Let’s Look At The Other Side

Ah, sometimes I can’t help but post my own views with what is happening in our country at the moment. Of course you are probably aware on what happened last May 13 during election day here. Not one opposition candidate for senators made it to the top twelve considering that they are more experienced than some of those who won on the government’s side. There was a seven-hour glitch in transmitting the results. It is not yet resolved until now and our Commision on Elections is so quiet. Sad story.

But let’s look at the outcome of the local elections last May. Most of those who won belong to the opposition. It speaks for how the people voted. Maybe it’s true that the senatorial election was rigged from the very start.

Three people that stand out and whom I  really admire are our very own Mayor Atty. Kit Nieto, Isko Moreno and Vico Sotto. This is Mayor Kit’s third and last term as mayor of our town. Mayor Isko Moreno of  Manila  defeated the former president and mayor Joseph Estrada. He is doing really well, on his 5th day, there is a big improvement in the city. He wants to preserve our heritage sites which are mostly located in his turf. He will not allow those high-rise, photo-bomber buildings to be constructed near those lovely heritage sites.  Third is a bagito former councilor from Pasig City who defeated a more than two decades of only one name in the city, relatives, brothers, father etc. He is Vico Sotto, a son of a former television actress, television host and producer. He is only thirty years old but his vision is so very different from other local mayors in other cities and towns. He is a great admirer of the late Jessie Robredo, who was the husband of our present Vice-President  Leni Robredo. I watched his inaugural speech. He is so good.  On his first day, he has suspended the odd-even scheme of the former mayor where you can’t even pass through major streets to reach other towns and cities in the metropolis. In his speech at the flag raising ceremony last Sunday, he said that this scheme needs further study.

Would you believe, I am following the three of them in social media.  In one of my visits to Vico’s site, I saw this photo with our own Mayor Nieto. I stole it 🙂 The former visited the latter some months ago.

Mayor Vico is the one in a black jacket while the one in white t-shirt is Mayor Kit.

Mayor Isko of Manila

Admirable people. I hope they would stay true to their sworn statements and plans for their own cities and municipality.

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Things To Ponder

I had a brief chat with my friend Grace early this morning about the latest situation in our country. She’s now back in Canada.

We talked of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict and Pope Francis even comparing the two of them. I told her Pope Benedict is a better writer than  Pope Francis and she replied, “At mas totoo sa Catholic faith si Pope Benedict”.

We touched on the present political situation here in our country. That the Philippines turned into having the most corrupt leader of all. His war on drugs has resulted on thousands of poor Filipinos killed.  And why is it that before drug comes at the back door while these days the Bureau of  Customs has become inutile in preventing these drugs to pass through their agency? Harap-harapan na. Wala ng tinatago. 

“Sometimes you ask, why is God allowing all these to happen?”, I said.

“Sometimes, we tend to pass the blame on to the generous and loving God who gave us free will. Freedom which people abuse.” Grace answered.

Abuse of power, abuse of their given mandate by the people. When will this end? This is is why the coming mid-term election is so crucial to us all. Dutz has the backing of Congress, the  Supreme Court, majority of the presently elected senators, the PNP and some local officials of the land.  We need to have the opposition win so we would have a voice in the Senate.  You are not here to serve one man, you are here to serve the Filipino people.  The ship is sinking fast. The government is getting out of control. Everyone who opposes is an enemy. I often ask myself, “where are we going?” 

When you are surrounded by lies, you’ll believe it is the truth. There is a saying that goes, “ang sinungaling ay kapatid ng magnanakaw.” And when you think about it, the thief is like a liar. If you lie, you are withholding the truth.

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Fair Judgment Matters

This is quite a long story. Out of maybe hate  for Sen. Trillanes’  investigation on Calida’s contracts with the government when he was still  a part of it, the latter forced Pres. Duterte’s hand to issue proclamation 572 saying that Sen. Trillanes (back when he was still a soldier) did not file an application for amnesty  when he was jailed for seven years and was granted amnesty back in 2011 by then Pres. Aquino.  He has since resigned when he ran and he won as Senator  back in 2010.

The Dept. of Justice filed a motion for his arrest in two courts in Makati.  The first  judge let him out on bail while Judge Soriano dismissed the case  a few hours ago after almost two months studying the case and reviewing all the papers submitted by Sen. Trillanes. What has been decided upon previously can no longer be overruled. A single solitary voice showed what true justice is. And in a world where most Filipinos are losing their faith in the justice system, Judge Soriano stood for all of us.

I am so glad democracy is still working in our land. Those trolls and Duterte diehards rejoiced earlier and they were so excited to see Sen. Trillanes in jail. Sorry for you guys, Judge Soriano is a fair judge, he could not be dictated upon by your  president.

Here’s a link on what happened today  at Makati RTC Branch 148 and here’s photo of a triumphant smile from Sen. Trillanes.

