Friday, July 31, 2009

Kakampi ni GMA ang Langit

"Great men talk about ideas; Mediocre men talk about things; Small men talk about people," said Admiral Hyman Rickover.

Was Rey Langit in the same league of small men who would rather inquire into what people think of other people when he asked both Presidents---Obama and Arroyo---about their impressions of each other?

Arrivederci, Cory

cory-aquino-headshot

Corazon "Cory" Aquino, icon of democracy, wife of former Senator Benigno Aquino, and inspiration to all freedom-loving people, died today of colon cancer.

Her New York Times obituary reads:
Corazon C. Aquino of the Philippines, who was swept into office on a wave of “people power” in 1986 and then faced down half a dozen coup attempts in six years as president, died Saturday in Manila. She was 76.

Her son, Senator Benigno S. Aquino III, known as Noynoy, said she died at 3:18 a.m., The Associated Press reported. She learned she had advanced colon cancer last year and had been hospitalized in Manila for more than a month, he said. The cancer had spread to other organs, he added, and she was too weak to continue chemotherapy.

Demure but radiant in her familiar yellow dress, Mrs. Aquino brought hope to the Philippines as a presidential candidate, then led its difficult transition to democracy from 20 years of autocratic rule under her predecessor, Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Obama grateful to GMA. For what?

US President Barack Obama, the ABS-CBN News Online reports, is grateful to GMA because "of the strong voice that the Philippines has provided in dealing with issues in Asia, ranging from the human rights violations that have too long existed in Burma, to the problems that we're seeing with respect to nuclear proliferation in North Korea."


Nice. But what about the killing of journalists, which have taken place under her administration? What about the extrajudicial killings in Davao City where her former adviser on peace and order, Rodrigo Duterte, is mayor?


And what about the human rights violations that, according to the Commission on Human Rights Chair Leila de Lima, "have escalated since she [GMA] took office"?

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

'For the State to kill reflectively, absent emotion, on ceremony, it is not right'

Below is a comment from someone who refuses to identify him/herself, but gives his/her thoughts nonetheless on the madness in Davao City. I'm re-posting it for others to see.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Random SONA observations

Contrary to some of the Senators' and militants' reactions, I didn't boycott the SONA. Yesterday, in the silence of afternoon, I momentarily stopped from my occupation to watch ABS-CBN's live coverage of GMA's SONA. I regret I did, and wished it was aired late at night, so that it wouldn't interrupt the TV programs that afternoon, including my favorite, Maria de Jesus.

***

In yesterday's SONA, GMA reported her achievements by presenting statistics after statistics before a remote-controlled audience---the remote control being GMA herself. Her statistics, however, became a double-edged sword: While it lends credence to her achievements, her presentation by statistics makes it a lot harder for cerebral deficit Filipinos---many of whom were sitting in the gallery, dressed to the nines---to understand her message.

I believe, though, GMA et al are keenly aware of that possibility. Which is why they invited Tarnati Dannawi, Jennifer Silbor, and Mylene Amerol-Macumbal---all of whom ostensibly benefited from GMA's projects---to give a human face to the cold statistics.

***

I share the impressions of my neighbors who, like me, watched the SONA eagerly: That if GMA's SONA has accomplished anything, it is that she was able to get even with her critiques.

The SONA was indeed a score-settling speech. Take her advice to would-be presidents. "To those who want to be President," said GMA, "this advice: If you want something done, do it hard, do it well. Don’t pussyfoot. Just do it. Don't pander. And don’t say bad words in public."

Ouch! Mar Roxas, who once spouted invectives at a rally in Ayala, must have felt the slight.

Take this, too: "Those who live in glass houses should cast no stones. Those who should be in jail should not threaten it, especially if they have been there…" That's doubtless for Joseph Estrada.

Or this: "The noisiest critics of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly attempted Cha-Cha when they thought they could take advantage of a shift in the form of government. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from it, they oppose it."

Was JDV in her mind when she uttered that? You be judge.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Where's JC?

[caption id="attachment_733" align="alignleft" width="195" caption="JC Delos Reyes, presidential candidate of Ang Kapatiran Party"]JC Delos Reyes, presidential candidate of Ang Kapatiran Party[/caption]

Delos Reyes, that is.

