TGIF

Friday night--a time to catch one's breath after a hectic week. When a school girl is allowed to be on the computer far later, since there will be no classes on the morrow. When young ones let down their hair in places where the young ones congregate. Where do they congregate nowadays anyway? They used to dance away in discos, until that disco place burned down, along with its customers.

For the old ones, staying at home unencumbered by thoughts of any form of work is simply enough. Once upon a time, home is the last place they wanted to be. But aging and slowing down have taken their toll: nowadays they leave enjoyment and backbreaking work to younger ones who can still enjoy and work.

It's been 13 days since September 26, when Metro Manilans were in for the rudest shock of their lives--floods unseen since Noah, took over their homes, their cars, their very existence. Metro Manilans, though, were spared by the later typhoon Pepeng. But not people in Pangasinan, La Union, Baguio City, who got a taste of what Metro Manilans underwent during those infamous days. This is the essence of equitable distribution of punishment, if punishment it is for abusing nature, for cutting trees relentlessly, building houses and malls in places where they shouldn't, throwing their wastes where they shouldn't, practicing irresponsible parenthood. These are the sins, and they were paid for. They are not sins in the religious sense, they are sins of commission and omission; not crimes in the legal sense, they are crimes against nature and ecology. Apart from the sympathy one feels for the innocent ones, there is a certain satisfaction that one gets when a malefactor gets his just desserts.

But we're sounding too much like the Anthony Comstocks and the Kenneth Starkes.

Let's just hope--vainly, we know--that we have learned our lessons. In fact, we should be more assertive, and demand more of the officials who have done everything but the very jobs they are paid for. It's an uphill and Sisyphean task to extract from them performance. I fear that like Cassandra, those who see only too clearly the end of life as we know it, will be ignored in favor of the facile and falsely soothing promises made by people who don't care for nature, for people, or posterity.

Relocate settlers, clear waterways - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Relocate settlers, clear waterways - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

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On Chavit and his common-law wife

The world has truly turned upside down. A guy has five children and so many years with his common-law wife, and because he philanders, according to his common-law wife, she turns around and does the same thing herself. When the guy catches the wife's boyfriend in the condo/townhome that he provides for her, he beats her up and his bodyguards take care of the boyfriend. Does the media sympathize with him, or condemn his wife? On the contrary, they condemn him and sympathize with the wife.

Of course, so many factors come into play here, some of which we aren't even aware of. But of the factors that the media has chosen to openly disclose, we know that the guy, who's a cabinet member of the present government, has beat up his wife, the wife has filed a formal complaint in court, and some are asking whether the guy has used government resources in having the wife followed secretly. The last is probably the reason why media has stepped into what is basically a domestic dispute, or an LQ, a lovers' quarrel, in the words of younger ones.

Domestic disputes are usually left to the will and disposition of the involved parties. The reason for this is that, as everyone knows, these disputes don't last very long, not unless one of the parties, usually the woman, is on the throes of death. When she is not, these disputes usually end in reconciliation. Thus, anyone who makes the mistake of siding with either the male or the female, is usually left holding the sympathy bag while the lovers walk off into the sunset--certainly not a very pleasant prospect for anyone who doesn't really care who was at fault but who was cornered into sympathizing.

The law steps in only when, as in this case, one of the parties brings in the court, by filing a case; or when, unfortunately, the quarrel ends in extreme violence, even death. So the Chavit-Tiongson case came to the attention of the public at large only because Ms Tiongson chose to make it so. And because of that, people have been taking sides, which is the natural reaction when anything becomes publicized.

Ms Tiongson has Gabriela and outspoken feminists like Dr. Minguita Padilla, prominent ophthalmologist who, if I recall correctly, was Loren Legarda's classmate in grade school/high school.

On Chavit's side: some military and policemen who agreed with his reaction. Some are even saying it's good he didn't kill her. Not even Senator Manny Villar, obviously a male, agreed. He was even quoted as saying that one doesn't do that to women.

Gabriela, Liza Maza and Dra. Padilla are quite articulate, which is why Ms Tiongson has been getting a sympathetic treatment from the press. One may contrast this with the one-liners and, I imagine, guttural reactions from the military and police.

