Tomorrow, the Marcos Restoration will be complete. I guess our last chance to stop it was in 2016, but back in 2013, disinformation in social media was already entrenched, and was fully deployed starting in end-2015, battle-tested in 2016 elections, and never looked back ever since.
I hope we all reflect on how this happened, and how we contributed to disinformation. Yes, whether we like it or not, we contributed to it. How? Outrage culture. DIsinformation fed on that, latched on social anger, presented a false picture that people are angry and that the Marcos years were better.
And now that the Marcoses will return to the pinnacle of political power, despite all the hardships that we are experiencing, where was that loud, noisy anger that we are used to hear from 2013? There are angry noises, sure, but not as loud as 2013-2016. And there’s no need to amplify them – now starts the suppression.
Suppression has started back in 2016 – when dissenting voices are drowned by praises of the Duterte regime. If the murder of Kian de los Santos happened during the Aquino 2.0 administration, Aquino would have been lynched. Yet the anger in 2017 was at most muted.
Every dissenter was labeled dilawan – a word that became derogatory despite not having a clear definition. The Marcos disinformation machine used the label to shame those who voiced opposition to Duterte, making them an enemy of the fanatical mob – a mob ignorant of the cesspool of lies that they are drowning into. The mob needed an “other” to despise, to distract them from the errors and crimes of the Duterte regime.
ABS-CBN, Rappler, and Philippine Daily Inquirer were made examples of by the Duterte regime – continue to oppose us and we’ll use every law to suppress you. Duterte is now on record stated that he used his political power to convince Congress to deny ABS-CBN a franchise – and a rubber stamp House – full of scums – delivered, in a silver platter, the death of ABS-CBN as a broadcasting concern. Rappler was thrown tax cases; its Malacanang reporter, disaccredited; Maria Ressa, with multiple libel cases; continuously discredited by trolls and paid hacks/influencers; and finally ordered shut down by the SEC. Duterte humiliated PDI’s owners by calling them squatters and forcing them out of Mile Long property in Makati. (As a side note, Duterte appointed to Sandiganbayan the judge who ordered the eviction. In Sandiganbayan, she was ponente of the decision that convicted Imelda Marcos.) Are there any journalist from other outfits who have been vocal against Duterte? Suppression works.
Because traditional media did not fight back, the Marcos campaign treated it like it does not exist. The Marcos campaign deliberately skipped all televised debates except for a friendly TV station. Because traditional media did not push back, the incoming press secretary is planning to accredit the (most likely, Marcos-paid) vloggers, in an attempt to control the flow of information and finally push traditional media into irrelevance.
The Marcos campaign was driven by disinformation, and the incoming Marcos regime will only thrive through a deadly and nakakabobong combination of disinformation and suppression.
(Six more years of this? Enjoy it while it last, fanatics. For when the inevitable economic collapse happens, only then you will realize that you have been had. And by then, it will be too late.)
Our story began on April 7, 2021, when my brother’s mother-in-law died due to COVID-19. She was a very active barangay health worker. Friday before Holy Week of 2021, she went around her barangay handing out stuff, and then joined her family at a daughter’s house in Bulacan. My brother and his family did not join.
Back then, not joining was a blessing in disguise, as most of the family got COVID, but the mother-in-law went critical. She had the red flag symptoms – slept a lot, new confusion – and needed medical attention. She was rushed to Caloocan South Medical Center last April 7, and like many others was placed under a tent, as the hospital was full. She died under that tent, like many others who were unlucky, victims of a government that was vastly and woefully unprepared and grossly indifferent.
When she died, they were unsure if it was due to COVID. She had to get tested after death, and to add more insult the family had to find someone to do the test – I dunno if the hospital couldn’t or refused to do the test. The family got her tested the night she died, and the result came out a day later – positive.
She wasn’t cremated immediately; it would take a week, as most crematorium were busy.
My brother and his wife had to witness the cremation, together with another sister who also did not join the family in Bulacan. (Everyone else were quarantined in Bulacan.) The original schedule was 6PM, but due to a mix-up in scheduling by the mortuary, cremation took place at 8PM. As it was ECQ, curfew was at 8PM, so my brother and his wife went home and just viewed the cremation through Facebook.
The beginning
The sister-in-law went out several times since then: for the pasiyam, to look for a columbarium unit (with her sister), to pay for the unit (with her sister), and finally on April 21 to get herself tested as requirement for her to go back to work.
She is the patient zero in our family because she was the first one who tested positive for SARS-Cov2 virus.
She started showing symptoms on April 19, starting with itchy throat. As this was common for cough, she ignored it. Only when her antigen test showed positive did it made sense.
My mom took care of her kids when they went to witness the cremation, and dropped by their house several times before she got tested. When her test result was disclosed, a part of me panicked. My mom was a close contact, and then I am a close contact of my mom.
So the first thing I did was to call the city’s COVID hotline.
I called the first number and it was busy. I called the second number but no one answered. I called the first number again, and this time someone answered. After telling her my concern, she just asked me to note down the numbers of the health center nearby and some barangay health numbers.
Wow. That’s it. The hotline was just a glorified yellow pages.
After that fruitless call, someone did send an SMS using the second number after I called them.
I replied with the required details. Nothing happened. Maybe because it was after office hours? *shrugged*
On the same day, another sister-in-law had low grade fever and itchy throat. We thought it was coincidence, as both sisters-in-law had no close contact at all.
The next day, my brother, husband of second sister-in-law, also had fever. Another coincidence, since they are husband and wife after all, so no big deal.
But the biggest concern was to get everyone tested. In Caloocan, you need to contact a barangay health worker first before you can be scheduled for RT-PCR swab testing. As patient zero’s late mother was a barangay health worker, she managed to contact the health worker assigned to the barangay, and we were scheduled for swab testing the next day, April 23.
