Went to the Bastusang Pambansa to see the action but most of it took place not on the floor, where Romulo Neri was sitting in a panel defending the CHED budget as members of congressmen took turns asking pointed questions to beef up the budgets for their districts. It was a very nerve-wracking three hours for all concerned.
Had a chance to prowl the galleries and the floor and get scuttlebutt from members of the House.
One account of this morning’s meeting at the Palace was that the main bone of contention was the upcoming baranggay elections. Congressmen were very anxious that the polls not be postponed, as it was an opportunity for them to spread goodies around. Demands were supposed to be 50,000 per kagawad or a total of 5 million for each congressman to dole out. The President had given assurances but had even been pursued with calls while she was in China, to assure that the written assurances that the polls would push through, were genuine. The badgering continued this morning, with congressmen supposedly in a foul mood and threatening mischief if the President didn’t do the doling out right there and then.
Another account was simpler, which was a Palace guarantee of 45 35 million per congressman, 25 million in “soft” pork and 10 milion in “hard” pork, whatever that means in congressional terms. In exchange, the congressmen pledged cooperation with the President in terms of pursuing her agenda.
But the figures discussed are impossible to verify (and every congressman could have been lying). The main topic of interest was, what was the Speaker going to do, and what were his options? Opinions among members of the House varied. They ranged from the Speaker had the numbers, to the President had the numbers, to the problem that Friday, it turns out, is a holiday which is why the President wanted matters settled by tonight.
The problem was that the Speaker was not inclined to refer the impeachment complaint prior to the recess. The question then was whether this would precipitate a showdown in the House, and who, exactly, had the numbers; also, there was the very real problem that if the complaint wasn’t referred prior to the break, the October 25 Senate hearing would take place, and if anything ended up revealed in that hearing, the revelations could lead to the complaint being amended and possibly fortified.
The Speaker’s options, as discussed by various sources, ranged from his having pulled a fast one last night by checking himself into the hospital for whatever reason (gastritis, LBM, etc.) and told the House to go on recess early, to his suddenly fainting in his office this afternoon and being rushed from the House in an ambulance, thus causing pandemonium, to the Mace either disappearing or being grabbed by his loyalists, thereby disrupting the session, to someone questioning the quorum, suddenly ending the session. But then the entire budget would have been imperiled.
Or the Speaker could publicly state he would not refer the complaint until the maximum period allowed, November 11.
Or the Speaker could decide that he faced an ethical dilemma, and announce he was inhibiting himself from the whole matter. This was the solution, apparently, put forward by the Palace as a face-saving gesture but involved its own risks. The Speaker’s lawyer, Raul Lambino of Sigaw ng Bayan fame, gave the Speaker similar advice, couched in terms of his right not to participate in forwarding a document obviously aimed more at the Speaker and his son than the President. The Speaker, by taking himself out of the game, would then pass the ball to Deputy Speaker Raul del Mar.
Del Mar could then easily say that it being his call, he would hold the ball until after the recess. Or, del Mar could then send the complaint immediately to the Committee on Rules, which could then sit on it; or the Committee on Rules could instantly send it to the Committee on Justice…
For an hour, from around 3:30 to 4:30 talk centered on whether the Speaker would take himself out of the game or force a showdown. Then at around that time came word there would be a press conference at the Speaker’s office. Up to that time there were still members of the House proposing that the Speaker should pass the ball to del Mar but that del Mar shouldn’t do the Palace any favors.
Like war, members of the press spend a lot of time just waiting then suddenly heaving into action. By 5 pm the media was huddled outside the door of the Speaker’s office as various congressmen trickled out and basically refused to say anything. Finally the doors opened. Mad stampede as everyone rushed in.
The Speaker looked remarkably calm and relaxed. Arrayed around him were various House members and the Speaker’s people, including Atty. Lambino.
At one point, the Speaker got up and disappeared; call of nature, I asked a reporter? Probably a phone call from the Palace, someone else said.
The Speaker reemerged, the press conference formally began. It played out pretty much as everyone had expected:
De Venecia inhibits self from Arroyo impeach rap; Arroyo impeach case referred to panel; JDV inhibits himself; JDV inhibits self from impeach rap.