(To be continued)

The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey by Aesop A Man and his son were once going with their Donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side a countryman passed them and said: "You fools, what is a Donkey for but to ride upon?" So the Man put the Boy on the Donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said: "See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides." So the Man ordered his Boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn't gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: "Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along." Well, the Man didn't know what to do, but at last he took his Boy up before him on the Donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The Man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said: "Aren't you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey of yoursu and your hulking son?" The Man and Boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey's feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the Donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the Boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the Donkey fell over the bridge, and his fore-feet being tied together he was drowned.

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"That will teach you," said an old man who had followed them: "Please all, and you will please none." ******************** Our particular episode begins when Cory passed away and inspired a wave of sympathy that was only seen before in Ninoy's own funeral march. The wave was so tidal that it propelled her children, esp. her only son, Noynoy, to the forefront of the political scene. After some days had passed, former Senator Jovito Salonga was reported to have said that a Mar Roxas-Noynoy Aquino tandem should prove to be, politically, a winning combination. On the heels of this pronouncement, columnist William Esposo, known for his column, "As I Wreck This Chair", devoted an entire column saying that ex-Sen. Salonga is not particularly known for his marketing skills. According to Mr Esposo, a Noynoy-Mar tandem, with Noynoy as the presidential candidate, would be more "marketable". For reasons that are obvious to other columnists, like Mar's sluggish ratings in SWS and Pulse Asia Surveys, Mar Roxas announced that he would drop out of the presidential race to give way to Noynoy. After a retreat with the Pink Sisters, and after Cory's 40th day, Noynoy announced his acceptance of the challenge to run for President. Unlike in 1986, however, when every opposition leader gave way to Cory, the present-day oppositionists, who have been campaigning unofficially since everyone can remember, have not given way. Still in the running are Villar, number 1 in all surveys, Escudero, Legarda, and, most outspoken of all, Estrada. The political landscape has been reconfigured, but not that dramatically. So the political 'pundits' (columnists' favorite word, it seems) are back to the drawing board, analyzing why things haven't 'fallen into place', as they did in 1986. Some are even saying that Mar Roxas shouldn't even have prematurely dropped out of the running for president, as he has more political experience than Noynoy. The latter, they say, should have first tried his hand at the vice-presidency, a more logical and more achievable option than his quantum leap from an unremarkable stint as Senator to President. The situation is so fluid that succeeding events may prove to defy logic and good intentions. Noynoy may win--who knows? But as of the moment, Villar seems the favorite, even of the 'ruling party leaders', who are not named. De Castro is mulling over his next step. His decision to run may further muddle the presidential derby. If he doesn't, or if he settles for a lower post, that simplifies matters, at least where the "presidentiables' are concerned. How will the story end? Whose ending will be happy, and whose full of regrets? Will there be an election at all, or will there be a No-El, 5 months after the real Noel? We should not count out the present leadership, who has proven adept at riding the crest of each and every public outcry. However the story ends, I'm sure of only one thing: there's no happy ending for the Filipinos, whose propensity for naive and fairy-tale endings seems to ensure that such endings shall forever elude them. # Copyright Ethel P David 2009

