While Burma burned, Neri turned tail

348 thoughts on “While Burma burned, Neri turned tail”

1. Before having strong party system I would wish for stronger and reliable electoral system first.

   On the behaviour of our politicians I think the problem is the “support” that they are getting even if they encounter some problems with the law. In other countries where they are very strict with their principles they are forced to resign knowing they will not be able to get this so called “support”.

2. francis,

   your rant was pretty entertaining. and since you’ve brought up the off topic religion in the discussion, you and the others here might find the story below quite interesting and entertaining as well. 🙂

   = = = =

   The following is supposedly an actual question given on University of Washington chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so “profound” that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.

   Question: Is Hell Exothermic (gives off heat) or Endothermic (absorbs heat)?

   Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle’s Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

   One student, however, wrote the following:

   First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving.

   I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave, therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let’s look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell.

   With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle’s Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same,the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added. This gives two possibilities:

   1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

   2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

   So which is it?

   If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman Year that, “it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,” and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number 2 must be true, and thus I am sure Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over.

   The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct… leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being, which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting “Oh
   my God.”

   THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY “A”. 🙂

3. cjv, I can not but agree fully with this comments; “After Stage 1 socialist reforms (land reform and industrial policy) is in place, then stage 2 market reforms would then have their desired effect. Over here, we went to directly to stage 2.”

   Now back to my own perspective. so many think that the social justice that we so enjoy at present, didn’t have a very divisive and the longest struggle of Social Reform, initiated by an Individual suspected as Communist sympathizer, who introduced the universality of Health Care, the organizing of Labour union at times when labour was the most exploited by the Capitalists and the fair sharing of the nation wealth by those that can least afford. That man was Tommy Douglas, so honoured in his Life and Death as the Greatest Canadian of all Time..

   Hope his grandson Kiefer Sutherland (got caught for DUI) will be ok and decides to think twice about hitting the gas when intoxicated…

4. On the topic of Religion, I have these four reasons put forward why it was invented;

   1. To raise funds..show me any effective way of any fund raising with only Hell as the possible punishment for not doing your tithe. I’ll take my chances for hell than the Tax Courts.

   2. For offensive and defensive purposes.. Calling all soldiers of God to march for more territories, with me your leader at the rear or at your church praying for deliverance from the swords and now Aks and armalite of your enemies. And also call to defend the Land, the holy land. As you can see in Iraq and Afghanistan..defend the land in the name of Allah and be martyrs…

   3. To continue the hierarchy or bloodline down the line…From the son to the grandson and even the Royalty of The Great Britain with most of the power stripped already is still the head of the Anglican Church..

   4. To civilize and introduce order to society… This one is the only very good reason why religion should be invented and re-invented, but so far not succeeded, as the purpose of some who originally based theirs on this one, suddenly reverted to the other three as soon as they taste the power and privilege of being on the top…

   Yes, any one or all could be one good reason, why one must invent his or her own Religion..

5. cvj,

   You are treading on dangerous ground but no matter how we look at it, its the only move that makes sense and has a potential of succeeding in its purpose. The present crop of landed politicians will go out of their way to brand it as “communism” or the updated “terrorism.” Can step 1 be achieved through democratic or constitutional means? Okay, we have and end in mind already, now we need somebody (or bodies) to make it happen. Who should these be?

6. On the topic of religion.

   I believe that it is a matter of personal choice, a personal relationship with God – whatever you perceive him to be. It is a topic that will forever be debated and still no one will be satisfied precisely because we are using human standards which is imperfect and incomplete, science – new discoveries disprove old theories. Its like making five blind men describe an elephant, one will say it looks like a snake, if he happens to be holding the trunk, one will say it is a leathery pillar, the leg, and so on and so forth. It is the peak of arrogance to attempt to define in finite parameters the existence and non-existence of something supramundane. Men have tried to use it, from the first king in biblical history who built the tower of Babel and was humbled.
   Bottomline, whats important is how we live our lives. Does my existence impact the lives of others in a positive way or the opposite? Look at the way some noted atheists/agnostics died, I mean what their last words, or even demeanor in their death beds – it is far from dying peacefully. I for one would like to die peacefully and welcome a life after that is infinitely better than the one lived on earth. This takes out so many fears, even of dying.

7. Ramrod, whether or not Stage 1 is feasible using democratic or constitutional means is up to the elite themselves. Unfortunately, I see little sign of an epiphany among this group, only more circling the wagons in the hope that trickle down would somehow work. Aside from the communist bogey, the oligarchs will play up the ethnic/regional card which is dangerous because it may lead to the break up of the Philippines.

   In China and Vietnam, it took a communist revolution to purge them. In South Korea and Taiwan, it took the existential threat of a communist takeover to focus their minds enough to share the wealth. In Latin America, the democratic way, via the election of populist leaders shows some promise, but even there, there are worrying signs that democracy may become a casualty in the conflict among classes.

   As to who would make things happen over here, your guess is as good as mine, but off the top of my head, i think these would include:

   – those who are locked up in the Marine Headquarters, Fort Bonifacio and Camp Capinpin, Tanay as long as they don’t aspire to be like the Burmese generals.
   – If the communists/leftists activists also discard their anti-market dogma and become more pragmatic, then maybe they can also participate.
   – The ‘Ang Kapatiran’ folks are also worth looking into as long as they don’t prove to be tools of the Church.
   – Same goes with the Gawad Kalinga advocates but only if they go beyond their myopic focus on the community. They are into nation building, not emergency relief so they don’t have to act like the Red Cross.

