Category Archives: Ink

Words are more than just a combination of letters

29
Nov

Trillanes, Lim at Makati: Another coup?

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Something’s happening at Makati right now. It seems that Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV together with Gen. Danilo Lim have walked out of the coup hearing at Makati RTC. They are now walking along Ayala Avenue.

I dunno, but I think the soldiers guarding them have switched to Magdalo, too.

Will the people go there when called? It is up to you, I guess, but think of the risks first.

It seems that this is carefully planned: look here:

SENATOR ANTONIO TRILLANES, BRIG. GEN. DANILO LIM, MAGDALO SOLDIERS, THEIR GUARDS AND THE PEOPLE ARE NOW IN MANILA PENINSULA.

THE PEOPLE ARE CALLED UPON TO CONVERGE IN MAKATI TRIANGLE, AYALA AND MAKATI AVENUE NOW TO BRING FORTH A NEW GOVERNMENT!

For those who hate Trillanes et al so much, it is time to take that illogical rage into action. It is time to stop yakking and it is time to start walking the talk. Here’s my humble suggestion. Create placards that says “Trillanes shut up”, “Die, Trillanes!” or whatever, then go to Makati. Gloria Arroyo will be very delighted.

NEWS UPDATES:

ABS-CBN News: Trillanes, Lim call for Arroyo’s removal
GMA News: Trillanes, Lim walk out of court, call for ouster of Arroyo

29
Nov

Disaster (un)preparedness

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Last Tuesday’s earthquake had shown that the emergency evacuation measures we have are inadequate. Heck, our reaction (or should I say, inaction) was even nonchalant, as if nothing happened. This is a terrible character flaw on our part; when we act, it is almost too late.

It is a damned-if-you-do situation: you do preemptive action, and when nothing happens, you get blamed. When you do nothing and disaster happens, you get blamed. The entry of typhoons Lando and Mina are instructive. Lando managed to ravage the country, though it steered clear of Bicol. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) predicted that Mina may pass by Bicol, so emergency evacs were made. When Mina steered away from Bicol, PAGASA was blamed for faulty prediction.

No wonder government officials would rather react than act. But this should not be the case. As the tired quote says, it is better to err on the side of caution.

The typhoons and the earthquake highlighted some facets of the Filipino culture. Basically, our nonchalance, our passiveness about disaster prevention are manifestation of the so-called bahala na syndrome. We are very prone to it.

It will take another major disaster before we wake up from this stupor. By then, it will be too late. Again.

(The worst Philippine disaster in recent memory were brought about by typhoons – in Leyte and in Bicol.)

—

I have heard a lot of anecdotes from friends about last Tuesday, all of them troubling. They did not bother evacuating. “Mahina lang naman eh,” most of them said. That is not the point. The possibility of aftershocks are there. The possibility of stronger aftershocks are there. That is why emergency evacuations are always made. But we always want to learn the hard way, right?

If you work in a tall building, do you know what to do in case of earthquake or fire? Do you know where the emergency exits are? Does your company have emergency, evac, and restoration measures in place?

For the record, we did an evac, though much remains to be desired.

27
Nov

A tale of two losers

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Such losers.

—-

After Sen. Manuel Roxas II’s election as president of the Liberal Party, here comes the Arroyo saboteur Lito Atienza crying his heart out. He even has this to say:

Congratulations, Sen. Roxas, at your installation as president of the Liberal Party faction led by Frank Drilon and his merry cabal of destabilizers. We were hoping we would be congratulating Mar as our president, the head of a newly-united Liberal Party, but it seems the worst fears of our group became reality after all.

He then ranted on about LP being finally divided, etc.

Mr. Atienza: who caused the division of the party? Who went on to have a rump, unofficial, illegal party elections? Who tried to sabotage the party by subverting it to Gloria Arroyo’s regime?

Sure, go ahead and sue. Let’s see who the true losers are. (Yeah, the fact that you have the environment portfolio speaks for itself.)

—

Let’s have a wimp for another poor loser.

Speaker Jose de Venecia is in the hot seat for the past two months. His troubles began when his son, Jose de Venecia III, began his exposes against the National Broadband Network project (in the process, Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos Sr. was forced to resign, faced with imminent impeachment). To test his loyalty, de Venecia faced two crucial questions.

First, Atty. Roel “Palyado” Pulido filed an ethics case against de Venecia, at the height of the younger de Venecia’s exposes. Then, he filed a three-page impeachment complaint against Gloria Arroyo. It seems that the gameplay was simple: have the impeachment complaint dismissed or else.