I asked a couple of questions, because the Speaker said he was withdrawing from participating in the process, even though he had misgivings because of bribery allegations, etc., etc., but he urged del Mar to attend to his ministerial duty. Del Mar smoothly said he would transmit the complaint to the Committee on Rules. Art Defensor chimed in and said as chairman he was going to calendar the referral before the plenary that very night, for referral, in turn, to the Committee on Justice.
The sending of the paper from Deputy Speaker to Rules Chairman to Justice Committee of course constituting the start of the one-year countdown of the ban on further impeachment complaints.
So my questions focused on asking del Mar why he was rushing to refer the complaint, his answer was, it’s ministerial, and then I asked Defensor if he, as Chairman, could act on behalf of a committee he only chaired but which had more than himself as members; Defensor was offended and said the whole procedure is normally concluded as he said it would be, that he was confident in speaking for the committee, etc.
Questions from the reporters present concentrated on this rush to start the Constitutional countdown while others focused on relations between the Speaker and the President.
But I had to keep asking myself, why is the Speaker, who, depending on whom you asked earlier that afternoon, had been browbeaten by the President, or threatened with being deposed, or otherwise facing a momentous event in his political life, so relaxed, so calm -and what did he have to gain from surrendering to the Palace?
Fine, he actually did the ethical thing, but I have to wonder if his inhibiting himself was the best legal advice. Fine, he gets to keep the Speakership, if the President did have the numbers. He may even think he did the country a favor by heading off the possibility of an impeachment, and the President maybe, owes him another favor.
But what does he have to gain, politically, from caving in like this?
He has to have something up his sleeve, I kept telling myself as I left the press conference.
But I have to figure out what that could be.
Update 7:58 pm and 9:08 pm Got a report that on radio it was pointed out that there’s a problem with what the Speaker did. The Constitution, according to some lawyers (and Rep. Rufus Rodriguez is apparently already raising hell about it on the floor of the House as I write this), does not give the Speaker any discretion.
The Speaker, and only the Speaker, must do the referral. He cannot delegate it, he cannot inhibit himself, it can only be the Speaker and no one else. So goes the argument.
I asked some lawyers and they concur: when the Constitution is clear and specific, and cites no exceptions, then it must be done in the manner and by whom the Constitution says. One lawyer gave a Solomonic answer: is the Speaker the only person who can refer the complaint, and if the Speaker didn’t, is there a justiciable case?
Here are their various answers:
Yes, based on the constitution [article XI. section 3.[2] and the rules of the house on impeachment [section 3. Rule 3.]. But note section 14 [h.] of the Rules of the House. authorizing the speaker to designate a member as tempo presiding officer. after informing the deputy speakers in case he/she temporarily unable to do so.
Yes the supreme court can resolve it. Note Francisco vs. House of Rep case in 2003, supreme court ruled that the power of judicial review includes power of review over justiciable issues in impeachment proceedings.
Yes. Its really a subject of justiciable review, based on Francisco decision. In this case any person may initiate it as a taxpayer suit or have a congressman question it in SC…
I think it is a jusiticable controversy but i doubt referral can be described as defective [cuz] SC will look at the House Rules in addition to the constitution. SC will try to harmonize house rules and charter and i think if they do so, they will rule this referral valid.
Because the constitution does not envision situations where speaker is unable to perform and so SC will take a look at house rules and see if speaker did the right thing. if under house rules, speaker did the right procedure, then SC will rule referral valid.Nature abhors a vacuum, the house rules filled up that vacuum.
Better question is: Can a constitutional duty be delegated? Its like the prez asking somebody to deliver SONA.
But you know justice committee can also order amendment of complaint but that’s a stretch.
So those are the contending views. But if it’s true that a legal wrinkle exists….
It’s a possibility too delicious for words.
JDV: “But Madam President, I did what you told me…”
del Mar: “But Madam, I did what you and the Speaker told me…”
Defensor: “But Madam, I did what you and the Speaker and del Mar told me….”
Everyone’s ass is covered except the one who was supposed to benefit from the inoculation!