   Maybe DevilsAdvc8 can give his two cents as well since he is the one predicting a revolution in three years.

8. I would like to know more about this “Ang Kapatiran” and what they stand for. Pian, do they have a website of sorts?

9. Wanted: Opposition
   By Conrado de Quiros
   THERE’S THE RUB
   Inquirer
   Last updated 01:08am (Mla time) 08/16/2007

   We had an interesting item on the front page last Sunday, which was the Kapatiran Party’s lone winner in the last elections keeping the party’s hopes alive. That lone winner is John Carlos de los Reyes who won as a councilor in Olongapo City and who now carries on Kapatiran’s work there. All of the party’s other bets lost, notably the three who ran as senator — Martin Bautista, Zosimo Paredes and Adrian Sison.

   I myself do not see why the flame of Kapatiran’s future should be kept flickering solely by that victory. There’s much air, or oxygen, to fan it to a roaring fire these days. Not the least of it being the not-very-poor showing of the Kapatiran candidates in the elections despite bucking near-impossible odds. Despite meager funds and even more meager time to kick off an effective campaign, they managed to capture the imagination of media (which featured them more than the others) and of many civic-minded citizens and groups (who volunteered to campaign for them for free). The party can always take heart from that.

   But more than that, the fierce wind that should blow Kapatiran into a raging fire over the next few years is simply that there is a need for it. That need comes from the fact that there is no opposition left in this country. You look at the current state of the so-called “opposition” and you will be hard put to see what its members are opposed to. Or, well, it is easy to see what they are opposed to: They are opposed to others being in power, not they.

   The first thing they did after elections was to fight for spoils in the form of committee chairmanships, trading their votes for Senate president the way merchants sell their wares to the needful and whores sell their bodies to the lustful. Forgetting that one of their own was even then struggling to put his head above water while a flood of cheating swirled around him, who was of course Koko Pimentel. He drowned from his cries reaching heedless ears.

   The second thing they did, or at least three of them did, was to eye the prize in the form of the presidency, like prospectors half-crazed by the sun and time spent in dancing wildly at discovering fool’s gold. Who are Manny Villar, Mar Roxas, and Loren Legarda. Do they seriously think the one who wears the crown will give it up so willingly after all the blood that now taints it?

   If only by default or the principle that a vacuum will always be filled, Kapatiran should have its future burnished like gold or its flames stoked to a blinding light, whichever image you prefer. This country is looking for a way out of the crippling bind it finds itself now. This country is looking for a way out of the clashing rocks that are threatening to turn the ship of state, or ship of fools, or ship of slaves, into a pile of flotsam and debris — if they haven’t done so already. This country is looking for a way out of Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the entertainers and the “trapo” [traditional politicos], the administration and the loyal — or opportunistic — opposition the way the down-and-out are looking to other shores as a way out of their desperate straits.

   If only because this country needs to survive, Kapatiran has every reason to thrive. I’ve always said that if there was a stage where a country could achieve self-sustaining growth, there must also be a stage where a country could reach self-perpetuating backwardness. If by an accretion of the right elements a country could reach a point where it might “take off” and never look back, then by an accretion of the wrong elements, a country could reach a point where it might fall into a pit and never be able to climb back out. You believe in God, you have to believe in the devil. That’s what we’re on the brink of today. We’re falling downward, in a swirling, spiraling, self-propelling way, and we’re gathering speed. All our neighbors, including Cambodia and Laos, are rushing past us, while we whistle in the dark. I was tempted to say like the Seven Dwarves, but the Seven Dwarves at least had jobs. We don’t arrest that fall over the next few years, we won’t have a country left.

   But it’s more than our floundering in an angry sea that should make us search desperately for safe harbor that is a Kapatiran, it is also that Kapatiran itself offers a beacon of hope to the storm-tossed. It is the only real political party in this country, which shows exactly what is wrong with our political system. I used to say other than the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), but even the CPP tends to have leaders that are bigger than the party and not a party that is bigger than its junta. And Kapatiran is the only (non-clandestine) party that will have nothing to do with “trapo.” Of course right now, that makes for good news and bad news: The good news is that Kapatiran has no “trapo,” the bad news is that it has little else. But that can always change — when you realize the joke is on you.

   I personally think Kapatiran should strike an alliance with the other groups that contested the 2004 elections — notably the Aksyon Demokratiko Party and Eddie Villanueva’s group, the Catholic Church, the NGOs and other elements of Edsa People Power I and II — and form a coalition to challenge the ruling parties, or party since they’re just really one. Cory did it, and we’re back to the days of martial law anyway, fighting another Marcos. And I seriously suggest Kapatiran adds an emotional appeal to its mental one, regaling the world with stories and not just agendas, with passion and not just platform, with dream and vision and not just facts and figures.

   If you build it, as “Field of Dreams” says, they will come. That isn’t just faith, that is truth.
   A pipe dream? Well you think becoming a First World country in 20 years, or the person who says that will step down well before then, isn’t?

10. cvj,

    I checked out the “Ang Kapatiran” website and read their platform, no mention is made of a stage 1 scenario and their allusions to “the kingdom of god” will alienate them. They are focused more on a “Utopian” state rather than pragmatism which will make them unrelatable to the masses and even the business community.

