Pink Is The Color Of Hope

I seldom write political posts nowadays because I feel digusted with the present administration with their president throwing everything except the kitchen towel to those he thinks are his enemy including the Senate lately.

We will be having our presidential election come May next year. And these politicians were busy declaring their candidacy the last few days except for VP LENI ROBREDO who declared her desire to run early this morning.

I’ve waited with bated breath along with people who after more than five years have given up on the present administration. At around 11am after a short inspiring speech, she declared that she is running for the presidency. There is still hope for us afterall.

She chose a pink ribbon, the color of hope, the color which says Laban Leni. Praying we will win and she will win. Pink is the color of the day.

I do remember what she said more than five years ago when she won the vice-presidency. THE LAST MAN STANDING IS A WOMAN.

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Balimbing

I don’t know the exact  English word for this fruit that we locally call balimbing. It is  just simply called star fruit. It has a scientific name Averrhoa carambola  I  chanced upon it in one of the fruit stalls near the church so I bought a kilo which sells at P20 pesos. I  haven’t tasted this fruit for decades, it is really not that popular. The taste is a little bland, not even sour or sweet but is is juicy. You have to dip it in a little salt before you eat it.

Did you know that this fruit is associated with  politicians here in our country? Balimbing is also  a slang  word for a traitor or a turncoat. This is because the this  has many sides. Politicians who change parties or loyalties based on who’s currently has authority are frequently called balimbing. And there are plenty of them here, almost all of them actually. They align themselves to who is in power at the moment disregarding the previous political party where they are affiliated.  It is such a shame really since most politicians in power are corrupt  and traditional politicians make false promises, buy votes just to win  and perpetuate themselves in power.   Oh yes, they are called balimbing.

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Thursday Blues

It’s a day wasted. I was supposed to file my SSS retirement forms  today but when I got there at exactly 8am, the slots for thirty people are already filled up. What a shame!  The branch near our place opens at 7am and it was already full when I arrived. To think that inquiries and other transactions are categorized in five windows. Maybe tomorrow I have to be there and line up at 6am so I could be included in their 30 slots for filing of retirement/pension benefits.  Too bad really. Government services in these areas are still so slow.

We are now officially under the amihan season with cold winds and long nights. The colder climate is always a welcome thing from the months of November until February the following year.  It’s during November though that we are visited by stronger  and more powerful typhoons  and  weather disturbances.  There is a tropical storm named Meari  being monitored by PAGASA and  another tropical depression both on the eastern side of Luzon. I do hope they won’t become strong typhoons and won’t bring too much rain in those areas.  Come to think of it, we are sometimes visited by typhoons too during December and they are as strong as those we usually have during November.  It’s  cloudy today.

Our country is teetering on the edge.  News says that as of the first week of November 2016, there have been  over 4,700 deaths, both from legitimate police operations and vigilante-style or unexplained killings since the president  assumed office last July. It seems that this government is more focused on war on drugs than on other aspects like the economy which is slowly sliding down.  And he is saying that these killings  might reach up to 30,000.  Again my question is where are we going?  Investors’ confidence is at stake here.  How could we  encourage foreign investments  if this government is only focused on one thing?  How could we solve poverty which is the main reason why people down the line are into drugs?  He is now the head a  sovereign state and must not only focus on domestic issues but on foreign relations as well. He is against dictatorship but is aligned with the Marcoses.  How could you believe in a foul-mouth, slut-shaming, uncouth and boorish man at the realm?  Please God save our country. We are being divided instead of being one as a nation.  It’s so sad  😦

 

 

 

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When April Ends

Yeay, I have long neglected this blog, same with visiting the posts of those bloggers I follow here.  Eight blog posts for the month of April, make it nine including this one.  Though I haven’t been active here this month and even set aside my reading challenge, April is a good month. I’ve been actively campaigning the last few days  on Facebook. It’s my only way of helping Roxas and Robredo team win without taxing my health.  I have just posted  and shared this at The Silent Majority page and I was surprised of the more than 200 likes an hour after I posted it and tremendous response praying for me and my health.  I felt I really have an online family in their midst.  I was teary-eyed to see and read their comments. Allow me to share it with you too (it’s my last political blog  post maybe until election day which is  nine days from now).  The future of the Philippines is in our hands now.