I don't mind having these presidential debates. In fact, I find it somehow refreshing to see the presidentiables no longer devoting much of their energies to practicing their jingles and dance steps; to see them participating in serious talks although one of them---you know who is he---would prefer cracking jokes to talking serious stuff.

But what rankles with me is that in all these presidential debates, forums---whatever you call them---JC Delos Reyes, the presidential candidate of Ang Kapatiran Party, is always absent.

Was he invited but chose to decline the invitation? Was he not invited at all? Or were the organizers of these debates unaware of his existence?

I don't know. But I do know that JC Delos Reyes is a presidential candidate we should also seriously consider.

Friday, July 17, 2009

My three favorite columnists—dead and alive




[caption id="attachment_1141" align="aligncenter" width="405" caption="L-R: Max Soliven, Adrian Cristobal, Conrado de Quiros"]L-R: Max Soliven, Adrian Cristobal, Conrado de Quiros[/caption]

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

What are journalists like?

Journalists struck me as odd. I used to think of them as people who relished only in scandals and scalawags. It’s because when the government is in shambles, they’re frenzied. I couldn’t understand, too, why they’re often, if not always, critical on the government. Are they born to be the government’s adversaries? Are they being critical for the sake of being critical?

Sunday, July 5, 2009

KKK at HCDC

Last summer, I participated in KKK, the videos of which I posted below.

No, not the Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan -- the society founded by Andres Bonifacio. But rather, the Kuro Kurong Kabataan -- the talk show of Atty. Karlo Nograles, chief of staff of Speaker Nograles.

I must confess, though, that I am no fan of the Nograles. When a friend told me that Atty. Nograles would be having the 3rd episode of KKK at HCDC and I was shortlisted as one of the participants, I accepted it only because the issue at hand -- The Right of Reply Bill -- is important.

'Just get on the plane'

When I opened my FB account (Facebook for the uninitiated) early this morning, this was the message that greeted me:
Hi, arvin!

Good thing ur online...

would just like to ask some favor from you, that is if ur not that busy..

would u mind making an article for a publication intended for the first year and transferee students?

its about how it is being a first year college student in holy cross. a short page will... of course, we will be giving you an honorarium for this undertaking..

please say yes....

I read the message over and over. Then suddenly I remembered what William Zinsser said in On Writing Well. If there's a writing assignment, he said, just get on the plane. (I don't exactly know if those were the exact words because I'm quoting from memory.)

So without spending too much time thinking over the matter, I accepted the project. "Just get on the plane," I told my self.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

More than a political harassment

Although the mayor can very well defend himself and dodge critics, local and foreign alike, with such ingenuity, he has found an additional support in the person of 2nd District Councilor Danny Dayanghirang.

In his Op-Ed pieces, which appeared yesterday and today in Mindanao Times, Councilor Dayanghirang extolled, among others the virtues of the Dutertes---from the late Gov. Duterte down to Mayor Duterte to Inday Sara Duterte to Polong Duterte---and proceeded to say that the continuing investigation of the CHR is but politically motivated.

Reason? The 2010 election is drawing near and those who have plans to take over Duterte's post, which will likely be taken by another Duterte, are scrambling to find ways on how to break the Duterte dynasty. To Councilor Dayanghirang's logic, the spate of killings that have taken place under Duterte's watch might be one of the issues Duterte's political opponents are using to carry out their demolition plan.

That the Dutertes are virtuous, ably handled the city government throughout the years, bring the city to where it is today, is no matter. No question about that. In fact, I wrote an Op-Ed piece some months ago, praising "...the seriousness and conscientiousness with which he takes his job as mayor of Davao City..."

What matters, however, is how Councilor Dayanghirang and indeed the apologists of Mayor Duterte perceived the CHR investigation on extrajudicial killings. To them, this is nothing but a handiwork of people envious of Mayor Duterte's remarkable feat.

I'm sorry, but, as I said somewhere, "This...is not just a political criticism being leveled against Mayor Duterte by his political opponents in order to upset his long-standing domination of Davao politics. It’s more than that. It’s a very serious issue..."