The city has “free” RT-PCR testing from Mondays to Fridays (the virus takes a break on weekends), but in reality it is Philhealth who pays for the test. The test sites are at Caloocan People’s Park (for south Caloocan) and Caloocan Sports Complex (for north). In reality, only senior citizens, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities are tested in People’s Park; the majority are bused in to Philippine Sports Stadium mega swabbing site in Ciudad de Victoria, Bocaue, Bulacan.
(The free antigen testing is just recent, after DOH acknowledged that antigen tests are as good as RT-PCR tests. PDF of DOH Memo.)
We were told to be at Caloocan People’s Park by 8AM. The barangay patrol (a tricycle, really) picked us up and brought us to the waiting area.
This is the waiting area at the Caloocan People’s Park. No segregation between asymptomatic and symptomatic people. Spacing was not as far as I’d be comfortable with. (If you squint you can see the buses in the background.)
The seniors, pregnant women, and PWDs were asked to move to the left side. Why they weren’t made to sit there in the first place is beyond me. Others were called by batches and made to get on the bus.
On the way to Bulacan.
We (me, my brother and his wife; my mother and my youngest brother were tested in People’s Park) arrived at Philippine Sports Stadium at around 9:30 AM. We first stayed in the bus in the parking lot across the street, and then the bus entered the area but we’re made to stay until there was no queue outside the stadium.
While waiting, we were made to fill up a small slip of paper, indicating our personal details plus the email address of the requesting LGU.
We got off the bus when there was no one in queue. There were five stops: queue outside, sit down at the portal, sit down at tents just outside the testing hall, registration tent, then sample collection.
Waiting outside the registration area.The tents for registration and sample collection.
We were done after an hour. We were brought back to People’s Park using the same bus. The atmosphere inside the bus was festive, as there was a large group of people from the same area.
After getting off at People’s Park, we waited for the barangay patrol to pick us up, to make sure we won’t go anywhere. We waited for more than 30 minutes; if we walked we would be home in less than 10.
As it was a Friday, it was an interminable wait – they said results could take 2-5 days. They did not say if calendar or working, but knowing government, it’s working days.
Saturday, April 24, my mom exhibited symptoms. As she’s a senior citizen, this crushed my heart, being a pessimist worrywart. She was still hopeful, thinking she’d be negative, but I know she was already positive.
Monday, April 26, D Day. I found out that it was Red Cross who processed the test. I got my test results online (through this site), and thankfully I tested negative. My brother got his results online as well, but unfortunately he tested positive. His wife tried searching for her test results, but no results were found. I couldn’t find the results for my mom and younger brother as well.
Tuesday, April 27. The barangay health worker (BHW) finally got most of the test results. Unfortunately my fears were validated – my mom tested positive. The health worker asked if we want to have those who tested positive transferred to an isolation facility. I asked where, but the BHW couldn’t provide an answer; they have to file a request first, and only upon approval will they know where.
Look at the above Facebook post from our mayor. Some schools were converted to isolation facilities, and it’s quite possible you will not be alone in a room, and the toilet will most likely be shared. There are other isolation facilities that have individual rooms for each patients, with aircon and toilets for each room. As we cannot be assured we’d get the better rooms, we decided to just quarantine at home.
Each patient contacted the Office of the Vice President’s Bayanihan e-Konsulta project, and all of them got callbacks. All of them got COVID care kits except for patient zero (she called up on the home stretch of her quarantine); only my mom and patient zero got a call from a doctor; and the volunteers tried their best to make followup calls (it’s supposed to be twice a day), but I know they are swamped with cases, and thankfully we only got mild symptoms.
The BHW checked on us twice a day, asking for temps. No questions about oxygen saturation, symptoms, whatever we need. That’s the entire extent of government action on COVID-positive patients.
Fourteen days
It was harrowing and stressful 14 days for me. I had to look after 4 patients and at the same time keep myself safe. I am not a prayerful person, but I relied on prayer every day, praying for better health for everyone.
Every morning I was this:
First order of the day was to check on my mom. The constant symptoms were clogged/runny nose and cough. Headaches and fatigue came in on the fourth day since the first onset of symptoms; body pain on the sixth. Every day, every new symptoms, my heart sank deeper and deeper into despair. I check on other patients either virtually or outside their door.
We go to the nearby public market every week for a week’s supply of meat and vegetables. After a week, we ran out. Relatives stepped in and bought stuff for us. Even my co-workers chipped in, despite the fact that I am not COVID positive. I was hoping someone from the barangay would step in and volunteer to help us, but I guess that’s asking too much.
We got relief goods on two separate days, total of three packages, and barangay made sure to emphasize goods are courtesy of politician M and politician S. #election2022
As the end of the 14-day quarantine approached, everyone get better until they no longer have symptoms. Amazingly, patient zero’s husband (my brother) and their children presented no symptoms, and the husband tested negative despite being in the same house as patient zero all throughout the quarantine. I guess wearing a mask works (more on this later).
Will StaySafe keep you safe?
With regards to contact tracing: I have no idea how it works. We were never asked where we’ve been for the last 14 days. We were not told to contact people who were in personal contact with us for the last 14 days.
Prior to the test, my mom and I went to the market on April 21, the day patient zero got tested. My mom was already double masking at that time (I made her wear a KN95 mask over a surgical mask since the March 2021 surge started) plus face shield (which I think does not really provide much protection), while I wore a KN95 mask.
We also went to the grocery last April 18. I used the StaySafe app before I entered the grocery. When my mom’s positive test result came in, I checked the app to see how I can report that I was a close contact of a positive case.
So here’s the main page of the app.
I clicked on Update Now, and I was presented with a list of common COVID-19 symptoms.
As I tested negative and had no symptoms, I selected None of the above then tapped UPDATE.
In the next screen, you are asked several questions.
I selected the first two options, then tapped UPDATE.
I was shown the home screen again. I have no idea if the app sent a message to the server to alert other users who were also in the grocery on that day. I have no idea if those people got contacted.