I have long wanted to go out and campaign for RORO but since I have low immunity (I am a cancer survivor), I try to avoid crowds. This is actually my first time to be actively campaigning for a vice-presidential and a presidential candidate online. I posted some political blogs on my WordPress site since the first political debate was held. This morning, my daughter and her family came over to join us for lunch and they brought with them campaign materials for RORO. Yehey, I finally have my baller. We touched on politics (what else) and we are happy that all of us will be voting for Mar and Leni. I am concerned about the future of my four-year old grandson and the future of my kids and we just can’t ignore what is happening right now in our country. From the start, I have decided to vote for RORO. They are the epitome of good governance and I am sure they have nothing but a sincere desire to truly serve and help in making the Philippines something we could all be proud of.

A happy retired BPI unibanker here. I am proud to have worked in an institution with 165 years of banking leadership.

I am happy to see that I have finally reached more than 401,735 hits as of this writing. This is when blogging gives that kind of happiness  and sense of fulfillment.

April is about to end.  I am very optimistic that the rule of law and the choice of the majority will win.  Come what May (pun intended) I look forward to celebrating with the Filipino people when we finally cast our votes on May  09.  Maybe after  May 09, I could happily go back to reading again and enjoy reading blog entries here and hopefully add more posts.

I always smile every time I hear the song First of  May. It brings back memories. Happy first of May everyone.

 

 

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Odds And Ends

How are you guys, it’s been a while since my last post. Busy, busy, busy! The truth is, since I started my blog here and after several elections in our country, this is the only time that I feel a strong need to share and to rant a little. I haven’t done this before, sharing thoughts online particularly at a  more public social media site  like Facebook but I just can’t keep quiet  about it all.  Bear with me, I promise my next post would be something positive.

The debate is over. Last night was the last presidential debate that we watched on television for three hours.   It was  in a town hall format so the voting public had the chance to ask questions.  All of them are hopeful that they would win of course. It made me smile that they seemed to be behaved, not much of the usual ugly exchange of words that you usually see during a heated political debate except that instance wherein  the mayor from Davao openly told Mar  Roxas that there is no  Philhealth in their place. (Philhealth is the government’s answer to the medical needs of all accredited Filipinos. We pay monthly contributions but for the identified poorest of the poor, they enjoy  the benefit of free hospitalization  when they are confined in a government hospital.) Mar Roxas challenged the mayor from Davao if he is willing to give up his candidacy if the former could prove that there are lots of beneficiaries in that place. The latter shrugged it off  and accused Roxas instead of lying. True enough, this morning at 8am Roxas made true of his word sending his opponent the official report that proves that indeed Davao is part of the Philhealth program.

I recently read this article  of a well-respected writer. The political spin doctors are doing overtime  work just to post something to destroy the credibility of a good man. How they twist and turn  everything into ugly memes and false accusations.  I say, you can never put a good man down. The man from Davao is slowly but surely about to self-destruct.  I wonder though why so many people follows him like a cult.  You can’t reason with them because  they would just say they want change.  I am for  it too but I am  for continuity on what this administration has started over unpredictable change.   Asked what he will do with the problem with China on the West Philippine Sea, he said he will wait for the result of the arbitrations committee and if things are not favorable, he would jet ski to China and plant the Philippine flag on their shores. never mind if he die in the process.  A friend who hates his guts wrote on her wall:

“The weather’s really nice today for a jet ski trip to Spratley. Suggestion lang naman.

Why wait when you can do it now? Carpe diem!”

Oh my gosh, the things people do in the name of politics.  Given the choice between a man who has done much for the country in various capacities under three presidents, a man whose values and principles I admire, I would always prefer him over someone who curses,  put the law into his hands, have no respect for women,  and with a foul mouth and  language that other people think (his followers) is cute. There is really something wrong and I am getting scared.