More from Uniffors and from Ellen Tordesillas.
Technorati Tags: constitution, House of Representatives, impeachment, philippines, politics, president
“The revolution i’m advocating for is not the one you described above. It never crossed my mind that going to the streets is the most effective tool for a total change.
Revolution of the Mind – the reexamination of prevailing theories and beliefs, a comprehensive search for Truth, in short – Enlightenment. This is the most potent weapon against a corrupted society.
An Enlightened Mind can never be corrupted even at the pain of death.” cool n easy
i get your point. your idea is very good. the question is, how do you wanna go about it? overhauling the education system? bringing those accountable and responsible for plundering the country to justice? what are the ways?
Tililing, so let’s move on na lang? Sabi mo, eh.
BTW,
And why are you afraid of Communism? Do you really think that our brand of democracy is better than Communism?
I’ve been to Vietnam, and they are doing a lot better than us. And who says there’s no private property in a communist country?
This is what i’m trying to get across. i think we should stop labeling…. communists, muslims, terrorists, etc…. it’s divisive.
The man up there is still using the age-old strategy of Sun Tzu’s, “divide and conquer”. And we always voluntarily succumb to these manipulations.
Can’t we have one coherent approach to realizing a better government?
“Tililing, so let’s move on na lang? Sabi mo, eh.” cvj
don’t put words into my mouth. could you quote if i said anything to the tune of let’s move on. and you did not answer my question. aside from your putak ng putak, what do you do as a citizen?
Bencard, Cuenco himself said if was an early “Christmas gift.” Two other congressmen also admitted the “gift-giving”, although they refused to be named. Pork is released through SARO, not in cash stuffed in envelopes.
I opposed the Con-Con through SnB’s people’s initiative because it was meant to amend the Constitution to perpetuate GMA in power, Marcos-style. I’m all for amending the Constitution after GMA leaves, not to change the form of government but to strengthen the political institutions and make them work for the people’s general welfare.
“BTW,
And why are you afraid of Communism? Do you really think that our brand of democracy is better than Communism?
I’ve been to Vietnam, and they are doing a lot better than us. And who says there’s no private property in a communist country?
This is what i’m trying to get across. i think we should stop labeling…. communists, muslims, terrorists, etc…. it’s divisive.
The man up there is still using the age-old strategy of Sun Tzu’s, “divide and conquerâ€Â. And we always voluntarily succumb to these manipulations.
Can’t we have one coherent approach to realizing a better government?” cool n easy
i am not afraid of communism. i abhor communism. whether or not communism is better than democracy or democracy is better than communism, just look how many surviving communist countries in the world today and how do the people in these countries live?
vietnam is not anymore a purely communist state. they are moving towards capitalism. tell me, what country prospered that’s purely communist? it’s not the communist structure per se that made them progress, it’s hte capitalis aspect. why is china purely communist country with them embracing capitalism?
so, what are you suggetions?
cool.n.easy, i don’t think we can classify today’s Vietnam as purely communist. What Vietnam and China (and their capitalist counterparts Korea, Japan and Taiwan) had in common was a two phase approach to development:
1. The first step was to eliminate their oligarchs and spread the wealth and productive capacities to the general population. This positioned their society for the subsequent industrialization.
2. Once a society with greater social equity was achieved, then they put in place market reforms to harness these productive capabilities.
The above phases overlapped to a certain degree and the methods used were different (dictatorship at some points, democracy at others), but i believe the substance is social equity first, followed by market reforms.
cvj, on rego, I stand corrected, then. Good for you, brother rego.
I’m alarmed at the mischief that’s going on, day after day, in the highest corridors of power.
We have a failure of leadership in a flawed political culture.
Too much misinformation and outright lies being peddled by the “system”.
The smart operatives can put out the most outrageous SPINS to fool us.
I can’t do much.But if I can “expose at least one spin a day”, I would already be happy.
what are the ways?
1. Get rid of all the corrupted leaders thru physical isolation or complete elimination. Let’s be practical. We can’t implement our collective ideas for good governance because as you meant, the formidable infrastructure that serves only the few is there, and i agree.