11. Ramrod, i agree they need work on connecting with the masses. They are more ‘EDSA Dos’ than ‘EDSA Tres’ which is not good for their electoral prospects. At least in the case of Martin Bautista, i can see some elements of Stage 1 as he relates in his blog:

    Repeal the Automatic Appropriations Law and this will allow our negotiators to demand better terms for all our debts. Education is allotted 11% and debt service 28%. By dropping interest payments to 23% you will effectively raise the education budget by 50%.

    and this…

    We need to wean ourselves from the “utang-import” mentality which retards our productive capacity. There needs to be a national movement which will force us to produce most of our needs. Clearly, the prescriptions set forth by some major lending institutions which we have diligently followed for more than 20 years have not been effective in stimulating our economy as effectively as our closest neighbors. We hardly create finished products. Corruption is more rampant in an economy that is loan-based because it is easier to steal something that was not earned through work.

    Particularly on the second quote, if he takes it to its logical conclusion then he’ll see the sense in a home grown industrial policy. I’m not sure though whether the above is accepted by his Partymates or just his own advocacy.

12. Hope you had a great weekend!

    In your opinion,who do you think are the 5 “non-performing senators “?

    My list:
    1)Lapid
    2)Revilla
    3)Zubiri
    4)Madrigal,Jamby
    6)Cayetano,Pia

13. I would have included:
    5)Trilanes(but not his fault)

14. I wonder how the Pathetic Loser Crowd will react to this letter circulating in the internet

    —————————————————-
    NO TEARS FOR ESTRADA

    Rodel E. Rodis, September 17, 2007

    On the day the Estrada verdict was announced last week, a retired man
    who needed my help in his claim for social security benefits in the
    Philippines professed sympathy for the former president, expressing
    his hope that he would be shown mercy because he had suffered enough.

    Like most people, he had not read the 212 page decision of the
    Philippine Anti Graft Court (Sandigan Bayan), finding former
    president Joseph aka Erap Estrada Guilty of Plunder. If he had read
    the complete decision, he would have discovered the ironic connection
    between his problems with the SSS and the basis for the plunder
    verdict. (For the transcripts, log on to http://www.manilama il.com).

    It took six years for the Sandigan court to try the Estrada case, most
    of the delays caused by Estrada himself. At one point, he fired all
    his attorneys so that a mistrial could occur. But after the court
    provided him with new attorneys, which he promptly rejected, Estrada
    retained new counsel and proceeded with a strategy to run out the
    clock until his close personal friend, Fernando Poe, Jr. (FPJ), could
    win the presidency in the May 2004 elections and dismiss all the
    charges against him.

    But when FPJ lost, Estrada had no choice but to finally deal with the
    prosecution’ s case by seeking to undermine the credibility of the
    court and by claiming that the trial is “politically motivated” to
    justify his removal from office. Very little was done by his lawyers
    to debunk the voluminous evidence presented in court.

    In the course of the trial despite innumerable delays, dozens of
    witnesses described how Estrada collected billions of Philippine pesos
    in “jueteng” protection money which they regularly delivered in
    cash to his Polk Street mansion in San Juan in Metro Manila. It was
    like a mob scene from “The Sopranos”. But the most damning witnesses
    against Estrada were those he appointed to public office.

    Carlos (aka Chucky) Arellano testified that he was a childhood friend
    of Estrada who appointed him chairman and president of the Social
    Security System (SSS) in 1998. On October 6, 1999, he received a
    call from Pres. Estrada instructing him to buy Belle Corporation
    stock. He hesitated to do so, he said, because that decision belonged
    to the SSS investment committee which selected the stocks to invest in
    for the millions of Filipinos who had contributed to it. However,
    after further prodding from Estrada, Arellano unilaterally authorized
    the purchase by SSS of P900-M (pesos) ($20-M) in Belle stocks on
    October 21, 1999, just 15 days after he was directed to do
    so.

    Federico Pascual testified that he was the president of the Government
    Service Insurance System (GSIS) in 1999, appointed by Estrada, when he
    was instructed to purchase Belle shares. He hesitated to do the
    president bidding, he said, because the Belle Corporation was
    involved in jai-alai and gambling and had a speculative flavor. But
    after receiving another call from Estrada on October 9, 1999, he
    went ahead and authorized the purchase by GSIS of P1.1-B (pesos)
    ($25-M) in Belle stock.

    A close crony of Estrada, Jaime Dichaves, facilitated the transaction.
    Belle Corporation executives testified that they issued a cashiers
    check to Dichaves in the amount of P189-M($4-M) (International
    Exchange Bank Check No. 6000159271 dated November 5, 1999 ) as his
    10% commission for securing the purchase by SSS and GSIS of close to
    P2-B (pesos) ($45-M) in Belle stocks.

    Bank executives then testified that Dichaves deposited the 10%
    commission of P189-Mil. ($4-Mil) into the bank account of Jose
    Velarde, in Equitble Bank. Dichaves deposited an additional amount of
    P74-M (pesos) into the same account.

    Clarissa Ocampo, an Equitable Bank manager, testified that she
    personally witnessed Estrada sign his name as Jose Velarde in
    withdrawing funds from the Equitable Bank, an allegation that was
    openly admitted by Estrada himself. Bank executives testified that
    there were Joint accounts in the bank of Jose Velarde & Loi Ejercito
    (Estradas legal wife).

    Bank executives also testified that it was from this same Jose Velarde
    account that Estrada purchased the Boracay Mansion near Wack-Wack Golf
    Club for the use of his favored mistress, Laarni Enriquez. The man
    who facilitated the purchase of this mansion was Jose Luis Yulo who,
    because of this housing experience, was then appointed by Estrada to
    be his Secretary of Housing, replacing the very competent
    Karina Constantino- David.

