Author Archives: Arbet Bernardo

7
Jan

Summit of stupidity

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The political buzzword for this month is – no, not related to 2010 – is summit.

When the price of crude oil reached US$ 100, the Department of Energy is calling for an Energy Summit this month. The summit aimed to seek solutions on how the cushion the impact of impending oil price hikes. Yes, folks, the political appointees at the DoE have no idea. No wonder a lot of people are calling this summit a waste of time. I agree. It is just that some of those who are complaining are clueless, too.

Anyway, with the strengthening of the Philippine peso against the US dollar, the impact should not be that hard, right? We cannot tell. Heck, we cannot even say if oil companies are being greedy or not, since most of them are private and thus their books are not open for scrutiny by government.

Then, the Bureau of Fire PreventionDILG is calling for a summit, too. The Galleria Baclaran fire, which raged for more than 24 hours, pricked a lot of egos in the Department of Interior and Local Government (which oversees BFP). All fire fighting volunteers who responded in that fire blamed the ground commander for the fiasco, first by raising the general alarm 3 hours after the fire broke out, and by ordering these volunteers to go away.

You know, it was incredible. There was an emergency situation, and these guys were squabbling. They need a summit to smooth things out. Incredible. They had been fighting fires since Heaven knows when, and they don’t even have a protocol on this? Absolutely stupid.

What’s more incredible? Marius Corpus recommending for a formation of an armed task force to keep fire fighting volunteers in check! Not only that. He also says they will be filing charges against these volunteers. Tsk. These actions are typical responses from Arroyo lapdogs.

Incredible. Absolutely stupid.

Oh well. Remember that dialogue that the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters ng Pilipinas had brokered between the government and the media in the aftermath of the Manila Pen affair? Nothing was accomplished, right? These two summits will reach the same fate, the same way that the Feliciano and Melo commissions ended – producing useless reports and nothing else.

As long as Gloria Arroyo is busy doing something else (don’t ask me what she’s really doing), reports and recommendations will remain as that – papers that will remain unacted.

6
Jan

Another weird dream, 10: Prolly last of the bunch

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Well, yeah. No one wanted blog posts about dreams, so it is only apt to end the series at 10th.

Recorded as a note on the cellphone at 1:24 AM: building, powerbooks, blackout, scary corridors, cat, ball, adrian, ice, officemates, rgcruz, jove. I was hoping at that time that by noting down keywords, I will remember what I had dreamed about. Anyway, here is how I remember that dream.

I was with friends Adrian and Ice at a building. We were inside a Powerbooks store, and we were just browsing for books. We were about to exit the store when one of us (I can’t remember exactly who) wanted to look for an ebook. So we went back in and looked for the audio section. A power interruption occurred, and it was pitch black for a few minutes, then dark gray – the kind that we see in videos taken using night vision cameras. Then we saw ourselves in a corridor, like the ones you see in theaters, and a black cat was playing with a black ball. Scary. We saw a door, marked with characters and I can’t remember the words now. They were scratched using a pointed object. Opening the door there was a staircase, and we descended one level, only to find some of my officemates. Exiting the building I saw TV news reporters Jove Francisco and RG Cruz.

So at that I woke up and noted some keywords in the cellphone.

That’s it – the last of the series, good while it lasted. I will continue the series under a new title. Dream Chronicles, perhaps? Any suggestions?

5
Jan

Another weird dream, 9

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For this week (yes, a week), my nights have been filled with dreams. Freaking enough, most of them involved cemeteries.

Before that, I think I haven’t shared it yet. I always get death-related dreams, and thankfully enough, they do not involve dying. The dreams involve one of the protagonist to be dead already and in a coffin. And yes, the dead protagonist is always a relative, either alive or deceased in real life.

Anyway, I cannot remember exactly most of the dreams this week, but I remember two, including last night.

In the first dream, I was looking for the place where my maternal uncle was interred. In real life, his remains are in the same building where his maternal grandmother is buried, at Chinese Cemetery. Anyway, in that dream I can’t seem to find the place, since the building was enlarged, almost as large as most columbariums today. I gave up on finding, and I found myself in a parking building besides a wide highway.