Nasubukan na natin lahat ng legal na paraan. So anong alternative, di ba extra-legal? In order to eliminate Evil in a society, Good Men must be willing to become evil themselves even for a day.
2. Reeducate not just the masses, but even us “intellectuals”;
3. Establish a true independent institutions by not giving the president the appointing authority;
4. Future Leaders must be selected from amongst the best in us, that is, not everyone who approaches 18 can vote and run for office. There should be a better qualification. Personally, i want to be led by someone who’s a lot better than me. If it’s you T, then, so be it.
Tililing, what i quoted from you (at October 13th, 2007 12:32 pm) above is the essence of the “Let’s move on message“, a retreat into private and local/community concerns away from matters that affect State and Society at large. In itself, private and community responsibility is a good thing, but if it distracts us from awareness of the injustice, corruption,and subversion of our institutions, then it becomes yet another tool of those who hold power.
vietnam is not anymore a purely communist state. they are moving towards capitalism. tell me, what country prospered that’s purely communist?
I don’t think you really know what you’re talking. South Americas and some European states today are becoming more and more Socialists. Even France Socialists almost win the last elections.
Vietnam is just playing with the West. They can never be controlled. They have been fighting to preserve their independence for a millennium, and they are not about to change. Everyday, their media is broadcasting the lives of their heroes then and now.
The Capitalists are in control of the present financial system. But if we can follow the examples of Argentina, Venezuela, etc. we can surely be better off than today, even under a capitalist environment.
“what are the ways?
1. Get rid of all the corrupted leaders thru physical isolation or complete elimination. Let’s be practical. We can’t implement our collective ideas for good governance because as you meant, the formidable infrastructure that serves only the few is there, and i agree.
Nasubukan na natin lahat ng legal na paraan. So anong alternative, di ba extra-legal? In order to eliminate Evil in a society, Good Men must be willing to become evil themselves even for a day.
2. Reeducate not just the masses, but even us “intellectualsâ€Â;
3. Establish a true independent institutions by not giving the president the appointing authority;
4. Future Leaders must be selected from amongst the best in us, that is, not everyone who approaches 18 can vote and run for office. There should be a better qualification. Personally, i want to be led by someone who’s a lot better than me. If it’s you T, then, so be it.” cool n easy
1. i agree. i would even go further to either hang these people or guillotine them (the french revolution example). with the present system. this might be quite impossible. the system convicted an ex-president but where is he now? having the time of his life in his, yes, isolated but certainly posh and extravagant rest house.
2. this is a really tremendous task – reeducation. to educate the uneducated, to re-educate the mis-educated, and to un-educate and re-educate the mal-educated. schools now are becoming milking cows by some capitalists except for some, that is.
3. again, quite radical. do you have any idea on a certain model we can have as jumping board. i mean, what country in the world wherein government institutions are not within presidential appointive powers that eventually worked. after all, government is about politics is all about political debts. do you mean executive, legislative, and judiciary or non-appointive powers of president on constitutional, supra-constitutional agencies. if were talking of line agencies, the president always have the hand on this because it borders on executive antecedents.
4. more qualifications, agree. caveat, marcos was brilliant but became a dictator. erap was kinda intellectually challenged but became another president who practiced crony capitalism. i’m a simple man with simple dreams.
Nasubukan na din iyan ni Gloria and her Civil Society supporters. Wasn’t the evil of cheating in 2004 (aka ‘Hello Garci’) justified on the basis of preventing an FPJ Presidency (thought to be an evil outcome by the elitist crowd). In fact, doing evil under the guise of doing a greater good is a large part of what got us into this situation in the first place.
“Tililing, what i quoted from you (at October 13th, 2007 12:32 pm) above is the essence of the “Let’s move on message“, a retreat into private and local/community concerns away from matters that affect State and Society at large. In itself, private and community responsibility is a good thing, but if it distracts us from awareness of the injustice, corruption,and subversion of our institutions, then it becomes yet another tool of those who hold power.” cvj
don’t make assumptions not unless i have clearly stipulated it. what you’re doing is assuming. i think all of us have to get back to the basics of social change. by ourselves let’s become good citizens. by our influence let’s spread it to our circle of influence. hope that a certain ripple effect would happen.
what we need these days are more people doing something good rather than sweet-talking. take for example, i have nothing against rallies but if 50% of their time is spent on being productive, it adds up to the total productivity of the nation that would translate into better opportunities for other people.