    The prosecution’ s evidence was just too over whelming, the Sandigan
    Bayan justices had no other choice but to find Estrada guilty of
    plunder, beyond a reasonable doubt. Sifting through the testimonies
    of eyewitnesses, one concludes that Estrada never believed that he
    would ever have to account for his actions so he didn’t care who
    witnessed what he was doing. Transparency turned out not to be a
    virtue and stupidity not a viable defense.

    But the joke was on the people. When GSIS and SSS bought Belle
    stocks, As instructed by then PRES. ESTRADA, in 1999, they were
    priced at P3.14 a share. One year later, on December 29, 2000, their
    value had sunk dramatically to 60 centavos a share. Two years later,
    Belle stock crashed to a staggering 40 centavos a share, from purchase
    price of P3.14 per share. Now they are virtually worthless! Two
    BILLION PESOS of the people’s investments down the drain!

    While I congratulate the Sandigan Bayan judges for finding Estrada
    guilty of plunder, my regret is that he was never charged for his
    possible role in the abduction and murders of Salvador “Bubby” Dacer,
    Emmanuel Corbito and Edgar Bentain.

    According to members of his family, Bubby Dacer was bawled out by
    Estrada in Malacanang in November of 1999 shortly before he and his
    driver, Corbito, were abducted by members of the Presidential
    Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) headed by Gen. Panfilo Lacson
    and tortured and executed. The PAOCTF soldiers who admitted killing
    Dacer and Corbito pointed to Col. Glenn Dumlao as their commanding
    officer. Before he fled to the US, Col. Dumlao pointed to Col. Cezar
    Mancao and Col. Michael Ray Aquino as the officers who gave him the
    orders.

    Before they could point their fingers as to who directed them, Mancao
    and Aquino fled to the US upon instructions of Lacson. If Lacson had
    been fingered by Mancao and Aquino, would he have pointed the finger
    to Estrada?

    Edgar Bentain was a casino worker at the CasinoFilipino located at the
    Heritage Hotel in Manila when he secretly released to the press the
    videotape of Estrada playing high-stakes poker with his crony, Atong
    Ang. The videotape was then shown on TV to the embarrassment of
    Estrada who ordered an investigation into who leaked the videotape.
    According to Ador Mawanay’s sworn testimony on August 17, 2001, PAOCTF
    men abducted Bentain outside the casino and immersed him with cement
    inside a drum and dumped his corpse in Pampanga. The leader
    of the PAOCTF team, he said, was Col. Michael Ray Aquino. Mawanay
    identified Estrada’s son, Jude, as the man he saw give a black bag
    containing money to Aquino as payment for the killing of Bentain.

    Estrada “suffered enough”??

    Pls. forward to all Pilipinos. Thank you

15. You are all living in delusions. GMA will try continue to rule beyond 2010. C’mon. Let us not fool ourselves. Kaya nga tayo ginagago dahil gago mga pinoy.

16. we have enough highly educated people (not necessarily “elite”, as cvj loves to characterize those who are not poor and ignorant); we have enough good laws in the books; we have a working democracy (flawed but functional); we have an established government and bureaucracy (again, not flawless but workable); and we have a huge supply of manpower that is not significantly reduced by overseas migration. with over 80 million population, we could say we have a considerable local market for our goods, a potent factor for a self-contained economy. technically, we should not be the “sick man in asia” or languishing at the bottom rung of “third world” status.

    but why are we? the consensus seems to be that we never had good leaders since we achieved political independence. the oligarchy that replaced the reign of the colonizers was largely ineffective except in the perpetuation of its stranglehold on power and wealth. the people, the governed, had never become a force for its own betterment.
    they remained an easy prey to rapacious governance, often allowing themselves to be an easy tool for the opportunists.

    other countries, such as the u.s., have their own share of venal and predatory politicians, and crooks in both public and private sectors of society. but the big difference is that the people are more vigilant, both in words and in deed. erring politicians seldom get back to positions of power. if they have to go to jail, they do without regard to their fame or fortune. if one is pardoned unjustly, the pardoner has one hell to pay and dies politically. criminals are treated as criminals, murderers are murderers, rapists are rapists, thieving corporate executives are treated as crooks that they are. jails cells are aplenty and are fully utilized, but in proportion to the country’s population, the number of inmates is relatively small.

    the ratio of educated people in the u.s., in proportion to its total population, may be even less than that of the philippines. but i think americans are generally more law-abiding and better aware of the responsibilities of citizenship. the average citizen is more willing to participate in the workings of democracy, not just to pay lip service to it (as most of our so-called civil society or n.g.o.s are so good at but short in real achievements). private rights are usually protected and respected, and obligations of citizenship, such as paying taxes, are seriously complied with.

    good government starts with good citizens. one cannot exist without the other.

17. “I was particularly impressed by the interrogations made by Senators Manuel Roxas II and Francis Escudero, who both showed they had done their homework on the challenged project. The supposed technocrats from the administration must have expected to confuse them with statistical gibberish but the senators were ready with their own educated refutation. The witnesses were hoisted with their own petard.” – Isagani Cruz’s column at the Inquirer today.

    It’s funny that I thought the exact opposite of Manuel Roxas. I thought he had made an ass of himself trying to force his own limited understanding of the NBN on the experts. He went on and on about kariton and kalesa or something to the effect that we don’t need such a classy new backbone as the NBN project was going to give up since we are not going to use it anyway because our equipment is old or cheap. At least the other Senators knew they knew nothing; Roxas who begun his career as a venture capitalist and as such should be able to understand complex data and industries at the shortest time possible, decide to take on the attitude of an intellectual ass and did not only manage, I presume, to confuse and totally misguide viewers but to confound the experts themselves. This is doubly damaging, as opposed to simply being an ignoramus.