Against the media's mandate by Emil Jurado

guest columnist for today, sep 12'09 is emil jurado Against the media’s mandate There’s an attempt on the part of the Corystas and Yellow fanatics to create a bandwagon for the Liberal Party’s standard-bearer for the presidency, Senator Noynoy Aquino. They are trying to resurrect the Cory Magic. They were all there when Noynoy announced his bid. Noynoy’s sisters, the nuns and priests who were advising him, the Liberal Party senators including Senator Mar Roxas, who has yet to announce his acceptance of Noynoy’s invitation to be his running mate. There were also members of the so-called Hyatt 10, who are salivating for power and aiming for some posts if (and that’s a big if) Noynoy becomes president. There were representatives of the Makati Business Club and just about everybody else who can flash the Laban sign and sing “Bayan Ko.” Noynoy’s bid for the presidency is fueled merely by emotion. Track record, competence and qualification are set aside. There is even a movement for the collection of P1 to fund his campaign. Just how far this P1-drive can go on the grassroots level is illusory since the Liberal Party hardly has a nationwide presence. And time is working against Noynoy if he only starts working to get masa support now. Santa Banana, that is the reality of Philippine politics. Noynoy’s followers must be dumb to believe that the Cory Magic is all it takes to be president. * * * If you watch the ABS-CBN News Channel and read my favorite national broadsheet-tabloid as regularly as I do, you will notice that their news items are slanted to favor Noynoy. This is understandable. The late President Cory Aquino gave Meralco and ABS-CBN back to the Lopezes after the Edsa Revolution. On the other hand, my favorite national broadsheet-tabloid is grateful to the Aquinos for that P47-million PNB loan it got under Cory and the 25-year lease the Prietos-Rufinos acquired for their Sunvar, Creekside, Mile Long prime property in Makati. This is the same property that the government now wants back. Having been a journalist for more than half a century, I am disturbed by this betrayal of the mandate on media to be fair and truthful in reporting the news. These media organizations are now being used as tools to boost somebody’s bid for the presidency. I agree that there’s no law against media outfits siding with somebody in an election campaign. In the US, the reputable New York Times and Washington Post always tend to favor the Democrats. But, my gulay, ABS-CBN of the Lopezes and my favorite broadsheet-tabloid are no longer reporting news! They are becoming propaganda vehicles! I’ve never seen such heavy bias before. * * * There are talks about a doomsday scenario in case there’s a failure of elections in 2010 with the yet-untried full automation of the polls. These are all speculative, of course, but they make good topics for discussion in board rooms and coffee shops. Some say that a failure of election is likely. The Comelec needs at least 160,000 encoders for some 80,000 clustered precincts nationwide. Add to this the fact that the Smartmatic machines are good only for 12 hours. There could be instances where the clustered precincts votes cannot be counted. There are also fears that local politicians can always stop the counting of votes by the machines in precincts where they believe they are losing. These and many more possibilities hound full automation. It’s actually fear of the unknown. We have become so used to the manual system. * * * Granting without assuming that there would be failure of elections, what then? Section 7, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution provides the chain of succession just in case a President fails to get elected. The Senate president comes next, and then the Speaker of the House of Representatives. In the case of the Senate, Juan Ponce Enrile is up for re-election, which leaves the remaining 12 senators still in their three-year for a six-year term. But that doesn’t make a quorum of 12 senators. Speaker Prospero Nograles is ineligible for re-election and so the House of Representatives would have no leader. In short, we would come to a situation where the chain of succession in case of a failure of election doesn’t exist. Santa Banana, what then? This is where all those doomsday scenarios come in. Some say that the military would now come in and have a junta take over. Naturally, as Commander-in-Chief, President Arroyo will head that junta since under the Constitution, she’s still President until June 30, 2010. In a scenario like this, there’s talk that the United States may intervene. Will the US affirm such a junta or will it not? That’s the big question. The presence of some 600 Americans in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi is a reality and makes speculations more interesting. American foreign policy is dependent on its own national interests. And US interests include control of the South China Sea. * * * It is good to note that the synergy of Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes and Philippine National Oil Co. president Tony Cailao on behalf of the state-run PNOC has done wonders. Since its chartered creation in 1973, the PNOC, to date, has remitted to the national government a total of P139 billion, P89 billion or 84 percent of which has been done in the last one and half years under Cailao’s presidency. In 2007 alone PNOC remitted a total of P65 billion, contributing to the decrease of the budget deficit to P9.4 billion, the lowest ever in the previous 10 years. It eclipsed the lowest-deficit years of both the Ramos and Estrada administrations. By year-end of 2009, the total contribution is seen at P156 billion with P106 billion or 68 percent realized under Cailao’s term. If the 40-percent stake of PNOC-Exploration Corp. is sold, the numbers would be P167 billion and P117 billion, respectively. This places PNOC as the biggest government-owned and -controlled corporation contributor to the national government. It is a prominence gained only in the last one and a half years, with Reyes as chairman and Cailao as president. For perspective, the P117-billion contribution of PNOC in the last one and a half years is equivalent to 15 percent of the government’s total revenues of P778 billion in 2008. So it is sad to note that despite PNOC’s contributions to the national government, agency officials still practically have to beg Congress for budget approval. Just why this anomaly has not been corrected is rather surprising. It’s a great injustice to PNOC. This is something for “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.” * * * I got a copy of City of Manila Ordinance 8187, which amended Ordinance 8119, where the Supreme Court ruled the transfer of the Pandacan oil depot to be done over five years. According to the Court, the presence of the depot posed a great danger to neighboring residents in case of violence or terrorism. Ordinance 8187 now says that the Pandacan oil depot can stay on since it has amended the earlier ordinance that the area around the depot is a medium industrial zone and heavy industrial zone. I went over the ordinance, and I’m surprised as it listed petroleum refineries and oil depots as “highly pollutive/ extremely hazardous industries.” Santa Banana, how can oil depots like that in Pandacan be allowed to continue even within a medium and industrial zone and heavy industrial zone when they are extremely dangerous and hazardous? That’s stupid to say the least!