I think reeducation is essentially an elitist concept. It’s used by the upper and middle classes, particularly those with an elitist mindset and who favor an elite-vanguard approach to deny others their voice.
“I don’t think you really know what you’re talking. South Americas and some European states today are becoming more and more Socialists. Even France Socialists almost win the last elections.
Vietnam is just playing with the West. They can never be controlled. They have been fighting to preserve their independence for a millennium, and they are not about to change. Everyday, their media is broadcasting the lives of their heroes then and now.
The Capitalists are in control of the present financial system. But if we can follow the examples of Argentina, Venezuela, etc. we can surely be better off than today, even under a capitalist environment.” cool n easy
don’t mix up socialism (economic system) with communism (political system). first and foremost, you must understand that in a socialist system, people have some say and in a communist system, few and few people have a say on things. if you’re talking about socialism, then yes, there are countries which thrived on it but not communism as you’ve said earlier.
france is becoming more a socialist not a communist. how do you know that vietnam is playing with the west? money can do a lot of changes in an economy, a nation for that matter.
for one, venezuela has a lot of oil to exploit and part of opec. taka away the oil income of venezuela and let’s see if venezuela could sustain on other industries. argentina has always have political instability at its doorsteps even defaulting foreign debts. are these the countries that you want the philippines to emulate?
“I think reeducation is essentially an elitist concept. It’s used by the upper and middle classes, particularly those with an elitist mindset and who favor an elite-vanguard approach to deny others their voice.” cvj
so what’s the proper term for you?
Cool.n.easy, apologies for the wrong attribution (at October 13th, 2007 at 1:18 pm). That quote should be attributed to Tililing.
Tililing, no assumption is needed since everything you say is contained within the text of your comment. What you say (at October 13th, 2007, 1:23 pm) is further confirmation that you belong to the “Let’s move on” camp. Even the phrases ‘circle of influence’ (and ‘circle of concern’) has been used by someone else from that camp before. As i said, it’s not bad in itself, but becomes that way if it serves as a distraction (aka ‘spin’).
cool n easy, my reply to you about vietnam is still awaiting moderation.
“Tililing, no assumption is needed since everything you say is contained within the text of your comment. What you say (at October 13th, 2007, 1:23 pm) is further confirmation that you belong to the “Let’s move on†camp. Even the phrases ‘circle of influence’ (and ‘circle of concern’) has been used by someone else from that camp before. As i said, it’s not bad in itself, but becomes that way if it serves as a distraction (aka ’spin’).” cvj
so more blah blah than action?
Hello guys,
I see cvj and titillating are still at it huh?
Bribery in private and especially government biddings is almost impossible to prove. Shamefully, I dabbled a little bit in the past, you don’t leave a trail, no signed vouchers for bribe money and commissions, purely cash, you deliver the goods to the house of the official, no transactions in the office. If you really need to use ATM, deposit in the wife’s or relatives bank account, no checks. Of course as smoke can never be hidden, there’s a trail of stink, but thats about it, good luck building a case based on “talk.” It only becomes a problem once one of the parties involved, the briber and the bribee testifies and comes up with a paper trail, other than that its just dismissed easily as heresay. My favorite quotation at that time ” The Devil’s greatest accomplishment was convincing the world he didn’t exist.†– JIM CAROLL
I was young and foolish and I thought being a “devil” was cool and the “good guys” the ones who play fair are PUSHOVERS, dorks, and yes, nerds, who remain virgins because they lacked the guts to cross the line every now and then to live the good life.
I grew up… In my old age I realized the folly of materialism, you can’t take it with you. Unfortunately for us, there’s a new generation of “devils” now and an old generation that refused to grow up.