18. Bencard, problema sa pilipinas walang pride mga ordinaryong tao. Lahat masyadong hanga sa mga mayayaman at lahat pagaya-gay. Makapera nang konti bibili kaagad nang kotse, tapos kaskasero mga naglalakad babangain lang… gayagaya sa mayayaman.

    I am going to restate my theory. The problem is colonial mentality, the racism of the Spanish era has not left the Philippines with the leaving of the Spaniards. Pilipino feeling Indio pa rin. In this regard, I cannot blame the people. I cannot blame them for retaining their slave mentality.

19. “good government starts with good citizens. one cannot exist without the other.”

    People have to be educated to be good citizens. No one becomes a good citizen on his own. Society has to teach him. It goes without saying.

20. People have to be educated to be good citizens. No one becomes a good citizen on his own. Society has to teach him. It goes without saying. – Brianb

    In the case of Mike Arroyo, Dick Gordon, Joc-joc Bolante, Ronnie Puno, Joseph Estrada and Romulo Neri – that’s where the Ateneo failed. The elite failed to teach their own to be good citizens.

21. cvj, i loved it when you cited what I’ve been thinking all along is the major deterrent to a revolution. your phase 1 is exactly what the Phils need. but it won’t happen. and hence, the revolution.

    every great country has their birthing pains. look at the history of all developed nations. one time or another in their history, they had the chance to spread the wealth, either through bloody revolutions or political exercises. countries who succeeded in spreading the wealth became richer. countries who didn’t continue to languish in poverty.

    why is being greedy counter productive? for the simple reason that by not spreading the wealth, you are diminishing the monies circulating in your country. there’s a reason why exports, tourism and investments are important. and why import-export ratios should be 1:3

    going back to my prediction, it is centered on the premise that come 2010, or earlier, moves will be made to head off an election, either through charter change or martial law.
    but precisely bec what we have now is a citizenry jaded by people power, when the uprising does occur, it won’t be nice. our people has experienced being betrayed by politicians they supported. first we had Cory, who was all good intentions but no talent at governing. the people can forgive her. then we had ERAP, popularly elected but threw away that hope people pinned on him. then we had GMA, shrewd to a fault her government and all those still supporting her have lost whatever principles they had before. then we had the UNO senators last election, all betraying their mandate. this last betrayal is esp impt and the most that will stick in people’s minds as it is the most recent.

    you think that when the next people power comes any TRAPO at all can step on that stage and claim victory? he’ll be lynched along with every other politician of this age. no TRAPO will be left alive. just reading sentiments such as yours, francis, and almost everyone in this blog, the rage at TRAPOS is almost palpable. you think we are alone in this feeling?

    what abt the millions more poorer than us? their rage will be greater. we’re still eating 3 meals a day, still able to at least live a decent life – but there are folks, millions of them who don’t even have the luxury to engage in political discussion. napupuno ang lahat ng tao, cvj. individually and collectively as a society. our time in history is such that our people as a nation has arrived at this crossroad. too many are sick at repeating history. everyone can feel that the oligarchs are at fault. all is needed is to cast that first stone, and surely, the lynching will begin.

    you think i’ve never thought of casting that 1st stone? i have. but i keep thinking that once it starts, nothing can stand in its way. it will be a raging fire that will only subside once it has nothing to burn. i have all the pre requisites in front of me: history, lessons, Ender’s Locke and Demosthenes.

    i still believe we can avert this. or else why am i fighting for reform? reform is all we need. deny that, and surely i don’t even need to predict. the future is already cast in stone.

22. Ang kapatiran????? Dios mio! Nagpapakahirap ang Turkey to maintain its secular state and you want to hand our country to religious fundamentalists…????

    Please, Kapatiran lost last elections because it did not have any workable program apart from the usual ‘godliness’ will bring us prosperity posters.

23. devils, what good is casting the stone if the caster is the same wretched human being? why don’t you think of going at the root, instead of cutting off the top? don’t you think the bad tree will not regenerate into a tree much worst than the pruned one?

24. ngayon ko lang nabalitaan, natalo pala ang the ateneo sa larong basketbol.

    tama si inidoro, baka may 200 para kay Norman na nakahanda…

    Buti pa ang la salle merong Ogie Alcasid at Gary V…ang the Ateneo naman ay pang Neri lang.

25. Bencard, and what is the root? how in reality can we make our citizens “good citizens?”

26. Devils, so i gather that you also don’t think the elite will learn their lesson on time? That’s what i observe as well. In some societies, their elites have enough sense of self-preservation to manage a smooth transition. The British upper class were able to do this, which is why their monarchy survived. Same with the Japanese Nationalists. The Chinese Nationalists belatedly learned this lesson after being driven from the mainland so Taiwan prospered without the need for revolution. On the other hand, the French nobility proved to be clueless as did the Russian aristocrats which is why they respectively got guillotined and shot. So far, our own aristocrats are behaving more like the latter group. Our own elite believe that it is the masses that must be ‘educated’, not themselves.

27. “In the case of Mike Arroyo, Dick Gordon, Joc-joc Bolante, Ronnie Puno, Joseph Estrada and Romulo Neri – that’s where the Ateneo failed. The elite failed to teach their own to be good citizens.CVJ”

    I wonder if they are still proud members of the Ateneo alumni association?

    Or better still,has the Ateneo Alumni Association dropped these members from its roster?

