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

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.

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"?

'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.

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.