As I said before, GMA is going “HAHAHAHAHA! Catch me if you can you amateurs!” ala Dr. Evil and Luli “hahahahaha!” ala mini me…
Tililing, it’s not the term, but the attitude of superiority inherent in the concept. The word is used by elitists of all stripes. I’ve seen ignorant people from the upper and middle class use that term against the poor majority. Of course, the communists are also fond of using ‘reeducation’ to convey that they know something that the rest doesn’t.
Ramrod, where i work, i’m one of those who usually accompanies the salesman to do the technical presentation and answer technical questions. I can only say that after watching you guys in action for almost 20 years, i have a sense of the pressures you’re under and am in awe of your profession.
“although i am for a revolution, i don’t wanna be part of these communist/militant rallies. i smell rotten duck eggs each time they go to the streets.”- titillating
Titillating este tililing,
I will hazard a guess that you’re probably half my age. There was a time I looked at rallyists as such, add the labor unions picketing the company gates, but you must admit we are now enjoying some of the benefits that resulted from the actions of these “rotten duck eggs smelling people,” they may probably smell like that because they’ve been out there in the sun for the whole day, shouting, fighting for what should have been. In the case of labor unions, they might have forced the management CBA team to review their offer and gave in to the union like salary increases, additional benefits, etc. (which is not bad don’t you think?) I used to judge these people rather harshly, now I regard them with some respect, respect for those who act instead of “satsat” that most of us here seem not to like. Please be more reserving of your judgements fof those rapists, hijackers, kidnappers, murderers, and dictatorial housewives.
ramrod,
Kudos! Your sincerity, honesty and mellowness (having the gentleness, wisdom, or tolerance often characteristic of maturity)makes me think of brewing my coffee for the afternoon. We need more bloggers like you, I hope some bloggers will learn from your attitude ( you know who they are).
“Tililing, it’s not the term, but the attitude of superiority inherent in the concept. The word is used by elitists of all stripes. I’ve seen ignorant people from the upper and middle class use that term against the poor majority. Of course, the communists are also fond of using ‘reeducation’ to convey that they know something that the rest doesn’t.” cvj
the way i see it is very simple. assess and analyze the flaws in the present education both in the public and private sphere. make the necessary regulatory adjustments. no need to inject the issue on whether it’s from the elite or non-elite bull droppings.
i was sent to school by my parents with sweat and blood. fortunately i graduated college. i took it upon myself to work hard and sent myself to school for advanced studies. let’s not inject some color on whether there’s really miseducation and maleducation. i don’t think the term reeducation that me and cool n easy used was referring in anyway to vietnam reeducation camps. it’s a simple term, no nonsense, no bullshit.
“I will hazard a guess that you’re probably half my age. There was a time I looked at rallyists as such, add the labor unions picketing the company gates, but you must admit we are now enjoying some of the benefits that resulted from the actions of these “rotten duck eggs smelling people,†they may probably smell like that because they’ve been out there in the sun for the whole day, shouting, fighting for what should have been. In the case of labor unions, they might have forced the management CBA team to review their offer and gave in to the union like salary increases, additional benefits, etc. (which is not bad don’t you think?) I used to judge these people rather harshly, now I regard them with some respect, respect for those who act instead of “satsat†that most of us here seem not to like. Please be more reserving of your judgements fof those rapists, hijackers, kidnappers, murderers, and dictatorial housewives.” ramrod
don’t get me wrong. i am against political rallies. i am not against rallies like rallies for employment benefits. as i have said, only if the participants of these senseless political rallies work rather than spend their days rallying, then we have some productivity to add to our economy. now, how can these people afford to rally everyday and how do they live? i wonder. i am more particular with communist/militant political rallies not the rallies you are referring too. anyway, at least i clarified that one.
“ramrod,
Kudos! Your sincerity, honesty and mellowness (having the gentleness, wisdom, or tolerance often characteristic of maturity)makes me think of brewing my coffee for the afternoon. We need more bloggers like you, I hope some bloggers will learn from your attitude ( you know who they are).” gps
blunt question, you referring to me (at least one of those you are referring to)?