For the win – Mar Roxas and Leni  Robredo.  You have my YES!

 

 

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Random Thoughts On A Wednesday Morning

I’ve been awake since 2:30am.

I wanted to catch a few more winks but I can’t bring myself back  to sleep  so I  am  drinking a hot cup of coffee while in front of my PC.  When your thoughts wander and your mind is full of things, sometimes negative ones too, you want to shout out and say,  “Where is this world coming to? Stop the madness please and let’s unite for a common cause”.

My last two blogs were all about observations  on  what is happening around. I know, politics is really dirty. I learned that from my father since I was old enough to vote and we would all go home to the province to support a local candidate. That has changed over the years of course.  My father taught me to scrutinize the platform of each candidate we considered voting.  He would show me some clips from the national dailies and keep tabs on radio  and TV reports. I was in high school when martial law was declared under the Marcos regime.  I watched how frustrated  people were to fight something which curtailed their freedom so now we always say, “never again”.  The martial law years were dark  years  in history,  the lessons learned were lost along the way.  Sadly, our millennials  today,  the what we call Net Generation and Generation Y don’t even know how to react when we mention martial law because the martial law years or what we call the Marcos era were treated in their history books as one paragraph. The significance of how it ended  during the People Power Revolution  back in 1986 is lost to them. Another  Marcos (the son) is vying for the vice-presidential position   and based on surveys he is on the top slot.  I don’t believe in surveys by the way, they are paid ads meant to condition the minds of those who haven’t chosen who to vote for.  The real survey is on May 09, 2016.

As I’ve mentioned in my previous blogs, the divisiveness of the Filipino people is there glaring at us. Perhaps you’ve heard  of Rodrigo Duterte too, a presidential aspirant from Davao. I don’t really know how to describe him but  lately he caught international news because of that rape issue that happened several years ago and lately  in one interview he said, the mayor should have been first (to rape the victim) because she was so beautiful. Gosh, everything that comes out of his mouth is foul. The victim was an Australian. He was the mayor back then when it happened.   He earned the ire of Filipino women except  those who still believe that he could effectively run the government. True, our people need change but it is anathema to me to vote for a man who does not respect women, who kills people at a whim, who curses every time he opens his mouth and even cursed the pope in one of his previous interviews.  There was this other video where he said he would make Leni Robredo as his assistant president if he wins adding that  Leni is really beautiful at the same time showing his tongue like a   dog. This guy is a narcissistic idiot.

I care for the future of my kids, more for the future of my grandson that is why in my own little way, I am campaigning for Leni Robredo and Mar Roxas. I am sad for what is happening now.  I care for my country and its people. May I ask you a favor? Could you spare a thought or a simple prayer for the Philippines? Thank you.

I digress.

I’ve finally reached  the 400,000 plus hits yesterday, another milestone in  my blogging journey and for this  I thank you, my dear readers, followers and online friends for the support. I wouldn’t  have lasted in the blogging world this long if not for you.Here’s a toast to finding more blogger friends and appreciating what you share.

And yes, it is my mom’s 87th birthday today. Happy birthday mom.  I am so glad that you are with us to celebrate it.

 

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It’s Not 2016 Yet

Sometimes, listening to news on the radio  or watching news on television give you that feeling that all they ever discuss is about the Bangsamoro Basic Law and  the Binays. I seldom write political blogs except for that time when Supreme Court Justice  Corona was impeached a few years ago. It was one event that I religiously followed, watching the procedures with mom  from 2pm until about 6pm every day for 41 days until the final verdict by the Senate. He was found guilty.