JDV tried to be cute for all when he asked Representative Raul del Mar to transmit the complaint to the House Justice committee, in a way giving the Fortress by the Pasig a scare. Well, the dogs were compliant: committee killed the complaint. Then, the plenary buried it.

JDV should be in the clear now, right? Wrong. That’s how vindictive this regime is.

Not only is the ethics complaint festering at his back, the Office of the Solicitor General is reviewing a compromise agreement made by a company owned by JDV and the Presidential Commission on Good Goverment in 1988. Of course, the Solicitor General immediately claimed that this is not politically motivated. The deal was made in 1988. Great timing, madam solicitor.

(I am not even dealing with the Northrail project.)

And de Venecia? Ever the martyr, cries foul, says that the Supreme Court has already ruled on the case with finality. His lawyer, Singaw ng Bayan sycophant Raul Lambino branded the move as political harassment.

My grandmother used to say: do not deal with the devil. (To counterbalance that for atheists: do not deal with cheats.) So there.

—

Who’s the loser from all of this? All of us. At the end of the day, it is us who are screwed.

23
Nov

Cris Anthony Mendez: Back to normal

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We really tend to have short memories. Or we are just too lazy to remember.

Months after the death of Cris Anthony Mendez from the barbaric tradition called hazing, nothing much has changed. First, unlike the dispatch shown by the ever consistent Philippine National Police on solving the Glorietta and Batasan blasts, no one has been charged with the crime. Very consistent. Second, most of the suspects are already in hiding or have already left the country. The guilty really hides from the truth. And the worst? It is all back to normal.

I have mixed feelings about the University of the Philippines. It is a bastion of student activism. It leads the charge against corruption. But it suffers from the proverbial pointing cliche – that when you point at someone, three fingers are pointing at you. And as they say in Tagalog, “Bago mo husgahan ang kapwa mo, tingnan mo muna ang sarili mo.” I really want to say that to all members of the UP community. Remember all those candles? All those marches? All those talks of remembering, etc, yada yada? Yet what have you to show?

Fraternities in UP are tumors that are hard to remove.

I am troubled by what my sources in UP Diliman have told me. Some of them said the same things, some of them have verified facts, and some of them gave me rumors. I will be posting what I have learned here, and the rumors will be clearly marked as RUMORS until such time I have verified them through multiple sources.

Some of my sources told me that the Sigma Rhoans are back at their usual tambayan, at the Malcolm Hall parking lot, now that the outcry is gone. Remember that some news reports showed an empty tambayan right after Mendez’ death was announced, and remained empty when the outcry was at its peak. Now, they are back.

Delta Lambda Sigma sorority is also busy recruiting. Fact: DLS is the affiliate of Sigma Rho. Fact: DLS is disassociating themselves with Sigma Rho. Good for them.

RUMOR: Sigma Rho is again recruiting new lambs to be slaughtered. It is also rumored that the Sigma Rho are taking a closer look at the LAE examinees for possible recruits. One of the sources noted the irony that Cris Mendez would have been one of the examinees.

RUMOR: A UP College of Law professor has been kicked out, apparently being involved in CA’s case. Still verifying this rumor.

RUMOR: Other fraternities are taking advantage of Sigma Rho’s “absence” last academic semester. Scintilla Juris is rumored to be raring to regain prominence in Malcolm Hall. In what way, the sources did not say. Hopefully not by another hazing death. Or a rumble. Speaking of which…

RUMOR: A rumble is about to erupt soon. Several sources have shared this rumor, but some of them have refused to say who are the parties to be involved; some sources gave different names. But all of them agree that a rumble may happen soon.

RUMOR: It seems that a new Law dean is to be selected, and one factor that weighs in heavily on the selection is the issue of fraternities. It is a hot issue, some of my sources told me. Interesting bit, if true.

RUMOR: The most troubling, for its implication: Sigma Rho has a Cris Mendez defense fund large enough to buy several judges, if necessary. THIS IS A RUMOR. But to be honest, with the way CA’s case has moved, this is very plausible.

I will try to verify these rumors and seek more information from other sources.

Roundup of news on Cris Mendez’ case: Cris Anthony Mendez: The Search for Justice
Roundup of blog post on Cris Mendez’ death: The true barbarians of UP (UPDATED)

PS: If I die at UP, you know the reason why. ;P

21
Nov

Typical response

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Stimulus: World Bank defers loan, probes graft

Response: Palace blames World Bank

World Bank v. The Fortress by the Pasig. Sa pula o sa puti?