He is the only one brave enough and outspoken enough to question the wrongdoings of this government.

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Never Again

I was trying to look for  previous posts if I ever blogged about the Martial  Law years. Nada!

Except for a little mention when I blogged about the Aquino family, there was nothing about the martial rule. Forty six years ago,  Martial Law was declared by then president Ferdinand Marcos suspending the civil rights and imposing military authority. It was declared on September 21, 1972 but was officially announced on radio and TV on September 23. I remember that was a Saturday and we had our PE class. One of my high school classmates used to bring a small transistor radio which we often listened to in between our PE and Music classes. That day, September 23, we couldn’t find any live music station and all we got was static. We were not aware that Martial Law was declared then and so many personalities who were against the government were put to jail and some just vanished without a trace. One of whom was of course Sen. Ninoy Aquino who was my personal hero.

I was already working in Makati  City when rallies were daily occurrences in the afternoon  after Ninoy died  on August 21, 1983.  We threw confetti, watched live programs/rallies in front of our building at the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Ayala Avenue. It  was there I saw so many freedom-loving people, personalities opposed to the Marcos regime. The Marcos family fled to Hawaii during  the EDSA Revolution back in 1986.  They came back lording it over again, this time Imelda, (the wife), BBM (the son) and Imee (the daughter). We never learned from history. We allowed them to come back. With those billions of loots they got from the Philippine coffer, they are back in  Philippine politics.  Marcos trolls are everywhere. They want to unseat our duly elected VP Leni Robredo by contesting the results of the 2016 election. BBM is relentless.

The latest report was that Imee made “sumbong” (complaint)  to Duterte regarding the COA (Commission on Audit). The COA is ” is an independent constitutional commission established by the Constitution of the Philippines.  It has the primary function to examine, audit and settle all accounts and expenditures of the funds and properties of the Philippine government”.  

COA found out about the anomalous transactions  at the turf of Imee  And she is not happy about it. Duterte is not happy about it. COA is now the only institution that does its functions so well.  How’s that again? It was Duterte saying “ihulog sa hagdan ang COA auditors”. Don’t wonder if he said that, he has a foul mouth.  He said at the beginning of his presidency that he hates corruption but almost all of the people he placed in the government (alipores as we usually say) are corrupt.

We say NEVER AGAIN. Never again to  Martial Law. Never again to  dictatorship.

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Musings On a Monday Morning

It’s not anymore surprising that every day, the social media is full of unpalatable news and what not and you won’t be surprised either that these same trolls and the people behind them are doing their best to destroy those so few good-thinking, sensible and seriously concerned politicians  in  the country.

Two  days ago, the breaking news was that Duterte appointed Teresita de Castro as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, same gal who was one of the responsible judges of the court to oust CJ Sereno. What the hell are these guys thinking? Imagine, she will only serve for more than a month because she will be retiring by October 08 and yet she gets all the additional benefits of a CJ. Good luck to us,  that’s people’s money.  That’s clearly a “pabaon”  for siding with  Duterte. She’s known as the “ampalaya” queen in social media, bitter about not being chosen before by Pres. Aquino. Opposition lawmakers have criticized her appointment, they see it as a reward for testifying against former  CJ Sereno.   She’ll be the head of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal where election protests are heard.  Will she be impartial? That’s the big question. People think  it is a done deal that she will favor Marcos’ claim to the vice-presidency despite the fact that  VP Leni  won. A refusal to accept defeat in good grace.

With all their billions, I wonder why the Marcoses  still covet power in the government. They cannot take the money to their graves, sad to say. They cannot buy their place in heaven.  Imelda Marcos wants her son to be president before she dies. Haha…what a deep sense of entitlement.  And trolls are working non-stop.

 

 

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When Do You Say You’re Okay?

You are often asked time and again by friends, family members and sometimes acquaintances, “How are you”? I guess that is the standard greeting and the standard answer is, “I’m okay”.  Physically, we might look good  to other people but what if you answer, “I’m not good” or “I’m sick”.  What would you think would be the reaction of your  friend  when you say that? Some would just probably smile awkwardly and just go on  while others who have genuine concern for you will ask further what is wrong.

I am guilty of this, saying okay when I am not. You are afraid sometimes that other people would think ill of you if you share your woes to the world in general. Some would just shake their heads and allow you to rant.

Just received so many messages from friends and relatives on Facebook when I posted that flood waters reached our garage. So grateful for all the concerns and regards to us. Yes, of course you are happy when you are remembered this way.

A friend (a former boss actually) posted this response  on an opinion page at one of our national dailies which asked, “Is resilience bad for us as a nation”?

“Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. There is no doubt that resilience is a useful trait, especially in the face of traumatic events such as this flooding. But, if we don’t seek solutions to the problems and hold people accountable, then, what we are seeing is the dark side of resiliency”.