Copyright Manila Standard Today 2005-2009

The Noynoy Bandwagon by Antonio C Abaya

guest blogger for today, september 11, 2009, is mr antonio 'tony' abaya

The Noynoy Bandwagon
By Antonio C. Abaya
Written on Sept. 09, 2009
For the Standard Today,
September 10 issue



Within ten days after Sen. Mar Roxas' withdrawal from the presidential race in
May 2010, in favor of Sen. Noynoy Aquino, a bandwagon of sorts is off to a
creaky start.

First to announce their withdrawal in favor of Noynoy were Pampanga Gov. Among
Ed Panlilio and Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca, both contenders massaged by the Kaya
Natin! movement under Harvey Keh in the Ateneo. But how much of a plus was this?

In the nationwide public opinion survey conducted by Pulse Asia between July 28
and August 10, 2009, Gov. Panlilio drew only 0.4 of one percent (or only about
72 votes out of a universe of 1,800 respondents).

Gov. Padaca was not even included in that Pulse Asia survey. She had apparently
been enticed by the expectation that she would be the vice-presidential
candidate of Gov. Panlilio. When that expectation did not materialize, like a
true-blue Pinay, Gov. Padaca formed her own political movement called Kayang
Kaya! which nominated her as its presidential bet in 2010, and her
farmer-supporters contributed to the party kitty by donating pigs, chickens,
vegetables and other agriculture produce.

About a week later, another presidential contender withdrew in favor of Noynoy,
this time it was J.C. de los Reyes, municipal councilor in Olongapo City, the
presidential candidate of the Ang Kapatiran party organized by my friend Nandy
Pacheco in 2004.

But in the Pulse Asia survey, JC drew only 0.10 of one percent (or only about 18
votes out of 1,800).

Evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva, who drew only one percent (or about 180 votes
out of 1,800) refused to withdraw. Environmentalist Nicky Perlas who scored zero
in the Pulse Asia survey (or not a single vote out of 1,800) also refused to
withdraw.

Perlas instead urged Noynoy to resign from the Liberal Party and lead a citizens
movement for what he calls New Politics, not necessarily as a presidential
contender.. .

So as a result of these three withdrawals in his favor, Noynoy, who was not
included in the survey, won 90 votes (72 plus 18), or half of one percent, from
those 1,800 respondents. Assuming 40 million voters in May 2010, Noynoy could
get 200,000 additional votes from the supporters of Panlilio, Padaca and JC.

Of course, Noynoy is going to win many times more than 200,000 votes in May
2010, assuming he decides to pursue his presidential ambitions, which – as of
this writing – seems quite certain. Especially since he is the favorite
candidate of media giants ABS-CBN and the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

But my point is that unless the major players – Manny Villar, Noli de Castro,
Joseph Estrada, Chiz Escudero – withdraw in his favor, the Noynoy Bandwagon will
not be able to gather enough momentum to cross the finish line ahead of everyone
else. Will any of the majors withdraw in his favor?

Manny Villar, who drew 28 points (or 504 votes out of 1,800) definitely will
not.

Noli de Castro, who drew 16 points (or 288 votes out of 1,800) is not likely to
do so either. It is possible the Lopezes of ABS-CBN can exert moral pressure on
someone who owes his political career to them, but he would likely ask to be
Noynoy's vice-presidential candidate. Where would that put Mar Roxas?

Joseph Estrada, who drew 19 points (or 342 votes out of 1,800) and who has said
many times that he would run for president if the opposition cannot unite under
one candidate, is also unlikely to withdraw in favor of Noynoy.