Will the StaySafe app keep you safe? I’ll let the (former?) contact tracing czar speak about the app:
Insofar as the DILG is concerned, nasa study and learning status pa po sila. Yan po yung talagang kulang pa po ang documentation na binigay ng StaySafe kaya hindi pa po natin makumpleto at masabing categorically na highly reliable na po itong StaySafe.
Our quarantine started on April 23 (the day we got tested) and ended supposedly last May 6, but we were only told we’re done a day after. We were told to wait for the official certification, to be issued Monday, May 10, but we were free to go out for essential tasks. So off to the market last Saturday, and groceries last Sunday.
Monday came and no paper in sight. Apparently, the health center does not know the contact tracer who processed our case information. They assumed (1) we knew and (2) took a photo of our case info sheet. I only found out today, May 11. Luckily I did, and sent the photo to the BHW. We got our certification today, including certification from health center doctor: for those who tested negative, that we completed 14 days of home quarantine and remained asymptomatic all throughout (I don’t know how they determined that, since they never asked me); for those who tested positive, that they completed 14 days of home quarantine and assumed to have recovered based on DOH Memo 2020-0258 dated May 29, 2020. (PDF of the memo, see page 3, paragraph 9.)
Epilogue
While supposedly those who tested positive for COVID are considered recovered after 14 days of quarantine and no longer require repeat testing, some businesses require a certification from a medical doctor that the person is fit to work, and some even require a negative RT-PCR test. This test costs starting from four thousand pesos – not cheap – and with the patient technically jobless and no pay for 14 days, and got no medical attention, isn’t the barangay certification enough, based on DOH policy? Not all businesses and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) will cover the cost of this extra testing and certification. In short, poor people who got COVID gets poorer because no-work, no-pay, and then will be required by employer to get tested at employee’s expense. This is unfair and unacceptable.
Why can’t DOH amend its policy so that patients can be tested after their quarantine? Why is this regime so stingy when it took out so many foreign loans? Why are they insisting that mass testing = testing everyone? One year into the pandemic, haven’t we built up our testing capability that we need to scrimp and save and deny testing to those who had recovered, when we allow private enterprises to ignore state policy and insist on their own recovery policies? Both public and private sectors are cruel to its citizens and employees.
We are lucky that everyone in the family who tested positive got mild symptoms only. I’d probably go insane if someone got severe symptoms, knowing how stressful it was just caring for patients while trying to keep yourself safe. I don’t understand how government officials remain indifferent when some of them got COVID and at least one of them got critical. Are they really that pathetically uncaring about people who got sick with COVID? Maybe that’s why they are unconcerned about the number of people who died, and even dared to compare our numbers against other countries just to justify their failed response to the pandemic?
We are forever grateful to everyone who helped us – from relatives to friends to co-workers to barangay personnel to those who collected samples. Thank you.
Recommendations
Based on our experience, here are my recommendations for improving our pandemic response on the local level (because nationally it is hopeless).
The city should be more proactive when new cases are reported by residents. I think the hotline should instead call the necessary people instead of the resident making the calls. They can collect the necessary data and forward this data to the right people. If the hotline will just state phone numbers to call, the mayor should revise his pinned post to instead list down the numbers of barangay health centers and health workers instead. That would save residents one phone call.
With regards to the waiting area at the People’s Park, I hope they can sit asymptomatic and symptomatic people separately, and make senior citizens sit directly near the entrance to the park, not to make them sit with other people then ask them to move later. Compare that to the recent OVP Swab Cab testing in Marikina, where in the first photo, the area for symptomatic persons is clearly marked, meaning people without symptoms are separated from people with symptoms. I hope the city can emulate this arrangement.
Our Swab Cabs are in three different areas in Marikina now – Concepcion Uno, Concepcion Dos, and Marikina Heights. pic.twitter.com/YJ1Tg0Numg
There is also an issue in data encoding. For the three of us who got tested at Philippine Sports Stadium, two of us immediately found our test results online. I presented my old SSS ID while my brother presented his driver’s license. His wife presented her unified multipurpose ID (UMID), and the reason she did not find her results online is that whoever encoded her data included the acronym “CRN” in the system, and instead of typing a dash, a semi-colon was entered instead. (For those who are unfamiliar with the UMID, your ID number is presented this way: “CRN-xxxx-xxxxxxx-x”.)
At the People’s Park site, they don’t even encode the ID number at all. No wonder I couldn’t find my mom’s test results online.
I hope that they make sure their data encoding is consistent and checked, to prevent errors. After all, it’s GIGO.
Don’t get me started on contact tracing. This regime can’t even come up with a mediocre contact tracing system. They can’t even have a coherent message on StaySafe – one person says its OK, another to contradict. It’s been a year, and no wonder we had this tragic surge. I have no recommendation about contact tracing – it will take a series of blog posts and systems analysis and design documentation. All I can say is, based on our experience, there’s no contact tracing system. At all.
I know that some barangay health workers (BHWs) and barangay health emergency response team (BHERT) workers are volunteers, but it doesn’t mean they don’t get the right training and proper compensation. The LGU should make sure they are properly equipped to monitor patients in their locality (in case of home quarantine). For example: not all symptomatic people get fever (my mom didn’t), so just monitoring body temperature is not enough. BHWs should also monitor for oxygen saturation. I think oxygen saturation is a better metric to monitor and better indicator if patient requires immediate medical attention or not. (Fever can be managed through medicine, low oxygen saturation is more complicated and requires professional care.)
With family members needing to go out to report to work, it might be necessary to wear a mask when at home until everyone gets vaccinated. It can be expensive, as cloth masks might not effective enough in such close quarters, so I hope the LGUs can help in providing residents surgical masks at least.
The city of Caloocan can improve its health care system, especially its city hospitals. These hospitals should be at least be able to test patients for COVID-19. While the North Medical Center has a molecular biology lab, I hope the South can have its own lab itself. Given the pandemic, the city should allocate more resources to its hospitals so that they can help as many people as possible.