28. cvj, on time? you only have to read Malu’s diatribe and you’d see how far off that time will be!

    all we need is some skanky queen bellowing out her version of “let them eat cake!” and you’d see what i mean.

    for pete’s sakes, pandesal is now being bought in kilos? making it harder for the poor to buy in pieces aren’t we? perhaps some oligarch’s grand idea is to: starve em all out!

    eh? we have Africa and are the people there going extinct in starvation?

    our climate doesn’t even have winter which kills millions of homeless when it comes, and we hope that the poor will just die out?

29. TDC, has Gloria’s school denounced her?

30. Devils, i’m not sure about the starving them out part, but a certain Manuel Gallego III from Benign0’s ‘Get Real’ group is on record recommending forced sterilization for parents of street children. I don’t know where these people get their values.

31. DevilAdv8: that school is a like a cookie cutter for that type of personality.

32. cvj, try Ayn Rand. christ, that writer has spawned enough objectivist fanatic to last past our lifetime.

    TDC, and there goes your answer. Gloria’s school doesn’t denounce her much as the same way Ateneo doesn’t denounce the others you’ve mentioned.

    nobody would like to admit they’ve erred in their “catholic formation.” but they sure do enjoy getting the “fringe benefits” of producing alumnus in power.

33. PAGC defends sacking of investigator over release of ZTE docus
    09/30/2007 | 02:34 PM

    The Philippine Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) has defended the sacking of a graft investigator who was looking into the controversy behind the Philippine government’s deal with China’s Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment (ZTE) Corp for the $239.48-million National Broadband Network project, radio dzBB reported Sunday.

    The report quoted a PAGC statement saying that Vida Zora Bocar violated Section 6 of Executive Order 531 when she released information to media about the ZTE deal, without authorization from PAGC Chair Constancia de Guzman.

    DzBB said Bocar e-mailed confidential information about the ZTE deal to journalist Jarius Bondoc, which became the subject of the latter’s June 18 newspaper column. This, according to the report, prompted De Guzman to endorse a disciplinary action against Bocar before PAGC’s administrative discipline committee, which gave due process to Bocar’s case.

    The committee recommended the immediate termination of Bocar’s employment with PAGC due to “breach of contract,” dzBB said.

    PAGC reportedly said Bocar displayed ignorance of the law and disregarded the authority of her superiors. Bocar was supposed to work with the commission as graft investigation officer from June 1 to August 31, 2007, but her contract only lasted until June 22, after PAGC learned that Bocar provided information to Bondoc about the ZTE transaction.
    – GMANews

    Noynoy Aquino should again cry foul on this…EO 531 (a.k.a. anti-whistleblowers’ rule). Amendment to it, EO 531-A, even gives ermita control over the graft-busters (PAGC)…slightly contrary to the exact title of the amendment: “To Further Strengthen the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission”.

34. cjv, Even Tommy Douglas had the same idea regarding the Mentally and Physically handicapped, but rejected the idea after visiting Germany in l938. Here a quote from my entry about Tommy Douglas.

    “He has a degree in Sociology and completed his Master Degree (MA) with his Thesis entitled the ‘Problem of Subnormal Family’ (and was in Eugenics) – and suggested sterilization for mentally and physically handicapped Canadians and send them to camps. Five years later he completely rejected his theory after a visit to Nazi Germany in 1938”. And that was from a Man who became the Champion of Social Justice, the Father of Universal Health Care and until today his party, the New Democrats retain the Government of his Province Saskatchewan uninterrupted ever Since, and his Legacy is now Federally accepted and cherished all over the country..

35. And here are some famous quotations from the Man Himself:

    Canada is like an old cow. The West feeds it. Ontario and Quebec milk it. And you can well imagine what it’s doing in the Maritimes.
    Tommy Douglas

    Courage, my friends; ’tis not too late to build a better world.
    Tommy Douglas

    I don’t mind being a symbol but I don’t want to become a monument. There are monuments all over the Parliament Buildings and I’ve seen what the pigeons do to them.
    Tommy Douglas

    Man can now fly in the air like a bird, swim under the ocean like a fish, he can burrow into the ground like a mole. Now if only he could walk the earth like a man, this would be paradise.
    Tommy Douglas

36. Devils, fwiw, as a follower of Milton Friedman in my younger years, i would have also fallen for Ayn Rand’s philosophy. Fortunately, i read George Gilder’s Wealth and Poverty. Gilder’s alternative reading of Capitalism as a form of gift-giving meant that i did not have to resort to Rand’s selfishness as virtue justification for that system.

    Vic, what happened or what did Douglas see in his visit to Nazi Germany that made him revise his views?

37. cvj, One of the greatest attributes of Douglas was to admit he is wrong when presented with convincing evidence.

    During his trip to Germany, he had seen the atrocities committed by the Nazis and that was enough to convince him that his theory was wrong. During his political career, he seldom mentioned his thesis. but here a copy and paste summary of why Douglas could change his idealogy…