But hope can spring eternal.. Perhaps Noynoy's aunt, Tessie Aquino-Oreta, an
Erap ally, who famously danced her jig when the Senate tribunal voted down an
order opening The Envelope during Erap's impeachment trial, can prevail upon the
convicted plunderer to withdraw in favor of Noynoy. But in the unlikely event
that Erap agrees, he would most likely demand that his son Jinggoy be Noynoy's
vice. Where would that put Mar Roxas?

Or Noynoy's handlers can woo Erap by reminding him that Noynoy's mother Cory
publicly apologized for leading the street protests in January 2001 calling for
the ouster of Erap. The sentimental Erap may succumb to such entreaties, but he
would likely still ask for the VP position for Jinggoy. Where would that leave
the statesman Mar?

Chiz Escudero, who drew 12 points in the Pulse Asia survey (or 216 votes out of
1,800) would probably be the easiest to sweet-talk into withdrawing in favor of
Noynoy, because Noynoy's uncle, Danding Cojuangco, "owns" the Nationalist
People's Coalition, of which Chiz is the presumed presidential nominee.. No
money, no honey…. for Chiz.

Noynoy is probably Danding's favorite nephew since Noynoy (and his mother Cory)
have publicly absolved Danding of any complicity in the assassination of Ninoy,
despite the testimony of at least one convicted participant that Danding was
involved, and the unexplained participation of one solitary civilian, Herminio
Gosuico (now dead), said to be connected to Danding, in the otherwise purely
military operation. .

There is one other possibility that Noynoy's handlers can cultivate to give the
Noynoy Bandwagon more mileage. And this would be to woo former President Fidel
Ramos and former House Speaker Jose de Venecia, who are said to be on the verge
of breaking away from President Gloria Arroyo's Lakas-Kampi-CMD coalition, the
PaLaKa coalition.

When the trapos of Lakas (which Teddyboy Locsin calls "the party of thieves")
smell the imminent sinking of the Superferry Gloria, they would not hesitate to
clamber on board the Superferry Noynoy, to save their own skins and protect
their feudal dynastic fiefdoms.

Yes, there is a Noynoy Bandwagon, propelled by Yellow Fever from aging Corystas
and their clueless offspring, and steered by believers in Magick

But my sense is that the earnestness and enthusiasm of middle-class do-gooders
are not strong enough to carry the Noynoy Bandwagon to victory in 2010.

In 1986, the situation was more dramatic, Cory the Widow was the sole opposition
leader against a hated regime strongly suspected of having masterminded the 1983
assassination of her husband, a beloved political icon. It was truly a Battle
between Good and Evil.

But even in that epic struggle, Cory Aquino was not a run-away winner. In fact,
she did not win the snap elections. Ferdinand Marcos did, according to the
Comelec. In the tabulation of votes by the pro-Cory Namfrel, Cory was leading
but only by a small margin that continued to shrink as more votes from the rural
areas – the bailiwicks of the party in power – trickled in.

The pro-Cory Namfrel stopped the tabulation of votes with 28 percent of the
precincts, mostly rural, still unheard from. Cory Aquino was elevated to the
presidency by an insurrectionary development (in which my three children and I
were active participants), not by an electoral victory.

In 2009, no political icon has (so far) been assassinated, Noynoy's beloved
mother Cory died from natural causes, and there are at least 12 opposition
candidates of whom only the three most inconsequential have withdrawn in his
favor.. The hoopla for Noynoy in 2009 does not approach even a fraction of the
hoopla for Cory in 1986.

This is not a Battle between Good and Evil. It is just another intramural
squabble between the Ins and the Outs, between competing dynasties in Philippine
feudal politics.

To reach the finish line victorious in May 2010, the Noynoy Bandwagon needs the
heavyweights to withdraw in his favor and/or the power brokers to throw their
support behind him.

But if and when he engages in horse-trading with the likes of Noli de Castro,
Joseph Estrada, Danding Cojuangco, Jose de Venecia and Fidel Ramos, Noynoy loses
his political virginity and he becomes as soiled and sordid as the rest of them.
*****.

I received the following email today: NOYNOY AQUINO WOULD ANSWER EACH QUESTION
DIRECTLY. AND I AM 100% SURE THAT SENATOR NOYNOY AQUINO WOULD COME OUT WITH
ANSWERS IMMEDIATELY AND WITH RESULTS YOU AND I WOULD BE PROUD OF.
SIGNED.GABE BAUTISTA

I am all ears. ACA

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