We want patients to eat healthy. While relief goods are appreciated, we should move away from canned goods and instant noodles. I understand we maintain a stockpile of these goods precisely because they last longer, people would appreciate it more if fresh produce and fruits are included. Patients need to build up their immunity, and fruits and vegetables can help. It would also help if the LGUs can maintain a stockpile of common medicines to address COVID-19 symptoms like paracetamol and hexetedine.
LGUs can at least replicate Bayanihan e-Konsulta’s system. Care kit packages go a long way in helping patients, as most of the time they are unprepared in addressing symptoms. And once they are locked down, they can no longer acquire much needed medicines and other resources. I hope every barangay can maintain a volunteer corp that can help in patients’ errands like purchasing medicines or paying bills, especially those who do not have the means to be online.
Hopefully, LGUs can plug the holes that the national government refuses to address. While resources are limited, LGUs can direct volunteers to where they are needed. The emergence of community pantries shows that people will help when they know how and where they can help. With the bayanihan spirit in action, we can help alleviating the difficulties that COVID-10 patients in poor communities face. Let’s help each other, as the national government will not.
And lastly: please, leave politics out of the pandemic response. Be equitable in providing resources, not concentrating help on bailiwicks. Every Caloocan resident should be treated equally. regardless of where they are residing in the city. Thank you.
Today is the last day of the campaign for the national and local elections. This coming Monday, we are about to cast our votes to select people who will lead us into the future. As you ponder on who to vote for, this reflection will hopefully help you in selecting candidates for elected posts this year.
First, I will take a cursory look at the past 3 years, then discuss what’s at stake in this elections.
What has happened before
Let’s begin by looking at the landscape of the past 3 years, as these collective experience should guide us on what path to take for the next 3 years.
Rodrigo Duterte was swept into office because of his promise of change. Whether that change has come or not depends on whether:
You are an ardent supporter or
A former supporter who had given up on him or
Someone who voted for another candidate and now is a supporter or
Someone who voted for another candidate and is glad you voted for someone else.
I am the fourth person, so this post is colored by that choice (yellow, as DDS will say).
A video summary
Update (5/13/2019): Here’s a short video summary of the past 3 years under Duterte, as seen by a comedian in the US.
Duterte promised a hard stance against drugs. It will be bloody, he said. And how bloody was it? We will never know at this point. Nobody’s counting properly. The PNP invented a new statistical data point: deaths under investigation, a special category separate from murder. Media has stopped counting; look at the Inquirer Kill List – it has stopped a year after Duterte took power. The government’s own count pegged the deaths at 5000 at the end of 2018. The Human Rights Watch pegged the deaths at 12000 at the start of 2018. There’s no way we can audit these numbers, and by inventing a new category, this government skews the data in its favor.
His drug war almost got derailed with the murder of Kian delos Santos and Carl Arnaiz by policemen. There were large protests against these murders, and Duterte even had to meet with Kian’s parents to put out the fire. These murders and their aftermath led to PNP recalibrating its operations and Duterte’s drug war continues.
The economy and infrastructure
Duterte promised a golden age in Philippine infrastructure and a pivot to China as main foreign partner. Branded BUILD BUILD BUILD, his administration has decided to move away from public-private partnership into a so-called hybrid one, where the government builds the infrastructure (most of them funded by Chinese loans) and the operations and maintenance bid out to the private sector.
Several of the projects were called out for being unnecessary and even posed danger. Some of the projects listed in the BBB are carryovers from the previous administration (Mactan Cebu airport, for one), and some big ticket items have yet to start (NAIA replacement, where there are numerous competing proposals), 3 years into this administration.
Screengrab from Inquirer.
Because not all projects can be funded through loans, the government has to source the funds internally. Through Sonny Angara, the 17th Congress has passed the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act or TRAIN Law, the first in a series of comprehensive tax reforms foisted into the Filipino taxpayers by the Department of Finance. While it increased the personal income tax exemptions and reduced in others, the law also imposed additional taxes on sugared beverages and imported oil. It also led to high inflation rates never experienced in five years.
The Supreme Court fared no better. The track record of Duterte’s Supreme Court is obviously biased for Duterte, with Gloria Arroyo/Duterte appointees voting consistently. Interaksyon has several infographics showing the voting pattern, and I am taking the liberty of linking the images here.
The Senate of the 17th Congress has proven to be very docile if not very supportive of the Duterte administration. It has passed most of Duterte’s priority legislation, and has refused to exercise its power of investigation and oversight regarding this administration’s actions and policies. The Blue Ribbon Committee, headed by Gordon, has been reduced to whitewashing.
Duterte allies currently dominate the Senate and the House. Voting for his allies means it is quite possible for a Senate supermajority in favor of Duterte. What does this mean? Aside from breezily passing priority legislation:
Duterte can easily impeach anyone he likes, something that he has failed to do in the 17th Congress because there are enough independent minded senators who could vote against him. A supermajority of docile, supportive senators give him an edge in impeachment.
They can easily remove de Lima from the Senate itself. They tried before (and failed), but with a two-thirds majority for Duterte, they can try again. Heck, they can remove all members of the minority if they so wish.
There’s no possibility of the Senate asserting its independence and exercising its investigative and oversight powers.
And of course, it becomes easier for Duterte to ram charter change and federalism down our throats.
Only four opposition senators remain in the Senate as it enters the 18th Congress. A shutout (12-0 for Duterte) will be fatal. Duterte will have an unprecedented rubber stamp 18th Congress.
This survey result should give you an idea on how the Senate of the 18th Congress will look like. You should be spooked.
We need certainty on economic matters
The TRAIN law was met with mixed reactions. The middle class rejoiced when their income taxes were reduced (except for ROHQ employees who saw their income taxes skyrocket when the preferential tax rates were removed); the poor, who were already exempted from income taxes, were burdened with increase prices in some commodities; and almost everyone was hit by high inflation brought about by high oil prices exacerbated by additional excise taxes imposed by TRAIN law.