Ramrod, i’m all for improving the educational system, but we cannot ignore the political aspect of the term. The question of elitism arises when it comes to considering who will do the educating who will be educated, and what is to be done with those who are not yet educated. Cool.n.easy’s reference to introducing more stringent qualifications for candidates and voters is a consequence of such a distinction. That get’s in the way of genuine dialogue among the classes (i.e. EDSA Dos and EDSA Tres).
Sorry Tililing, the above response was meant for you. I think i need to eat something…
“Ramrod, i’m all for improving the educational system, but we cannot ignore the political aspect of the term. The question of elitism arises when it comes to considering who will do the educating who will be educated, and what is to be done with those who are not yet educated. Cool.n.easy’s reference to introducing more stringent qualifications for candidates and voters is a consequence of such a distinction. That get’s in the way of genuine dialogue among the classes (i.e. EDSA Dos and EDSA Tres).”
as for me i don’t notice the political aspect of the term if people work hand in hand on this. if you are afraid that some private schools backed by some elites would exploit this then let’s go to the public schools – state colleges and universities down the line.
my question, do you think that UP and the other state universities are credible enough to undertake this re-education? although, i do believe that both edsa 2 and edsa 3 people have their own valid arguments, i am not in anyway convinced on how edsa 3 people use violence for mob rule.
i think you better grab something to eat first. your mind is starting to mess up itself.
by the way, i read above that you’re a technical guy, what industry you in? maybe we can talk about some technical matters later on.
GPS,
I’ve been an a–hole for such a long time at times I wonder why, my parents were good people and I studied in Catholic schools? Looking at Philippine politics from an outsider’s point of view would really favor GMA and her administration, even my counterparts from abroad have a good impression of her. I believe you have to “live” here, talk to the people, businessmen, understand other people’s point of views that you can get a clearer picture of how things are. Much of my earlier biases were cleared mainly because of this blog, most especially when MLQ3 referred a book “Closer Than Brothers,” that I really started to understand why I was an a–hole, and would have continued to be so.
Now I see the vigorous exchange of conflicting ideas and opinions here as a good sign at least – let them enjoy the freedom to blog, its the beauty of living in the Philippines. Opinions formed now may change tomorrow (or not), whats more important for me is the existence of people like all of you who refuse to live in the dark…
exchange of views, may it be heated or not is healthy.
it can only lead to two things, stand your ground and join in or just shut up and be a passive observer in here.
ram,
Point well taken. Thanks anyway, I’m now sipping my hot brewed coffee.
Titillating,
I see you are a “spirited,” intelligent, and not to mention articulate human being, add formidable also. I only ask that this “stand your ground” you’re referring to is not just for “winning any arguments sake” because in the end, it would be nice to come up with a framework of action also that would lead to the productivity you also want.
For now, I have to sign off again, I have to accompany my wife to the hairstylist, and then spend quality time. If it were up to me I’d rather blog here…
cool.n.easy
:”Kaya ba nating umaksyon muna, at tsaka na satsat?”
ok yun cool.n.easy
“I see you are a “spirited,†intelligent, and not to mention articulate human being, add formidable also. I only ask that this “stand your ground†you’re referring to is not just for “winning any arguments sake†because in the end, it would be nice to come up with a framework of action also that would lead to the productivity you also want.
For now, I have to sign off again, I have to accompany my wife to the hairstylist, and then spend quality time. If it were up to me I’d rather blog here…” ramrod
one of my sidelines was to work in a saloon. i learned some tricks of the trade – rebond, hairdye, haircurl, those stuff 😀
ramrod, i was also able to have some part time in a laundromat shop. you know, doing some ironing of clothes and doing the laundry jobs. i’m an expert in dry cleaning as well. 😀
tililing, i’m in the IT Industry.
cvj, telecoms? computer systems (hardware, software)? services?
Mr Mlq3, bro cvj, sir ramrod, comrade tililing,
On revolutions, re-education, solutions,
imho
Revolution after revolution, people power after people power, re-education after re-education, solution after solution is futile unless it touches on the heart of the matter which is the heart of man.
mlq3,
history,
of the heart
edsa 1 touched the hearts of many but maybe not enough, at edsa 2 there was anger in the hearts of many, righteous anger or self-righteous rage maybe, at edsa 3 there was hurt in the hearts af the masa,
now, what’s the state of the hearts of many?
many say apathy, do you agree?