Not freaky, I know.

Last night, I was with my parents, and we were looking for transportation. My parents wanted to go somewhere, it was hard to get a ride, and I was advocating that we abandon the trip. But they were insistent and eventually we found a ride. We got to the place – a gated alley full of spider webs, in between two mausoleums. They got in, and on each side I found lathe machines. There was a tomb at the end of the alley. It was small, so most likely it belonged to a child. Then a ghost of a child appeared at the right – the ghost looked like Sadako without the face and the fingers. We lighted a candle and the ghost disappeared. Then I woke up. It was 2AM. I made sure to note it down lest I forget it again.

Happy Halloween, ha ha ha!

4
Jan

Pagtaas patungo sa Enchanted Kingdom

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Nagulat ang marami sa mga tumataya sa Super Lotto 6-49 kahapon. Nagtaas kasing bigla ang presyo sa pagtaya. Dati, sampung piso (Php 10) lamang ang bayad para sa anim na numero; ngayon, dalawampung piso (Php 20) na.

Matatandaan na dati ay sinubukan na ng Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) na taasan ang presyo ng pagtaya sa lahat ng larong lotto. Nagpaskil sila ng mga anunsyo sa mga tayaan ng lotto ukol sa nasabing pagtaas, kaya marami sa mga mananaya ang nagreklamo. Sa sobrang dami, napilitan si Gloria Arroyo na ipahinto ang nasabing pagtaas.

Ngayon natin makikita kung gaano kasuwail ang mga tauhang itinatalaga ng rehimeng Arroyo sa mga opisina ng pamahalaan. Para hindi na makapagreklamo ang mga mananaya, hindi na sila naglabas ng anunsyo ukol sa pagtaas. Hindi ba isa iyang uri ng pagsisinungaling? Ano pa nga ba? Eh iyong mismong punong nagtatalaga ay sinungaling, ano pa ba ang dapat nating asahan?

Mas nakakatuwa ang sinasabing dahilan ng pagtaas. Kailangan daw ng PCSO ng karagdagang pondo para mas marami pa raw ang mapagsilbihan nila. Saka dumoble naman daw ang jackpot prize.

Teka. Bago ang bola kagabi, ang jackpot prize noong Linggo ay nasa Php 50 milyon lamang. Ngayon, ang lumalabas na jackpot prize ay nasa Php 60 milyon. Ang pagtaas ay simula Disyembre 31. Bakit ganun lang ang naging jackpot prize? Di ba dapat mas malaki na kasi bente pesos na ang taya? Hay, ewan.

Kulang sa pondo? Bakit hindi ninyo bawasan ang gastos nyo sa mga anunsyo nyo? Tutal halata naman na ibinebenta nyo lang naman sa tao si Gloria Arroyo. Mas makabubuti siguro na ilaan na lamang ninyo sa mas makabuluhang bagay ang pondo sa pagbayad sa mga anunsyo na si Gloria Arroyo ang pangunahing makikinabang.

Pero baka tama nga ang butihing arsobispo ng Lingayen-Dagupan.

—

Nakakatawa ang mga nangyari kahapon.

Mula sa Twitter twit ni Ederic Eder (ito at ito), nalaman ko na kapag binisita mo kahapon ang mga Web site ng Kagawaran ng Hustisya, PNP-CIDG, at ITECC, dadalhin ka ng Web browser mo sa Web site ng Enchanted Kingdom. Tawa ako nang tawa kahapon.

Kung sino man ang gumawa nito: sana ganyan ang ginawa nyo sa Web site na ito.

Para kay Gloria Arroyo: tanggalin mo na ang mga tagasulat mo ng mga talumpati. Yung paggamit mo ng pariralang “Enchanted Kingdom” sa iyong talumpati ay isang karima-rimarim na katangahan.

2
Jan

Say no to Charter change this year

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Second day of year 2008, and what has the Fortress thrown at us? Chacha (charter change, dummy)!