    Tommy Douglas, the Man and the Myth: Tommy never let ideology get in the way
    “Surely, the continued policy of allowing the subnormal family to bring into the world large
    numbers of individuals to fill our jails and our mental institutions, and to live upon public charity, is
    one of consummate folly.”
    Tommy Douglas master’s thesis, 1932.
    One of Tommy’s greatest strengths was to admit he was wrong when presented with convincing
    evidence to the contrary. This was because he knew the ultimate goal was not the ideology, but
    to help the underprivileged.
    Tommy received a Master of Arts from McMaster University. His thesis was the benefits of
    eugenics – the science of culling “immoral, nonmoral and subnormal” people from the human
    race, mostly through sterilization. But when Tommy learned of the atrocities committed by the
    Nazis during the Second World War, all with the purported purpose of creating a superior race, he
    changed his mind.
    To the chagrin of many of his biographers, Tommy supported the incarceration of the Japanese in
    World War II, even though this was an affront to civil liberties (and is now viewed from hindsight
    as a black mark on Canada). Biographer Walter Stewart tells us about one particularly racist letter
    to which Tommy had replied “I think that what you have said with regard to the Japanese is quite
    true.” Stewart could only call the response “inexplicable”.
    Again, Tommy saw the light and turned into one of the great defenders of civil liberties. His finest
    hour, to more than one biographer, was his opposition to Pierre Trudeau’s declaration of the War
    Measures Act during the FLQ crisis in October 1970. He could no longer support putting people in
    jail without due process. It’s easy in hindsight to see Tommy was right, but it took a lot of guts to
    do it in real time. I was living in Ottawa then, and remember waking up to the radio playing O
    Canada. These were dramatic events, and everyone I knew supported Trudeau.
    In 1933, Tommy participated in the convention to create the Regina Manifesto, which promised to
    “eradicate capitalism”. After he became premier in 1944, he found the talk and the walk can be
    two different things. After watching more than one crown corporation fall to the competition, he
    was quite happy to trade ideology for the higher tax revenue the capitalists generated. He loved
    his social programs more than he hated capitalists.
    Tommy’s concern for the underprivileged also formulated views where Tommy was consistent.
    The bottom line was never the ideology; it was always the benefit afforded his people. Many of
    his views would seem heretical to today’s left-leaning parties:
    • Opposing dictatorships: “I recognized then [after a trip to Geneva in 1936] that if you
    came to a choice between losing freedom of speech, religion, association, thought … and
    resorting to force, you’d use force.”

38. Thanks Vic.

39. you’re most welcome cvj.

40. Francis,
    Equating Jesus to Hitler et al is a sign of faulty logic. If you read the Bible, even though it has been edited lots of times, you would see that love and compassion were his primary teachings. It is not his fault that unenlightened people chose to hijack and alter most of his teachings for sheer greed and power. And if you bother to read about the esoteric side of Christianity, you will discover that the Jesus of the Bible actually differs greatly from the real Jesus.

41. Thanks cvj, i will be following Martin Baustista’s movements from now on, at the same time look for other “like-minded” individuals.

42. I honestly want to know whats going on inside GMA’s mind right now. The way I profile her is that she is your typical daddy’s girl always trying to please by coming home with stars on her hands and kindergarten drawings. Eventually evolved into bringing home straight As and perhaps medals, etc. She probably grew up (or not) working really hard to overcompensate for an apparent disparity from the way we look at ideal women by looking smart, sounding smart, and telling everybody about it the way valedictorians do in their speeched during graduations. Now, she’s the president and all grown up (still not) its a series of valedictory addresses again, but this time this is real life and things don’t stop after the speech. But this is putting things simply.
    What is more important are her intentions, her motives.
    I for one, in a past life have sold my soul to the devil in order to close high level deals just to see to it that my company survives, to get the budget to pay for employees and ensure that their families survive for another year, next year is another story.
    What if in her quest for achievement she did the same thing? In her quest for more jobs, she saw rapid development of infrastructure, in her quest for access to updated technology, she went for the NBN broadband deal (no matter what the consequence), (which by the way Mar Roxas referred to as a mere “intercom” really showed his ignorance). At times, because of experience I am slow to condemn people who are given the opportunity to lead, to have the survival, the future of people dependent on your capability to produce results (and fast).
    I am not above if its in the interest of getting a big account/deal and seeing the joy in my people’s faces entails jumping off a perfectly good plane thousands of feet it the air, foolishly go down a steep ravine on a dare, sink to the depths of the sea, fight off an extremely strong wriggling, jumping, sea monster, endure the fatigue of climbing the highest mountain (or so it seems), and inspite of an optical handicap attempt to hit a small white projectile around two inches in diameter into a hole more than a hundred yards away. Add daring to go to dark, cold, places and gearing up your stomach to survive the sight of ill dressed women writhing in pain while all around are sounds of bacchanalian decadence.
    Of course I’m talking about skydiving, rapelling, scuba diving in Tubataha, Marlin fishing, climbing Mt. Apo, playing golf, and a night in Pegasus.
    My point is, my intentions were good…

43. Free Burma!
    International Bloggers’ Day for Burma on the 4th of October

    International bloggers are preparing an action to support the peaceful revolution in Burma. We want to set a sign for freedom and show our sympathy for these people who are fighting their cruel regime without weapons. These Bloggers are planning to refrain from posting to their blogs on October 4 and just put up one Banner then, underlined with the words „Free Burma!“.

    http://www.free-burma.org

44. hmm… just a thought on your quote from stella arnaldo and the comment by an ex-DG of NEDA. I think GMA has not been interested in institutions building anyway or impartial advise from liuetenants…

    And look- she cant even appoint a trained economist to head NEDA. This is not to disparage the newly appointed NEDA DG Tito Santos and his long years of faithful service in NEDA. No one in public (at least media has never carried details of his full credentials and palace has not been interested in making this public too) but he is a chemical engineer by training and as far as i know has not had any economics training. He made his mark in NEDA as an infrastructure person – on the engineering side. Unfortunately, NEDA mandate is not just abt infrastructure and public investment programming…

    But this appt serves GMA well – because Tito Santos will not argue with her (as we all know she can always stare down her cabinet secretaries.. but even more so, the advise from people whose credibility she herself does not buy…)

    And so it scares me to think where her legendary stubborness brings her (or can bring us)when she surrounds herself with people who balk at laying down to her the full import of her decisions…

    but then again…what are institutions like NEDA when even the more basic ones like our political parties, election reforms and comelec are treated with contempt. 6 years of this administration and nothing nothing is being done. diyos ko po.