(Will expand this post when I get the time.)

19
Nov

The Church and the State

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For the longest time, a rational population management policy eludes the Philippine government due to the rabid opposition by the Roman Catholic hierarchy. So it is not a surprise when a councilor in Quezon City is met by stiff opposition by the Church (like this one: Cubao bishop opposes proposed QC population policy).

Historically, the Church and the State were intertwined since the Spanish colonization of these islands (some would even dare say that the Church and the State were one and the same). The arrival of the Americans and the invasion by the Japanese were just great interruptions in the relationship. It is therefore not surprising that the Church exercises great influence in the government. And it exercises that influence well.

Everyone who knows his Constitution will argue that this influence is crossing a thin line defined by the Separation clause (Article II, Section 6), to wit:

The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.

However, I will not condemn the Church for its rabid opposition to birth control, rational or scientific its reasons or not notwithstanding. The Bill of Rights has this to say about religious freedom:

Section 5. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights.

I believe that the Church, through its people, is exercising a right guaranteed by the Constitution. I cannot blame them if they oppose birth control with a fervor of an army ready to do battle with the enemy. Not only they are entitled to express opposition, they are also entitled to express their religious belief. And that includes the usual political gimmick (blackmail, pressure, to name a few). I will not begrudge them for their religious belief.

I will not give the same leniency to the government. Specifically, Gloria Arroyo.

Article 2, Section has this to say:

The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception. The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the support of the Government.

Note the phrase “the life of the unborn FROM CONCEPTION” (emphasis mine). As you can see, the Constitution is clear that it will protect the unborn upon conception. Conception is defined loosely as when a sperm cell fertilizes an egg cell (Wikipedia). There is no constitutional barrier that prevents the government from instituting artificial family planning methods. But what prevents this government from doing so?

There are several issues that needs to be cleared here.

1. Does a president have the right to impose his religious conviction on the nation? Hell, NO! That is tantamount to establishing a state religion, which is expressly forbidden by the Constitution.
2. Does the government have the right to impose a policy that is clearly in violation of one’s religious belief? The answer is unclear at this point – we will need a court case to establish a solid answer. I think the answer is generally no; refer to Article III, Section 5 as stated above.

That’s why I wondered why no one challenged Lito Atienza when he banned the distribution of condoms and similar materials from Manila’s health centers. I think what he did what patently illegal, since his reason is religious in nature. This is the same reason why the Department of Health and the Population Commission are not pushing hard for artificial family planning methods. And this I condemn with strong words. This is the Catholic Taliban in action. The government is not even promoting such use only because it is against Gloria Arroyo’s religious belief.

Let me clear things out in closing.

1. The Church has every right to oppose artificial family planning methods and the Government from instituting such policy. However, the Church is limited to such opposition but doesn’t have the right to disrupt the Government from doing its job (specially when what the Government is doing is legal). It doesn’t have the right to impose its beliefs on the State.
2. The Government has every right to institute policies that will protect the people’s well being. However, it doesn’t have the right to impose a policy that is clearly against a person’s religious belief. (This is a gray area, specially when “imminent danger” is invoked.)
3. Gloria Arroyo, Lito Atienza, and other members of the Catholic Taliban have no right to impose their religious beliefs to anyone. They have no right to use the executive powers granted to them by the Constitution and the laws to “obfuscate” religious belief as government policy.
4. Every Filipino is free to choose what he wants, within the limits of the Constitution and his religious beliefs. Neither the Government nor the Church has the right to impose their beliefs on a Filipino citizen. If a citizen desires to use artificial family planning methods, the Government and/or the Church can’t stop him.

The Government must promote (not push) artificial family planning to those who are willing to use it. It should not be denied to those who need it most. I believe that the policy should be of promotion, not institutionalization.

—

This post was made in reaction to The Jester-in-Exile’s post on the same topic.

19
Nov

Do you feel the self-righteous torment?

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Have you seen that fugly “Ramdam ko ang pag-asenso” (I feel the progress) TV ad (well, I only saw one)? You know, I want to interview each and everyone who appeared and talked in that commercial. I want to pick their brains. I want to establish that they were taking hallucinogens. I want to see their ITRs and 2316s. I want to see their bank records, billing records, records of property ownership, payslips. I want them to look at me straight in the eye, and repeat what they had said on TV. I want to be sure that what they were spewing at the TV were true.