It’s early yet for presidential election 2016 but then all you see in the news are the exchange of ugly words from the Binay camp and some political figures who have plans to run. Binay is our VP, two of his daughters are in the Senate and Congress respectively, a son is the incumbent mayor of Makati City. Their official spokespersons are caught in their own mud by hurling insults to a neophyte senator questioning her integrity, her qualifications to run for the presidency (if she runs in 2016). It’s way too soon to attack a person who hasn’t even declared she is running.Now they are questioning the validity of her citizenship and just because she was one of those 10 senators who signed an early report/investigation in the Senate stating that there are valid reasons of ill-gotten wealth and corruption  and plunder charges.  The Binays always say that this is just mere “politicking” on the part of the people who don’t want him to be president.  Why don’t they just answer all those questions that are troubling  the people’s minds instead of those evasive tactics that they are doing?  The voters and the people have a right to know the truth. Why would you vote for someone who had questionable dealings in the past? Can they explain their vast wealth  which was allegedly acquired through corruption?

When it comes to choosing a candidate, most Filipino voters go by this, they vote for someone who is popular and who has a fat envelope to give out. Some of us never learn   from the past and some of us are so passive as long as the unfolding of events does not affect us on a personal level.  Perhaps it is about time that we consider those who are honest enough to serve and whose track record is beyond questionable.  Be selective and select the best no matter what his /her political affiliation is. There is a standing joke between my friends and I (this is a fact), some of these dirty politicians  always end up in wheelchairs.

On a positive note, I am so looking forward to the opening of our municipal library. It is now under construction. My son jokingly said that when it opens, I’ll be the first one to visit it. About a year ago, I asked our Mayor if having a library for the people of Cainta was in the can and I was surprised  when he replied that they will start it soon.  We’ve been here for almost twenty years and it’s the first time that we are seeing a new face of our town via countless projects that are now being done. When a politician has a sincere desire to serve his people, we’ll  all be on the right track.

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Election 2013

Let us all pray for a clean and honest election. Let your vote count – vote wisely and vote according to your conscience. Don’t be swayed by false promises from sweet-talking candidates.  Let go of the mindset among millions of Filipinos  that  if you win, you are “nandaya” and if you lose, you are “nadaya”.

Change begins in all of us.

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Quo Vadis CJ?

Would it be proper now if we just call him plain “Attorney”?

For the past five months, I’ve been so focused on  the impeachment trial  that I forgot the weeds growing in my  garden and they look so ugly interspersed with my blooming and healthy peanut grass.  Judgment has been rendered and the Filipino people are happy that democracy still works in our country.  The telenovela is over, not all are satisfied though with the ending because they are talking about the possibility of  filing a petition for review before the Supreme Court. We’ve heard before the rendering of the verdict that both Prosecution and Defense would abide by the outcome of the voting.  And one election lawyer even said that the verdict was incomplete because Senator Enrile, the  presiding officer of the IC did not read in his closing speech the penalty for an impeached chief justice.  As far as I know, “it shall not go farther than removal from public office and perpetual disqualification from public office”. He won’t be imprisoned but he could kiss public office goodbye.

Had he just resigned from office, he could have saved himself and his family the humiliation and the ordeal of leaving the Supreme Court in shame.  It could  have been a graceful exit and  he could have endeared himself more to the people who still believe that he is innocent . But he chose to stay, holding on to the last minute. In his dramatic walkout from the Impeachment Court last Tuesday, May 22 he said in arrogance, “And now the Chief Justice of the Republic of the Philippines wishes to be excused”. He is now excused forever. Quo vadis CJ?

Let us move on and let us move forward. If there is one positive thing that we learned from all this, at least now, transparency in a public office is a must and I’d like to thank him for initiating the signing of a waiver (unconditionally this time although a bit too late to save him) but at least it triggered something that all government employees from the highest officer of the land down to the lowest  barangay councilor must be compelled to sign a waiver too in case their personal assets would be questioned in the future. If you have nothing to hide, why be afraid?

