The Inquirer editorial yesterday (Queendom for a horse) took a critical look at AFP chief’s term extended.The editorial says the possibility that Esperon will serve longer than an additional three months should be considered. The editorial cites the following laws and decrees: Presidential Decree 1638 as amended by Presidential Decree 1650, and Republic Act 8186 as amended by Republic Act 9188, as well as the provisions of the Constitution (since Esperon term extension possible only in case of war – Palace). It also makes reference to GMA’s speech during the AFP Change of Command Ceremony, November 28, 2002.
Today, the news is Esperon: 4 months ahead may be bloody: General expects stiff NPA resistance. Whether this is posturing or Esperon’s real intention, remains to be seen. But if he really does believe the AFP is capable of liquidating the NPA in the hills, what would be his basis for this?
Randy David gives us a clue. In The tragedy of the rural poor, says something unprecedented is going on. We’re used to the sight of people moving to the city from the province, attracted by the glitter and opportunity of life in the big city. David says what’s going on today, though, is that people are moving to the city not because they are attracted by opportunity, but because they are fleeing the collapse of rural life in the provinces. There is a difference, he says, and it is troubling -an unintended consequence, he says, of defective land reform. This reminds me of an assertion by the economist Mike Alba who pointed out no one is quite sure, because the government mechanisms for monitoring it have broken down, of how much formerly productive agricultural land has been converted to real estate and other purposes. He also points out, and if he knows it the military knows it, too, that efforts to organize the peasantry are at their lowest ebb since the 40’s and 50’s.
On a related note, see Solita Monsod’s Two challenges, where she says the ranks of the truly poor have shrunk while most Filipinos have become slightly poorer across all classes.
Politically, the weekend had news that Arroyo douses plot vs Speaker via phone call — Ermita and that as Congress resumes session, GMA tells Rainbow Coalition to stand by JdV. The scuttlebutt, however, is that the changes in the executive and legislative departments are scheduled for later this year. Among the targets are Lakas stalwarts. Supposedly Executive Secretary Ermita will finally be eased out around May, to be replaced by the current DILG Secretary, Puno. Speaker de Venecia, on the other hand, will be removed from the speakership near the end of the year. Meanwhile, attempts to amend the Constitution will gather pace in the middle of the year.
Now this is what interests me about the other big weekend news, Melo named Comelec chair. His appointment, to my mind, can’t be evaluated properly until the other presidential appointments to the Comelec are announced. And even then, it all depends on whether the administration will then send signals it wants stability until 2010 or will pursue constitutional amendments aggressively. If it pursues amendments then the first task of the new Comelec Chairman and the new commissioners will be to preside over a plebiscite that will be manned by the same mid and lower level Comelec people tasked with the 2004 and 2007 elections. Which means individuals like Christian Monsod, groups like the PPCRV, and even the Cardinal Archbishop of Manila (who strongly backs the candidacy of Howie Calleja, for example, for a Comelec commissioner slot) might find themselves quite disappointed with their nominees, after Appointment of Melo as COMELEC head welcomed. But if constitutional amendments don’t take off, there is room for moderate optimism for 2010.
My column for today is Individualistic yet part of the whole. One of the books I mentioned, Profiles Encourage, is reviewed by Rodel Rodis. See also two commentaries in the papers: Filipino Diaspora as a Form of Revolt and Going beyond ‘Same same’. You may also want to participate in Janette Toral’s Important Issues on Philippines 2010 Election.
Speaking of elections, overseas, Obama’s big win keeps his hopes alive. Interesting reading in Slate’s The Super Tuesday Strategy Guide.
Concerning the prospects of an American recession affecting our part of the world, see Asia Won’t Get Away Clean in The Asia Sentinel, as well as Live it Up, Asia! (which doesn’t apply to us).