“Mr Mlq3, bro cvj, sir ramrod, comrade tililing,
On revolutions, re-education, solutions,
imho
Revolution after revolution, people power after people power, re-education after re-education, solution after solution is futile unless it touches on the heart of the matter which is the heart of man.” pete
aside from a change of heart, governance is a hit-miss thing by itself. as to when the right formula will be concocted, time would tell.
don’t mix up socialism (economic system) with communism (political system).
Whatever ism we have, it’s not the problem. Like i said we should stop labeling ourselves as this and that… it’s divisively useless.
What we must do is to accept the fact that we are all manipulated to accept this reality as the Truth. Where we are today is an imposed manipulated reality.
When can we ever realized that we have been purposely divided into groups and subgroups so we can’t have a coherent mode of action against a small group of people controlling world affairs?
They control every influential media outlets. That is why our way of thinking is molded into what they have been feeding us for centuries.
The only consolation we have today is internet where information are not yet censored.
Again, it’s not about capitalists vs. communists, Christians vs. Muslims, rather greed and hunger, apathy and ignorance.
Matanda na tayo upang maintindihan na ang relihiyon mismo ay isang kasangkapan lang upang kontrolin ang sangkatauhan. Christ did not build church of brick and mortar but compassion right into the hearts of men. That’s why the Church felt threatened and murdered him.
An Enlightened Mind can never be corrupted even at the pain of death.
don’t mix up socialism (economic system) with communism (political system).
Whatever ism we have, it’s not the problem. Like i said we should stop labeling ourselves as this and that… it’s divisively useless.
What we must do is to accept the fact that we are all manipulated to accept this reality as the Truth. Where we are today is an imposed manipulated reality.
When can we ever realized that we have been purposely divided into groups and subgroups so we can’t have a coherent mode of action against a small group of people controlling world affairs?
They control every influential media outlets. That is why our way of thinking is molded into what they have been feeding us for centuries.
The only consolation we have today is internet where information are not yet censored.
Again, it’s not about capitalists vs. communists, Christians vs. Muslims, rather, it’s about greed and hunger, apathy and ignorance, and most of all pataasan ng ihi.
Matanda na tayo upang maintindihan na ang relihiyon mismo ay isang kasangkapan lang upang kontrolin ang sangkatauhan. Christ did not build church of brick and mortar but compassion right into the hearts of men. That’s why the Church felt threatened and murdered him.
An Enlightened Mind can never be corrupted even at the pain of death.
3. again, quite radical. do you have any idea on a certain model we can have as jumping board.”
Why do we always have to look somewhere for the right solutions to our own problems?
I think CVJ here would agree that the best system-wide solution is one that is customized?
“Why do we always have to look somewhere for the right solutions to our own problems?
I think CVJ here would agree that the best system-wide solution is one that is customized?” cool n easy
i think there’s such a thing as learning from other countries, at least those whose civilizations preceded out for centuries and they were able to develop certain general models we can emulate then modify for our own purposes.
if you are thinking of a home-grown customized system-wide solution, it would again fall under a hit-miss endeavor and until when would this hit-miss be perfected if i may ask?
it’s always good at times to think outside the box.
“i think there’s such a thing as learning from other countries, at least those whose civilizations preceded out for centuries and they were able to develop certain general models we can emulate then modify for our own purposes.”
Well, it can be argued that “democracy” was a learning from a different country (the West) which at the time seemed like a dandy idea until, that is, it was applied in a society that didn’t have the faintest clue what it means to be a “good leader” — much less select one. 😀
Given the above track record and the abundance of tesed models for progress out there sitting under Pinoys’ noses (also considering that there are 8-10 million of our compatriots actually living and breathing such models), I wonder whether there is any point to even discussing said “models” that are candidates for emulation in Pinoy society.
Here’s mine by the way:
http://www.getrealphilippines.com/solution/ 😉
outside of the box solution customized, i have
back to work, me first