The second package of the CTRP, supposedly to be named TRAIN2 but hastily renamed to TRABAHO bill due to negative connotation brought about by TRAIN1, is pending and is due to be refiled at the 18th Congress. This bill aims to reduce corporate income taxes and rationalize fiscal incentives given to foreign investments in PEZA locations, including BPOs. Already, uncertainties in the proposed law are causing pause in investment decisions as to prevent possible losses when the bill is implemented.
The CTRP is sure to pass given a rubber stamp Congress. I am not totally against tax reform (it sure needs to be simplified so that you won’t need a tax lawyer), but any proposals should be debated openly and carefully. TRAIN1 shows us how sloppy lawmaking can hurt the economy. We need a Senate that will bring clarity to any economic measures to be filed. A rubber stamp Senate will not help us at all.
Infrastructure projects should be transparent and pro-Filipinos
An independent Senate can actually scrutinize these deals. It has subpoena powers to compel the executive department to provide senators copies of contracts. The fact that the current Senate did not even attempt to secure copies is a sign of its acquiescence to the executive department. We need independent senators to make sure all deals are transparent and will benefit the Filipino people.
Political institutions should be strengthened
After 3 years since 2016 elections, it has become apparent that our political institutions are weak. The Constitution envisioned a government of three branches, each providing check and balance to each other. Our experience so far has shown that the legislature and the judiciary have abdicated their roles to check the executive’s excesses. The Senate, supposed to be the most independent branch, is reduced to docility. The House remains the president’s puppets. The Supreme Court has perverted its own rules just to accommodate the president’s whims.
We must strengthen this check and balance. We start by making sure the Senate becomes independent by voting for candidates that are not allied to nor supports Duterte. We must retake the Senate and make it account for the executive’s excesses by exercising its oversight powers.
The drug war must end
And of course, the murderous drug war must end. We can start by voting for independent senators who will not be cowed by Duterte’s bullying. We must vote for strong, brave senators who will investigate the current drug war and condemn the violent streak of the war. We must vote for charitable and compassionate senators who will provide comfort and just compensation for the victims of the unjust war.
And most importantly: we must vote for senators that will be impartial if Duterte is impeached. Impeachment is another political institution that needs strengthening, and an independent Senate will ensure that impeachment will work. The current Senate makes any impeachment impossible.
Our soul as a society
Before we go to sleep days before the 2019 elections, think back on how we behaved as human beings. You will be horrified.
We laugh at (or tolerate, at best) rape jokes.
We put little to no value to human life, as long as it’s not ours.
We don’t have a sense of community. (”I don’t care as long as I get my piece of the pie.” ”Ang bagal mo eh.”)
We believe what we see in social media instead of news reports.
Our vote reflects our values. The candidates we choose should reflect how we want our country to act. And most importantly, the candidates that we choose should care about each and every Filipino, regardless of their color, ethnicity, economic status, and whether they are drug addicts or not. These candidates that we will choose should foster unity and pride, believe in a sense of community, and have an unwavering belief in each person’s right to live.
Our vote is a reflection of what we want as a people, of what we want our future to be, of what our children’s future should be.
Who to vote
It’s up to you. Think of yourself 3 years from now. Think of your children’s future 10 years from now. If you think a candidate will bring us to where we want to be in those time horizons, then vote for that candidate.
Vote for a candidate that will stand for you and will stand with you. Vote for a candidate that shares your values. Most of all, vote for a candidate that will ensure our survival as a nation – united, with dignity, and compassion and respect for each other.
NOTE: This article was published on another web site last June 11, 2017, but that web site’s gone now, so I am reposting it here. Please note that some information might be outdated by now. I intend to write another one, but no promises. /note
Regular commuters of MRT3 will tell you – it’s a mess. Long queues, broken rails, ovenhot train interiors, stations with non-working elevators and escalators, toilets that stink, constant train breakdowns. The MRT was meant to alleviate traffic and provide commuters another option at convenience. Now, it’s more an inconvenience than a comfort.
What’s wrong with the MRT3?
I. The ownership structure limited the government’s ability to act on the problems of the MRT 3
The MRT 3 was designed as a build-lease-transfer project. The private sector proponent was a convoluted confusing haze of corporate vehicles really, but let us reduce these to two – MRT Corporation (the signatory to the MRT Agreement), which in turn is owned by MRT Holdings. In this Sobrepeña propaganda site, it listed down the owners, but it’s ownership is unclear, so let’s assume it’s MRT Holdings. The BLT agreement calls for the private proponent to design, construct, and turn over the system to government, while the government will operate the system and pay MRTC rental fees.
Back in 2007, the government was behind in rental payments, and to avoid default it decided to buy these bonds through DBP and LBP. Despite owning these bonds, government did not acquire ownership of MRT3. Remember, these bonds only represent the income from rental payments, not the system itself. MRTC still owns the MRT3.
Do you know why the PPP framework was created? To avoid issuing sovereign guarantees, with government providing financial guarantee to private companies in case the project doesn’t earn as expected. The MRT Agreement provides for such a guarantee. Not only is there a sovereign guarantee, the Agreement also calls for “an after-tax, after-debt-service, after-expense return on their investments of 15 percent per year.”
Why is ownership an issue and a reason why the MRT3 is in this mess?
Again, the government, through DOTC (now DoTr) operates the system without owning the system. Government pays MRTC guaranteed monthly rental payments. So the problems with the MRT – maintenance, new trains – are the responsibility of MRTC, not the government. The problems that commuters are facing were already apparent back in 2007. MRT3 has been operating beyond capacity since 2004. It is not clear if MRTC was remiss in its responsibility; it claimed it sent 3 proposals to DOTC since 2006, but DOTC did not act on them, or so MRTC claims. It is also unclear if DOTC did receive such proposals, nor if it decided not to act on them, why. This dispute is something for another day. But this much is clear – the MRT3 is owned by the MRTC, and it has the responsibility for capacity expansion and maintenance, being the owner of the system. The hands of the government are tied by this little piece of paper called the MRT Agreement.