I agree. Filipinos are known for being resilient, we have that innate toughness  when we encounter difficulties. As long as we can endure a certain situation, we don’t complain. As they say in Tagalog, “inaapakan ka na, pinapabayaan mo lang”.  “Inaapakan ka na at binabastos ka na, naka ngiti ka pa rin”. 

A lot of people are asking on their wall, “Where is the president”? I  asked the same question yesterday and my friends responded enthusiastically.  I understand he was in Davao when the flood hit Metro Manila and nearby provinces (as of now, some are still under water).  Supposedly, he and his cohorts would do an aerial view of the damages but it was postponed.  He didn’t show his face and true to their FAKE advocacy, he sent his assistant and a look-alike (an impostor) if you please to visit the evacuation site in Marikina City. This is the only time I observed that the president is a “no-show” in such calamities. Before, the government is always at the scene when calamities strike us, helping, coordinating works for the welfare of the people.  Oh my gosh, they elected an impostor, he is just being true to himself.  He is against drugs right? But how come an almost P7 billion worth of Shabu entered the Philippines last week through customs and until now, they are silent as a mouse? No condemnation on what happened, no words that he will punish those responsible for the allowed shipment. An irate friend shouted out that maybe he is busy  distributing  that huge amount of drugs to help those affected by the flood.

Did I say the Philippines is okay? IT IS NOT.

 

 

 

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Why?

I am sad and angry at what is happening to the supposedly honorable  Supreme Court Justices of the land. The Supreme Court has clearly lost its credibility with these men in robes.

Count on it, this is definitely a rant.

Yesterday, those eight justices who voted for CJ Sereno’s  ouster were the same people who didn’t give her a chance for reconsideration on her Quo Warranto appeal. At the same time they also dismissed the case of the Marcoses on all the charges of hidden wealth and plunder, take note, in billions of dollars.  And it seemed they are still running  the country with the president as their puppet. Bongbong Marcos wouldn’t give up that he was actually defeated by our VP Leni Robredo last election. They are changing the rules to their own advantage. And here’s more, Imelda Marcos saying  that she wants to see her son in Malacanang before she dies.  Is she dreaming while awake?  Perhaps they have clearly forgotten that bloodless revolution way back in 1986 where they were exiled in Hawaii.

I wish people would find it in their hearts not to be accepting and apathetic of what is happening now. But most people are afraid to voice out their opinions and speak. Anyone who contradicts the president is his enemy. And here comes another directive from Duterte (yes, it is not a law, just his whim) to the Philippine National Police to arrest those who are hanging out in streets or even in front of their residences. And as always just like his drug war, the poor people are the first to be victims. He is clearly creating a grim scenario so maybe he could also declare Martial Law all over the land. They arrested stevedores at the port who were still in uniform earning an honest living.  The police seems to have lost its ball in this Duterte game. Pathetic 😦 They’re like dogs given  chew bones and they are busy with it. Aren’t they supposed to protect the people?

Oh my gosh, what next?

 

 

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It Was Just A Kiss So They Say

Someone from social media asked “Have you experienced being robbed?  You just did, if you  reacted to what he did in Seoul”. That was really written in Tagalog and it had more impact than translating it here in English.

I  am referring to that kiss done by Duterte to one of the Filipina OFWs in Korea a few days ago. Can you imagine a man of his stature doing that in public with a married woman at that? And the crowd cheered. Wow! What happened to our Filipino values? Kissing someone else spouse’s on the lips in public on national television is okay?  This is clearly not acceptable. His spokesman Roque said that it is playful act accepted in Filipino culture. I am a Filipino and I  DO NOT agree.  Kabastusan ginawa niya. That is not a typical act of a supposedly popular and a respected president.  He tried to mask his insecurities with the power of the presidential office. This is the only time I’ve seen one, the way he acts in public seems to be lacking in everything.  To earn respect, you should be respectful too no matter who is in front of you. And that girl who seemed to enjoy that show of vulgarity said there was no malice  in it and she even defended the act considering she is a married woman. Duterte hates women. We always seem to be the target of his ire. Is it because those who are criticizing him are braver than he is? He clearly is a mysogynist.

Going back to being robbed, since  social media was focused on it, the government is clearly diverting the people’s  attention. Every day, the bad news of corrupt people in his government is so rampant. Some media people have kept mum  and tight-lipped on what is happening around. Those who were so blatant in criticizing Ex-Pres. PNoy before are now so quiet you would think their lips are sealed. Then those DDS (the loyal Duterte followers) don’t stop proliferating fake news. I’d like to believe now that he won the presidential race because of those trolls.

Imagine some of those he appointed in his government who were into corruption. Did they resign? Were they guilty of it? They didn’t, they were just transferred to another agency of the government.

He is even worse than Marcos. Such disgusting acts, such show of vulgarity , you don’t deserve to be there Mr. Duterte.

 

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