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Winds Of Change (Day 36 of Corona’s Impeachment Trial)

Trite as it may sound, I actually missed the Impeachment trial. For almost a month, our senator-judges were on recess so the impeachment resumed only yesterday (day 35).  Sen. Sotto gave a recap on the previous days of the impeachment trial.  Last March 22, Justice Secretary de Lima sent a letter saying that she cannot testify and on May 4, the Prosecution filed a motion to quash on the appearance of de Lima. Senate Pres. Enrile ruled that the motion was denied, and allowed the Defense to summon DOJ  Sec. de Lima to testify again.  But things have changed, this afternoon, one of the Defense lawyers  Jose Roy III said that they might not need to present de Lima after all.

It’s  quite interesting to note that whereas before, the Prosecution team earned the ire of Senate Pres. Enrile for being unprepared, this time, it’s the Defense’ turn to receive admonition  and frequent banging of gavel from Sen. Enrile. He said that all witnesses presented yesterday during the resumption of the trial were irrelevant to the Article 2 of the impeachment.  “If you think there is no case presented before this Court, that’s your problem. I guarantee that we’ll give you a fair trial”, Enrile said to the Defense. Nothing much has been discussed yesterday because the Defense  was  not ready to present more witnesses so the trial was adjourned early.

There was quite a big difference though on what happened today. The trial started with Sen. Angara making a manifestation as regard to the Defense motion that he inhibits from the proceedings since his son, Rep. Sonny Angara is a spokesperson of the Prosecution team.  He said and I quote: “I consider it as a constitutional duty on my part to act as a judge & no argument can convince me I should inhibit.”  He reiterated that  he had no hand in his son Rep. Sonny Angara being chosen as one of spokespersons for the Prosecution.

It was Defense lawyer Roy who conducted the direct examination of the  first witness of the day, Atty. Lucita Cristi, RTC Clerk of Court to prove ownership of Basa Guidote Enterprises. Cristi testified that there were two libel cases against the Basa family but before the final  court order, the principal against the case  Jose Ma. Basa  died  and the Prosecution questioned why there was still a motion for execution when law says that the death of the accused frees him from any  civil and criminal liability.  It seemed that the wife of the chief justice had again a hand in this because these two cases  prompted the shares of stock of the Basa group to be auctioned publicly.  Next witness was Sheriff Joseph Bisnar  and he was there to prove that the Basa shares of stocks consisting of about  4, 839 were auctioned as a result of Mrs. Corona’s kin, the Basas  losing in the libel case. And this is the most interesting part. The public auction was only attended by CJ Corona’s daughter Carla Castillo,  her mom and her lawyer. Castillo bought the shares at only P28,000.00  but the par value of the shares  and actual worth was almost half a million making her the majority shareholder  by having more than 90% of the total ownership of the Basa group (Basa Guidote Enterprises).  Money changed hands between daughter and mother with the latter acting as the executor. Any right-thinking individual would ask, if it was a public auction, why was it that there was only one bidder?  And the bid price was so undervalued.

It seemed that getting Bisnar as a witness backfired on the Defense. He didn’t even know that Jose Ma. Basa died prior to issuing the writ of execution. He belongs to the judicial branch of the government and yet he was not so sure about Corona being the Associate Justice around the time the sale was done.  Prosecution pointed out that writ of execution should not have been implemented because the accused is dead.  The Prosecution took more time questioning the witness than the direct examination by the Defense. They did their homework coming out and eliciting more facts about the sale of such stocks which seemed to be questionable.  And here’s the bombshell, a positive one if you ask me, Roy said that Corona told him that he is willing to testify. Yahoo, when will that be, the people are waiting. Senator Lacson suggested that Corona make a waiver on his dollar accounts because they fear that when the time comes that the latter presents himself to the court, he might invoke his right to self-incrimination and the bank secrecy law. Roy said that if the  Impeachment Court is inclined that they  should address the  issue of $10M,  which is now pending  in  the Ombudsman, then they will willingly confront the issue.  Sen. Enrile said to the Defense that “any asset, regardless of whether legally or illegally obtained, is a function of the SALN. ”

I’ll wait for the day when the Chief Justice will have his day in court, defending himself  and proving to each  and every Filipino that he deserves an acquittal, not a conviction.

In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same. 
-Albert Einstein 

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