The fact that the advertiser is unidentified raises more questions that answers. It is obviously a government ad, what with the quality and utter disregard for the truth. Hiding in anonymity is trademark Arroyo regime.

How about you? Ramdam mo na ba ang pag-asenso? I surely do not.

—

A self-righteous Filipino sent a self-righteous letter to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, protesting on her innocence, claiming that she is not guilty over the death of Mariannet Amper, nor she feels any remorse whatsoever. I pity her, not for her self-righteous apathy and arrogance. I pity her because of her glaring ignorance of how a government operates.

She threw the book, the sink, the toilet bowl, everything, on the Gloria Arroyo administration, claiming that it is the Arroyo regime’s fault. I would have gladly joined her, except that she has to answer a simple question first: if Gloria Arroyo is at fault, what had she done about it?

I will not be surprised if she had elected Gloria Arroyo in 2004.

—

It seems that the Armed Forces of the Philippines has really did it this time.

The years 2006-2007 have been a banner year when it comes to extra-judicial killing and forced disappearances. Victims are mostly linked with the left, suggesting a Red Banner witch hunt, and all fingers point at the military. There is even a poster boy of Red Banner witch hunt – Jovito Palparan, nicknamed “The Butcher” (the nickname that can safely be given to Stalin). The Arroyo regime formed the Melo Commission to investigate such killings and disappearances. While the Commission recommended that Palparan be investigated, its other findings are unknown, and no other concrete actions were taken by the regime.

The Supreme Court had to take action, calling an unprecedented all-hands, all-stakeholders summit, and then issuing new rules based on the findings and recommendations made in that summit. One of the new rules is the implementation of a writ of amparo, or writ of protection. Said to be more powerful than the writ of habeas corpus (specifically stated in the Charter), the rules regarding the writ no longer allow the respondent to simply deny the fact. The habeas corpus’ main defect is that it allows the respondent to simply deny the fact that he has the person being petitioned to be produced.

It seems that the AFP is really engaging in clearly illegal activities.

In several amparo cases filed, two persons have been produced since the rules regarding the writ of amparo were promulgated. If these two people are criminals, how come charges are not filed against them? Why engage in torture?

The protector of the people has become the tormentor. Tsk.

16
Nov

Another diva senator

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Juan Miguel Zubiri is making the people who “elected” him proud.

In the Senate’s investigation on the Fortress cash buffet, the Senator of Maguindanao called for an end to the investigation since there was nothing illegal in what had happened in the Fortress. Very bright boy, isn’t he? The Comelec people from Maguindanao must be very proud of their work.

Unfortunately for Zubiri, Majority Floor Leader Senator Francis Pangilinan disagreed. They had a heated exchange of words, so heated that Zubiri asked for a suspension of the hearing so that Pangilinan could cool down. Pangilinan was not cowered.

In the end, imitating another useless self-confessed liar of a senator, Zubiri, the distinguished Senator of Maguindanao, walked out of the hearing.

Bravo.

16
Nov

Diving into mud

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Our government officials are really funny.

Mariannet Amper’s case must have strucked a raw nerve. Too much mud thrown on several faces, police are now searching for reasons why a 12-year old killed herself. For some people, killing yourself just because you are poor is kind of illogical, unreasonable, and not enough a reason to kill oneself. I will not dispute some people’s assertion about the reason that led to the suicide. I will not even speculate on the reasons why. The kid is dead.

With mud in their faces, specially Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, the police has exhumed the girl’s body for autopsy. Not content with mud, they dived directly into the mud.

Why? Suicide is a police matter. They should have investigated it as a case, they should have the body autopsied before allowing it to be buried. The fact that the police did not speaks loudly of what kind of police force we have. As if they are telling us that they are having an investigation as an afterthought, to dispute the poverty-as-reason angle.

While the initial post-burial investigation showed that it was possible that the child was molested, it does not dispute the facts in the child’s diary. Unless, of course, the diary’s a forgery. I will not be surprised if the police tackles THAT angle next.

There are lots of reasons why a person commits suicide. Heck, you can’t even compute the combination of reasons. But the most common denominator among suicide cases is that the person was depressed. Poverty can make someone depressed, trust me. And if the kid was molested….

14
Nov

Very naughty, PDI

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(Image grabbed from Erwin Rafael)