II. Poor maintenance and problems on maintenance provider and maintenance responsibility
It is quite obvious that maintenance has been poor. Sumitomo had been the maintenance provider since the MRT3 began operation, and in 2010 MRTC abdicated its maintenance responsibility, throwing the problem back to the government. The contract with Sumitomo does not contain provisions for “penalties for malfunctioning elevators and escalators, and setting a minimum requirement of 19 trains running during peak hours between 7 am and 9 am.” The government was paying Sumitomo US$ 1.4 million per month (when MRTC should have been paying them instead). There had been no improvement since the problems became apparent in 2007, and Sumitomo has been accused of cannibalizing parts.
As stated earlier, MRTC abdicated its responsibility regarding maintenance, and government took over the maintenance aspect of the system. This is the reason why the government, and not the MRTC, made decisions regarding selection of maintenance providers.
There had been much controversy and noise on the decision to replace the MRT3’s maintenance provider, even leading to the sacking (or, as he claimed, voluntary resignation) of MRT3 General Manager Al Vitangcol (who is facing charges for extortion). To be clear, he was axed for conflict of interest (his uncle was one of the incorporators of the maintenance provider PH Trams).
The current maintenance provider, Busan Universal Rail (BURI), has managed to restore the MRT3 to its maximum number of operational trains to 22 within a year after it got the maintenance contract. However, at the onset of the 2017 summer season, a series of breakdowns hampered operations and once again reduced the number of maximum operational trains to less than 20. This (and politics, see part III) lead to questions regarding BURI’s contract.
There’s only so much a maintenance provider can do. Not only is the system old, it is also operating beyond its design capacity, reducing the life span of the trains. Sometimes the only solution is to replace the old one with the new.
Operating beyond capacity with previous maintenance providers failing to maintain the system and not being held accountable for such failures, it is no surprise that the MRT 3 is in this confusing mess. It is actually quite surprising that it is still running despite these problems. All this has been worsened through politicking by politicians.
III. Politics and revenge messing things up
The previous administration made two crucial decisions based on MRTC’s inaction: first, to replace Sumitomo with another maintenance provider, and second, to acquire new trains. However, with the change in administration, there seems to be a rather suspicious, concentrated effort by acertainpolitician and a certain party list (see 1, 2, 3) to discredit such decisions.
And with the recent breakdowns plus Nograles’ rants that the contract is onerous, DoTr threatens to terminate the maintenance contract with BURI. It remains to be seen if they will replace the maintenance provider. To be fair to BURI, it was handed a system in such terrible shape it is near impossible to fix these numerous problems. It is quite obvious the reason is not due to breakdowns (it happens most during summer, look it up). Folks, politics is rearing its ugly head.
IV. TL;DR
The MRT3 is a build-lease-transfer project, owned by MRTC and operated by government through DoTr.
MRTC gets guaranteed rental payments with guaranteed annual return of 15%.
MRTC has capacity expansion and maintenance responsibility, but it is unclear if it has shirked its responsibility regarding capacity expansion.
MRTC turned over the maintenance responsibility to DoTr.
DoTr bought new trains despite this not being a responsibility.
DoTr wants to replace BURI with Sumitomo as maintenance provider.
Current administration and its allies are bent on derailing current solutions to the mess.
So. How are you today? How are you coping with the events of the past few days? Tiring, no? Kapit lang.
In a democracy, dissent is essential. We have designed our democratic project so that the government will serve the people, and the people will hold its leaders accountable for every government action. It is the primary duty of the citizen to remind the leaders of government of its sworn duty to uphold the Constitution and protect the people. Once the government violates its sworn duty, once it treats its citizens like excrement, once the government turns against the sovereign people, it is the primary duty of the citizen to resist.
Under a representative form of government, we elect people to be our representatives, to wield enormous powers in our behalf. We have enshrined safeguards in the exercise of such enormous powers, and once our representatives misuse that power, it is our duty to inform them and express our displeasure and opposition. They act in our behalf; if they are not acting for our benefit, they should be rebuked.
How can we ordinary citizens express our displeasure with the acts and words of our elected representatives? There are simple actions that you can do, but these actions require courage on your part. Because if your elected representative is evil, he or she will get back at you if you manage to get his ire. That’s the kind of mentality each poor citizen is facing when confronting the evil of elected leaders who are intoxicated with power. You need courage. You need to start confronting that evil. How?
Contact your barangay leaders. They normally have regular contacts with your mayors and congressmen. Tell them how you feel on issues and comment on the stand of your mayor or congressman on the issues of the day. If you want, you can ask them to accompany you to the offices of the mayor, vice mayor, and councilors so that you can talk to them personally. You might need to set an appointment.
Contact your elected representative. See below.
Contact the senators you most disagree with. Most of them are online on Facebook and Twitter. Based on experience and cursory look at their timelines, though, most of them do not take kindly to criticisms. Watch your words, be respectful but make sure you stand your ground and make your opinion heard loud and clear.
Contact your elected senators and representatives the old fashioned way – by calling their offices. You can fax them if you feel that’s more effective. Contact numbers for senators are here. Search for your congressman here, then click on the name to find the contact details. Most of them are not Internet savvy, so old fashioned calling you do. Or, see next item.
You can also try visiting your congressman’s district office. Take note that he or she may not be in the office most of the time, but the staff might be helpful. You’ll be surprised if they accommodate you, though. Who knows.
You can contact the Office of the Vice President here. Maybe you can also set an appointment so that you can meet Vice President Leni Robredo personally. I suggest you go in a group for maximum effect. You can also contact them through the OVP social media accounts.
As for the Office of the President – tough luck. Your best bet is through the Presidential Communications Office. Here’s the contact information. You can also contact them through social media, but I suggest not bothering with their personal accounts – see above regarding onion skinned senators.
If communicating (or attempting to communicate) with them fails for whatever reason (most likely ignoring you, as most of them do after elections), what can you do next? That’s for the next post.