45. Shrek,

    Thank for comment RE: faulty logic…What can I say it is a fact that the Gospels were conceived to be written 100 years latter after Jesus death as a way of remembering him by his followers or his follower’s children. Thanks in part to the snub to the poor of the religion of that times that made it possible to propagate Christianity and made it good money making venture.

    Surely Jesus is just like you and me. He is a human being that pee’s, poo’s, and fart. That is of course if he ever existed. That is another contention being looked at in our present enlightened times. What makes him perfect as it seems to be portrayed in the Bible? Jesus may have not advocated violence but the Bible is not the reliable source to dispute that as it has been heavily censored 300 years A.D. We are talking about a highly questionable book being presented as fact 1707 years latter. In fact from a few dozen gospels that were available about the event of Jesus existence only about five or six where accepted and censored the rest and that includes the “Gospel of Judas” that was eventually found and gave us some more facts about the whole Judas kiss event. Wherein, it is alleged that Jesus himself asked or should I say engineered the kiss. Very clever indeed. It is said that Judas was Jesus favourite and the rest of the prophets come to develop what we call in our times the professional jealousy. Then, voila, the Bible was born and institutionalised and presented as factual.

    It is not wrong to question Jesus character because the fact has to come out yet about him. Why are Philosophers and scientist more admirable than Jesus Christ? Because, they left us with the legacy of knowledge and understanding which has guided us to the future rather than kept regressing us back to the past just like what religion is doing.

    If Jesus Christ being the Son of God as the Gospel claims is all knowing then he would have stated in his early teachings that the Earth is not the centre of the Universe. Having not cleared this from the very beginning gave the Catholic institution a reason to murder intellectuals or learned people and branded them as heretics to justify their death or burning.

    St Augustine wrote a book “the city of God in which he accepted that the beginning of the Earth or the Universe is about 5000 B.C. according to Genesis. How wrong he has been proven eventually by science and/or knowledge. In Stephen Hawkings own words in the book “A brief History of time” page 7..”It is interesting that this is not so far from the end of the Ice Age, about 10,000 B.C. which is when archaeologists tell us that civilization really began.”

    And I could go on and on….

46. grd,

    on the entertaining story of a student in Chemistry who got a A.

    You got an A from me.

    Well done,

    I must admit that it put a smile in my face.

    Although I am going to emphasize that this is so much the problem of our society at the moment. Fanatical belief which causes the war and the jihad.

    It means delusional belief in the unknown. This leads me to remember a book by Robert M.Pirsig: Author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, that states

    “When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from delusion it is called Religion.” And because perhaps I refuse to be with the majority then I was called Satan/Lucifer/ and the like. Thanks to the soul that Hell is cold now at least things has change for me he he.

47. Dear Bloggers,

    04th October 2007

    Will anyone kindly please verify or assist me on this matter.

    I have received a text message from a certain Atty. Mariano M. Chavez of the PGMA Foundation whose cell number is 09286917450 claiming that my mobile number has been randomly selected. I have apparently won 1 million pesos from the foundation.

    Below is the text message.

    “Congratulations! Your cell # had won 1M pesos during the anniversary of the PGMA foundation raffle draw. DTI permit # 2578 Series 2007 Please Contact Atty Mariano M. Chavez at 09286917450 for details and on how to claim it. Thank you.”

    I wonder if this got anything to do with my criticism of the illegitimate regime of Mrs. Arroyo. Not to mention the evil the religion it represents.

    Well, my paintings are for sale but not my vote.

    If this text message is true, will any representative from Philippine General Hospital claim this in my behalf as my donation to your institution or even to the victims of political killings.

    Thank you.

    Francis Tanseco
    http://www.francistanseco.com
    09286746052
    P.S. Should I fear for my life now?

    ——————————————————————————–
    me:
    I wonder why none of the blogs I posted in http://www.inquirer.net has appeared in any blogsboard they have. Ah I realised that the Inquirer is a mouthpiece of the illegitimate President Arroyo. No wonder, well count me out of your circulation and I shall spread the word. So this is Freedom of the press “inquirer” style eh? To all my readers/followers/friends it’s time to boycott those that suppresses freedom of speech.

48. “TDC,

    An daming qualified na mga patriots sa Pilipinas bakit si Ricky Carandang, MLQ3, Randy David pa. Ok na sana si Joey III, hero yan natin. Si Korina Sanchez. She’s not only smart and pretty, she’s got nice racks pa. Ralph Recto in my opinion, is the best heredero we have today. Serge Osmena committed near incest but he truly made up for it by his uncompromising intelligence. Among the Osmenas, he is the most makamasa. At bakit wala si Iloilo Vice Governor Rolex Suplico dito, aber? His morals is as solid and unbreakable as his namesake watch.”

    AYAYAYAYAYAY, di lang ninyo alam kung gaano ka sangsang ang BAHO ni Suplico especially while he was still a Member of Congress! Nangingikil yon! Gang of FOUR? of FIVE? Magtanong ka sa mga empleyado sa House of Representatives!! And if my sources are right, he was forced to ink some post-nuptial pact (For my inability to find the appropriate term or phrase, I am calling it such because it happened during their marriage – haha) after his wife (scion of the Goodwill Bookstore clan) caught him philandering.

    Mag research kayo and you’ll know what I mean so please do reconsider your “desire” to put him in your 2010 senatorial lineup

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