I admit that our Charter needs some changing, but expect me and others to oppose Chacha. You see, the people at the Fortress are so untrustworthy that hearing the word “chacha” automatically means “beyond 2010” and “Fidel Ramos” for me. The fact that Eduardo Ermita is a known Ramos man adds to the uneasiness. And don’t forget another Chacha dancer named Jose de Venecia.

The reason for Ermita’s comment on Chacha was to facilitate the creation of a Moro federal state, a stumbling block in the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. As I am not well-informed about the Mindanao situation (except for that fact that it hosts some of the poorest provinces, and that it had given us Garcillano, Bedol, and Zubiri), I cannot discuss this topic with enough confidence. However, Chacha is a different story.

Again, Chacha is not that bad. As I have said, some provisions need to be changed or removed. However, there is a general distrust about any moves to amend the Charter. And I can’t blame them. The Fortress has never been forthright on its dealings; it has stonewalled on several issues; it had resorted to dubious means to ensure its hold to power. So it should not be a surprise if people reacts negatively to any Chacha moves this year.

My point is that you can never trust this regime to stick to the Moro federal state as reason for charter change. You can never trust it not to insert provisions that will change the system of government, or to remove term limits, or to remove any impediment for Gloria Arroyo to remain in power beyond 2010. Heck, if you can trust someone who patently and consciously lied, there must be something wrong with you.

In other parts of the world, such distrust would lead to a resignation. Here in the Philippines, you go to hell.

No to Cha-cha this year. No to Cha-cha until Gloria Arroyo is out. Period.

31
Dec

The Yearend List

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I don’t feel like typing today, so I’d rather list down instead.

People/bloggers I met this year:

* Abe Olandres
* AJ Matela
* Benj Espina
* Bro. Vince Celeste
* CVJ
* Dhon Jason de Belen
* Dra. Tess Termulo
* Ederic Eder
* Ellen Tordesillas
* Ivan Harry
* Jeff Villafranca
* Jhay Rocas
* Jove Francisco
* Joyfulchicken and the Chicken Mafia gang
* Juned Sonido
* Mam Janette Toral
* Mam Noemi Dado
* Manolo Quezon
* Marcelle Fabie
* Nalen the Manilenya
* Ricky Refuerzo
* Sasha
* Schumey
* Shari the Misteryosa
* The Jester-in-Exile
* Victor Villanueva

(If I forgot you, say Holla at the comments.)

Events that I had attended:

* The Philippine Blog Awards 2007
* iBlog 3
* Top Ten Emerging Influential Blogs Awarding
* iBlog mini: Blogging and the 2010 Elections
* The Filipina Writing Project awarding

Things I got this year:

* iPod Video 30Gb (won in the PBA 2007 raffle)
* Ganz Klar TV and DVD player (won at the company Christmas raffle)
* Sony Ericsson m600i and P1i
* MSI VR320 K2 laptop

Most memorable things this year:

* Nominated at the Philippine Blog Awards
* Finalist at the Philippine Blog Awards
* Winning that iPod
* Meeting new bloggers
* Pwning Fire Eyed Boy at karting, and totally being pwnd by others he he
* Getting into Twitter

Shame of the year:

* Malu Fernandez
* Benjamin Abalos Sr and the entire Comelec
* UP Sigma Rho fraternity
* Romulo Neri
* Juan Miguel Zubiri
* Email and comment spam
* Aggregators and scrapers
* The 2007 elections
* Gloria Arroyo
* Joseph Estrada
* San Miguel Foods and Jesus Arranza

Happy new year!

31
Dec

ATM blues

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This December, specifically on the week beginning December 17, automated teller machines began conking out. As the long holidays beckoned, ATM outages became common. I actually pitied BPI ATM cardholders. Their cards were next to useless.

I think it was a common sight among BPI ATMs – a piece of paper taped into the machine, telling poor BPI clients that they could only do balance inquiry and bill payments using the ATM. Some of them had paper-taped messages, telling clients of other ATM networks that they could not do any transaction using BPI ATMs. Some ATMs indeed suffered from outages, but BPI’s system clearly had problems this month. Heck, just earlier today, the BPI ATM at Araneta Square in Monumento, Caloocan had that balance inquiry-only message; nearby, a Robinsons Bank ATM was online and was serving non-Robinsons cardholders (I used my PNB card and I got money).