The buzzword from the last presidential debate was leadership. It resonated for some viewers and listeners. A few were impressed – it was strong and simple.
Coaches and builds a team, so that it is more effective at achieving the vision.
A leader provides a vision. A candidate should show us what he thinks our country should be in the next six years. What is Mar Roxas’ vision? He articulated his vision during the first debate as:
Bakit ko gusto maging pangulo? Dahil gusto ko maging ganito din ang buhay nyo: malaya sa gutom, malaya sa takot, at malayang mangarap.
He further refined his vision in the second debate:
Dapat natin ipaglaban ang Daang Matuwid, kung may kulang, pupunuan; kung may mali, itama natin; para dito sa ating bansa tuluyan na makapamuhay tayo kung saan nagtatagumpay ang disente.
a declaration of the principles on which a group of persons stands; especially: a declaration of principles and policies adopted by a political party or a candidate
It is usually a list of principles, values, or actions that a political party or a candidate adopts. Basically, it enumerates how the vision is to be achieved. It is a covenant with the public – a binding agreement that a party or candidate is willing to be held accountable for. It is a powerful document, almost sacred. No wonder a lot of candidates are unwilling to provide concrete and detailed platforms – they are unwilling to be held accountable.
Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo are willing to be held accountable through their platform – Ang Panata sa Pamilyang Pilipino. Only Roxas and Robredo have a specific and detailed platform among the candidates – a proof that they are sincere in coming up with plans and on acting on them when they get elected.
A leader who has no plan will just bluster and say what the choir wants to hear, for he has nothing substantial to say. It betrays a lack of knowledge of what ails this country. It shows a bankruptcy of creativity in solving this country’s problems. A fake leader fakes it.
We don’t need a fake leader. Mar Roxas is a real leader. He has a plan on how to create jobs. He has solutions to help solve the country’s problems.
A leader inspires his people to achieve his vision. People will flock to a leader who inspires them to do good. They will find a leader that will inspire to achieve common goals. People will gravitate to an inspirational leader to lead them on a journey towards a common vision.
A leader assembles a good team, composed of competent people who can be trusted to accomplish what needs to be done to achieve the vision. Most of the people behind Mar’s campaign are decent and trustworthy.
A true leader has a good vision, he only thinks of what is good for the country. A true leader has a good plan – they go together – on how to reach that vision. A true leader inspires his followers to do their best to achieve his vision, together. A true leader assembles a good team, each capable of helping achieve his vision.
So, as I said days ago:
If your leadership inspires people to bring out the barbarian in them, no, we don’t need your leadership.
When I was in high school (way back decades ago *sigh*), it was the time when Luzon was suffering from lack of electricity. No electricity for hours, as long as 12 hours every day. So most of our time there was no electricity. No electricity meant no radio and no TV. We sought different forms of entertainment then.
My mom used to buy read komiks from the palengke at Blumentritt. I remember some of the titles like Aliwan and Wakasan. Every Friday, I bought Pilipino Funny Komiks (for Combatron, mostly). When I was in my first year, my values education teacher called me Zarbot, an android character from the serial comic novel of the same name, just because my name sounded like Zarbot. Zarbot appeared in Aliwan, and his claim to fame was that he’s prolly one of the most sexually active robot characters out there.
Most of the komiks back then are collections of serialized comic novels, stories being continued on the next issue. Komiks were released regularly, mostly weekly. I had to wait weeks for the next issues, because my mom did not buy them regularly. During Saturdays, I always waited for my mom from her palengke run, hoping she bought komiks. And when she did, I read them immediately, and lagi akong napipingot sa tenga because inuna ko pang basahin yung komiks instead na ayusin yung pinamili nya.
Love stories were the most common serialized novels in komiks. Inevitably, there were love scenes, but mostly not explicit. For explicit ones, there were bomba komiks as well – yep, komiks were for porn, as well. I’d seen an issue or two. My mom obviously did not buy them, but as any male teenager would tell you, we have ways. *wink wink*
Aside from komiks, my mom also bought pocketbooks. Some of these local pocketbooks were thin volumes, stapled instead of bound, with glossy cover. They were mostly love stories. I remember reading them on our stairs, malapit kasi sa bintana kaya maliwanag at pwede magbasa. She kept these komiks and pocketbooks at the eskaparate where bread and biscuits were kept.
Of course, there were porn pocketbooks. *wink wink*
And nobody of my age would have escaped the phenomenon called brick games. These were handheld devices with monochrome displays, powered by AA batteries. They all were variations of the classic Tetris game by Nintendo. Pag may Game Boy ka that time, mayaman ka. Eh since di lahat can afford magka Game Boy, ayun, bumenta ang brick games. The more games in a handheld, the more na sikat ka. Eh 4 kaming magkakapatid so imagine the chaos – agawan eh. Di uso sa amin ang time sharing haha.
So yeah. Internet at that time was almost non-existent, and mobile phones were too large to be called mobile. And since there was not enough electricity back then, TV and radio time were limited. Bihira pa portable radios nun, madalas pa AM band lang. Saka magastos sa battery. So we were left with komiks and pocketbooks and brickgames for distraction and entertainment.
I don’t get the fuzz re: komiks right now. I guess it isn’t an upper class thing.
The campaign period for national posts has started, and from the way most of the candidates launched their campaigns, this is not an issues-centered campaign.
For example, Grace Poe was criticized for being dramatic, and decided that she should start her campaign by being dramatic:
Drama nga siguro ang tawag nila dito subalit realidad at tunay na buhay ko ito… katotohanan ito na araw araw pinagdadaanan ng marami sa ating mga kababayan.
She tried tying up the drama of her life with the life of ordinary Filipinos. This kinda fell flat, as her life’s not ordinary. After all, we ordinary Filipinos do not get to be adopted by the King of Philippine Movies, nor get an American citizenship, nor have children that can afford expensive/fake pair of shoes that costs more than half of what a minimum wage earner gets in a month. Her campaign has yet to release its platform of government. Or maybe her 20-item bullet list mentioned when she declared her bid is it.
