP) was in place, I was still preoccupied with my college crush that I didn’t give a damn on what’s happening in the political arena of this country. At that time, current events were mainly used as bonus points in quizzes and long exams for my Social Science II (SocsciII) class. To me, things like that were boring. 

Then came Machiavelli’s The Prince.

My SocsciII Prof would read excerpts from the book and ask us if we disagreed or not. He never explained anything, elaborated on any of the discourses because they were plain and easy to understand. The thing that interested me was that the book presented precise ways of maintaining, gaining and expanding power. Too interested in fact that I bought a copy for myself and thus launched my habit of rummaging through my sister’s Philo, Socsci, Polsci and Anthropology books from when she was a B.A. Philo from UPD.

Virtu. Fortuna. Necessita. The three essentials for a prince to govern lies in his ability to redirect others to his own advantage, to manipulate resources and to have the opportunity to access power. In our current situation, PGMA has these three in her sleeves and it sustains her in her seat. To be honest, I do not understand how she does it or why she has them but one thing’s for sure: she’s got great connections. And her dogs? I do not know whether to call them suckers or idiots or her equals for greed.

The nobility. It is said through The Prince that there is much difficulty if power is aquired by the help of the nobility than through the people. For the nobility will see you as their equal but the masses or the people will see you as their leader. Thus, it is harder to please the nobles. In our politics, we see hordes of these nobles stalking around the edges of controversies; preying on the weak, the disillusioned and people like them. In our term, we call them trapos a.k.a. the scheming, old and flawed politician. They use every bit of opportunity to pimp their personal agendas and would always want a second go at any Senate (or higher) position.

Reward and Punishment. The Prince should reward his people little by little for they will enjoy and appreciate the benefits better this way. However, he should impose punishment for those who violate his laws. For a prince is better feared than loved by his subjects: 

love is held by a chain of obligation which, men being selfish, is broken whenever it serves their purpose but fear is maintained by a dread of punishment which never fails. 

The DOJ disburses punishment but do tell me why I sense a lack of understanding for the word ‘justice’ from their secretary? This fear we have for PGMA is not about us breaking her rules or the Constitution: it’s about fearing for our lives and liberty when we anger her. We make PGMA fuming mad when we catch her doing something ‘magical’ and expose it to the public because by her standards, that’s called black propaganda. As the president, she can never be held accountable for any corruption, extrajudicial killing or anomaly charges because I think she envisions her rule as a mandate from heaven. Technically speaking, a mandate from Garcy would be more appropriate. She thinks she’s pure and innocent but really, why so many impeachment, cheating and corruption charges under her belt?

Calls for PGMA to resign is even louder now than it was a year ago. The ZTE-NBN Deal is probably the biggest controversy her administration has faced since the Hello Garcy Scandal back in 2004 and it will probably haunt her term ceaselessly. Heck, I think it will overshadow her term in history books. She’ll be branded illegitimate and corrupt; yan ang woman empowerment! Shucks.

Could all of these cases against her be mere products of the active imaginations of her enemies? No. We’ve seen the Hello Garcy trial on t.v., the Fertilizer Scam, the Bedol ‘magic’ in Maguindanao etc but what happened to these cases? They’re either dismissed or those charged were let go because of lack of material evidence. The witnesses ended up in jail for testifying. And they call this justice. That’s why I am not surprised people are now putting Lozada on a pedestal. They see defiance in his act, of strength and quite possibly, the glimpse of hope that finally, through his testimony along with Joey De Venecia (and hhmmm…Romy Neri?), this nation could rid itself of PGMA and all the negativity her administration has brought with them.

Now about Lozada. Let us not be carried away and call him names. Let us reserve the title of ‘hero’ for someone more deserving. Yes, what he’s doing is commendable and inspiring, but please it does not absolve him from his past mistakes. He allowed ‘moderation of greed’, he confirmed that it was indeed his voice on the Youtube viral video (him and Joey talking as pigs) and he did some anomalies when he was president of PhilForest. If he really is for the truth, let him own his mistakes and, to be truly fair, let himself be subjected to court. I know it’s all black propaganda coming from the government but the only way to beat the Palace at their own game is if Lozada will come out a genuine and credible witness, without any skeletons in his closet for the administration to use. The Palace’s only way around things is to ruin the credibility of Lozada instead of disproving his claims because they know they’re at the losing end. 

This is how unpopular, or rather hated, PGMA is. We tend to believe the opposition, her enemies in general, because we do not trust her. Hell, I don’t even like her. Technically speaking, without hard evidence to prove Lozada’s (and Joey’s) claims, he’s testimony is as good as nothing. But why do we still believe him? Why is it that we have the tenacity to take his word against the bigwigs of this country? I think it’s because we are tired of lies and being taken as fools. I’ve had enough of all of these intrigues, money anomalies and cheatings etc that come as frequent as once or twice a month. The strength of the peso could not hide the dirt this government has. How dare PGMA claim that the country’s economy is surging when her government is morally bankrupted? Is it enough to have a booming economy while the entire morality of the country is in ruins? 

Then Hobbes came to mind:

What is the basis of being sovereign? The government should have the consent of the people.

Then Rosseau came to mind:

Implement the will of society (direct democracy).

But what do we want? Do we want Edsa People Power 3?

We are divided, obviously. Some see People Power as the only way out of this one but some don’t. I personally do not agree with staging another People Power because I am paranoid that the trapos would only use it as a platform for themselves. Or that maybe the wannabe presidentiables for the 2010 Elections might want to get some attention and plug their candidacy early on. It maybe unfair to think this way but really, the political culture of our country has been reduced to casting doubts and being selfish. I am afraid that People Power will only be used as a tool by those in power, by those who want power and by those who want even more power. It may leave us no space for a taste of true democracy yet again. And surely, I would not want Noli de Castro to replace PGMA. That would be the worst kind of deja vu.

To all of us who want the truth, who are tired of cover-ups and being taken aside, let us reexamine the steps by which we would want to solve this problem. The spirit of People Power should not only mean marching down the streets and calling for PGMA to resign; it should mean total change from the way we think, our political culture and maturity as a nation. Yes, PGMA’s resignation would help if not totally solve this problem but let us address it in a proper place. Though I have doubts on the SC to forward impeachment cases against PGMA, there is still faith and hope left within me to trust our government. I may have doubts and fears but in the end, I still would like to believe that we are not born evil.