And to think these banks had the gall to charge for every transaction made using ATMs. They could not even serve their customers right.

Do you have any exasperating experience with ATMs this season? Blurt it out in the comments. Specially if you are a BPI account holder.

—

I know, not a good thing to end the year. But some things need to be said. Anyway, happy new year! May you have complete limbs by tomorrow.

28
Dec

Kababuyan, 3

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Mukhang di pa talaga tapos ang pambababoy na ginagawa sa mga magsasaka ng Sumilao.

Bagamat inilagay na sa ilalim ng Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) ang 144-ektaryang lupain na kasalukuyang pagmamay-ari ng San Miguel Foods (SMFI), hindi pa tapos ang laban. Pagkatapos ng Pasko, nagpalabas ng mga anunsyo sa mga pahayagan ang SMFI ukol sa isyu.

Gusto ko mang talakayin ang isyu na ito, may nauna na sa akin, at hindi matatawaran ang talino ng taong tumuligsa sa anunsyo ng SMFI. Pakibasa ang isinulat ng isa sa mga aking iginagalang na blogger, ang lukayong layas. At ito pa ang isang magandang artikulo na sinulat ng isang manunulat ng Philippine Collegian.

At hindi pa riyan natatapos ang lahat. Humihirit na naman si Jesus Arranza, pangulo ng Federation of Philippine Industries at tagapagsalita ng SMFI, at tinira ang kilalang eksperto sa batas na si Fr. Joaquin Bernas. Dapat yata ay magdebate ang dalawa, nang makita ni Arranza na di nya alam ang sinasabi nya. Jesus pa naman ang pangalan nya.

28
Dec

Annoyance of the Week: LOLCAT UI message

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For an American brand, this message is horrible. Or maybe not.

Or, most likely, the job was outsourced to China.

26
Dec

Decide now

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The year is about to end, and a new one is coming. So many things have happened, yet more remained the same. Is it time for a change?

If you are tired of what’s going on, have you done something to make things better? We are so enamored on looking for our own welfare, we forget about the others, we forget about our social and political institutions. One of them fails, and say goodbye to your own well-being. As part of this group called society, we can better serve our own welfare by making sure our institutions work. By making things better, our own life becomes better. That is why it is essential that do our own fair share.

It all begins with a conscious decision, and sticking to it. First, you must convince yourself that a better society means a better life for you. If you can’t convince yourself, then the status quo is for you and there’s no need to think further. But if you are convinced, then you must have an idea on what kind of life you are getting into. It will not be the same, comfortable, cozy, lazy life that you are used to. It demands your utmost attention. It demands time. It needs critical thinking. It means additional work.

For example, using the pedestrian overpass. On my way home, I have to cross the overpass, and walk several meters BACK to get home. Inefficient, I know. Most of us think that way, so what most of us do is to cross the street, risking our lives for efficiency. But if you meet an accident by crossing the street illegally (Heaven forbid), efficiency goes out the window. You become inefficient, heck, even inefficient PERMANENTLY.

As you can see, doing our fair share to make things better involves a conscious, critical thinking. We keep on equating efficiency with laziness that we cannot see what true efficiency means. This kind of thinking requires hard work. That is why it is a conscious decision. We cannot just decide YES. It is a conscious decision because it is a decision that we have to make every minute of our lives.

Then stick with that decision. Sticking with the decision also means convincing others to do the same. It will be more hard work, but there’s no other way of doing it.

Sticking with the decision to do your share is hard when you see others to be apathetic. It can be a real downer. But I always remind myself that if I succumb to these downers, I lose. My life will continue as it is, and I might as well migrate. But that would also mean I am a loser. I am not. You are not. Again, if you let others dictate what you will do, you will leave a comfortable life. And you will be stuck, when you can have better. Downers are there, so it is more hardwork sticking with your decision.

This is not easy. There is no guarantee of success, and you might not live long enough to see results. If you let those deter you, then you are not unlike the 80 million others. That is why we always end up in the same muck where we began. Breaking that cycle begins by making that decision. Soon, if not now.