Poe launched her campaign at Plaza Miranda, causing heavy traffic in the busy area of Quiapo. Ironic for someone who keeps on harping about traffic.
Jejomar Binay launched his campaign in the busiest street in Mandaluyong, also causing traffic. For those who haven’t been keeping watch, he did not launch his campaign in his bailiwick in Makati because for the first time in decades, no Binay is sitting in Makati City Hall. While Binay outlined what he wants to do if elected president, his campaign has yet to release specifics and how he plans to achieve his planned goals. He still has to explain how he got rich.
The Philippine social media follows Philippine politics. Candidates have released their platforms, and one of them has the most comprehensive so far. There’s a dearth of discussion on platforms, and I guess netizens can’t be blamed, as there is nothing much to discuss. However, the toxicity of personality-based politics permeates Philippine social media. And we’re hoping for a discussion on issues? If our candidates are unwilling to do so, what is there for us ordinary Pinoys to discuss? We are left with one candidate’s fixation on another candidate’s manhood.
A few months ago, an article by a journalist led me to write about changing the way we discuss issues by veering away from personality-oriented politics.
At that time I argued that we should discuss issues that are facing the country, and what are the candidates’ plans to address these issues. There hasn’t been much change since then. Senator Grace Poe was busy with all the disqualification cases filed against her (both in the Senate Electoral Tribunal and Comelec), and if she had time to share her vision, she made mostly motherhood statements and nothing concrete. She and Senator Chiz Escudero have yet to unveil their complete platform. Recently, she’s been conflating her case as a case against foundlings and OFWs, something that is clearly an appeal to emotions, a fallacy that attempts to subtly (or not) hide the residency eligibility problem that she’s facing.
Vice President Jejomar Binay is busy going around the country to campaign and activate his local network (painstakingly cultivated since his years as mayor of Makati through the sister city program) while ignoring his corruption cases. It is a move praised by some self-declared “unbiased” political analysts, as keeping his silence means he is largely ignored by the news organizations, leading the people to forget that the vice president has pending corruption cases.
Senator Miriam Santiago is rarely seen and heard.
Former DILG Secretary Mar Roxas is also busy touring the country alone or together with Liberal Party candidate for Vice President Representative Leni Robredo. There isn’t much criticism of Roxas’ plans as president except on his stance on DICT. Much criticism on Roxas are on… him lying on an ice block, eating on a mug, saying “istip by istip” instead of “step by step” in a forum in Cebu.
Yep, still personality-oriented politics.
Rodrigo Duterte’s announcement of his candidacy for the position of president further lowered the quality of public discourse.
The social media milieu prior to his candidacy was already close to toxic levels, but the entry of Duterte unleashed a congress of angry and hard headed fanatics who, imitating their idol unleashed coarse, uncouth, and terrifyingly threatening messages on hapless people who dared oppose Duterte’s candidacy. The sheer idiocy of some of the supporters led to a social media of demagoguery and stupidity.
Duterte contributed to this malaise by calling into question Roxas’ Wharton degree. The resulting conflagration was unfortunate. The sheer ignorance of both so-called social and political elites and the poor masses was astoundingly shocking, and I am being charitable about this observation. It led to Roxas taking on the slapping challenge, with Duterte daring to call for a gun duel only to back down (when it was pointed out that challenging someone to a gun duel is actually a crime). Duterte then said he is ready for a debate, and Roxas challenged him, only for Duterte to retort that number 4 cannot challenge a number 1 in the surveys (the recent surveys showed Duterte as number 3 or 4, so the retort was rather flat and weak).
That’s just one recent example. Heaven knows how bad it will be when the campaign period starts.
We as a people have a choice – we can discuss the candidates’ plans for the country or discuss how ugly a candidate’s face is. If we want an end to personality-oriented politics, we must want it hard. We support a candidate for his or her plans and vision, not because he or she is charismatic or for orphans or tough-acting. Otherwise, by all means engage in stupidity – and don’t blame us if in the end we end up in the figurative “kangkungan.” After all, that’s where pigs wallow with glee.
The basic, fundamental law of a state which sets out how that state will be organized and the powers and authorities of government between different political units and citizens.
It is basically an agreement between citizens of a state on how the government is organized, its powers, and how it relates to its citizens. Basically all actions of the government – executive actions, legislations passed, decisions promulgated by the courts – are governed by the Constitution.
The same Constitution (in our case, the 1986 Constitution, a written document; not all constitutions are in written form, the United Kingdom, for example, doesn’t have a written constitution) also includes a list of guaranteed rights of citizens called the Bill of Rights. Basically, the government cannot act, cannot legislate, and cannot make decisions that will violate any of the rights listed in the Bill of Rights.
From The Philippine Electoral Almanac http://pcdspo.gov.ph/pub/201305may-election-almanac.php
But. Here’s the problem. The people had ratified the Constitution and its entire content, meaning we agreed on everything that is stated in the Constitution. You cannot take a part of it and disregard the others that you don’t like or does not conform with your beliefs. It just doesn’t work that way.
You take it as it is, or you have it amended through the means stated in Article 17. (I wish you luck; there has never been a successful amendment since the Constitution was ratified.)
Section 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.
It is a very powerful provision: no one, not even the government can kill you, can detain you, or take away your property without you undergoing due process. Meaning, before the government can do anything against you, it “must follow fair procedures.” There will be investigation, you will be informed of the case against you, you can defend yourself before a court of law, and the court will decide based on evidence.
That’s how it is supposed to work. We have assented to the Constitution, and we promised to abide by it.
So: there simply has no place for extra-judicial killings in this country under the Constitution. If a candidate makes a bold claim that there is no messing up with the Constitution yet advocates killing suspects without due process, that candidate is paying lip service only. If a candidate admits links to a death squad, he is actually violating the Constitution.
The Constitution is the fundamental law of the land. There is no middle ground in compliance. There is no compromising the Constitution.