And for future discussion: Parag Khanna’s Waving Goodbye to Hegemony:
At best, America’s unipolar moment lasted through the 1990s, but that was also a decade adrift. The post-cold-war “peace dividend” was never converted into a global liberal order under American leadership. So now, rather than bestriding the globe, we are competing – and losing – in a geopolitical marketplace alongside the world’s other superpowers: the European Union and China. This is geopolitics in the 21st century: the new Big Three. Not Russia, an increasingly depopulated expanse run by Gazprom.gov; not an incoherent Islam embroiled in internal wars; and not India, lagging decades behind China in both development and strategic appetite. The Big Three make the rules – their own rules – without any one of them dominating. And the others are left to choose their suitors in this post-American world.
The more we appreciate the differences among the American, European and Chinese worldviews, the more we will see the planetary stakes of the new global game. Previous eras of balance of power have been among European powers sharing a common culture. The cold war, too, was not truly an “East-West” struggle; it remained essentially a contest over Europe. What we have today, for the first time in history, is a global, multicivilizational, multipolar battle.
In Europe’s capital, Brussels, technocrats, strategists and legislators increasingly see their role as being the global balancer between America and China. Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, a German member of the European Parliament, calls it “European patriotism.” The Europeans play both sides, and if they do it well, they profit handsomely. It’s a trend that will outlast both President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, the self-described “friend of America,” and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, regardless of her visiting the Crawford ranch. It may comfort American conservatives to point out that Europe still lacks a common army; the only problem is that it doesn’t really need one. Europeans use intelligence and the police to apprehend radical Islamists, social policy to try to integrate restive Muslim populations and economic strength to incorporate the former Soviet Union and gradually subdue Russia. Each year European investment in Turkey grows as well, binding it closer to the E.U. even if it never becomes a member. And each year a new pipeline route opens transporting oil and gas from Libya, Algeria or Azerbaijan to Europe. What other superpower grows by an average of one country per year, with others waiting in line and begging to join?
With the new Big Three, the author then says the task is to identify the “Second World”:
To really understand how quickly American power is in decline around the world, I’ve spent the past two years traveling in some 40 countries in the five most strategic regions of the planet – the countries of the second world. They are not in the first-world core of the global economy, nor in its third-world periphery. Lying alongside and between the Big Three, second-world countries are the swing states that will determine which of the superpowers has the upper hand for the next generation of geopolitics. From Venezuela to Vietnam and Morocco to Malaysia, the new reality of global affairs is that there is not one way to win allies and influence countries but three: America’s coalition (as in “coalition of the willing”), Europe’s consensus and China’s consultative styles. The geopolitical marketplace will decide which will lead the 21st century…
Second-world countries are distinguished from the third world by their potential: the likelihood that they will capitalize on a valuable commodity, a charismatic leader or a generous patron. Each and every second-world country matters in its own right, for its economic, strategic or diplomatic weight, and its decision to tilt toward the United States, the E.U. or China has a strong influence on what others in its region decide to do. Will an American nuclear deal with India push Pakistan even deeper into military dependence on China? Will the next set of Arab monarchs lean East or West? The second world will shape the world’s balance of power as much as the superpowers themselves will.
As for our part of the world,
America may seek Muslim allies for its image and the “war on terror,” but these same countries seem also to be part of what Samuel Huntington called the “Confucian-Islamic connection.” What is more, China is pulling off the most difficult of superpower feats: simultaneously maintaining positive ties with the world’s crucial pairs of regional rivals: Venezuela and Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Iran, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. At this stage, Western diplomats have only mustered the wherewithal to quietly denounce Chinese aid policies and value-neutral alliances, but they are far from being able to do much of anything about them.
This applies most profoundly in China’s own backyard, Southeast Asia. Some of the most dynamic countries in the region Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are playing the superpower suitor game with admirable savvy. Chinese migrants have long pulled the strings in the region’s economies even while governments sealed defense agreements with the U.S. Today, Malaysia and Thailand still perform joint military exercises with America but also buy weapons from, and have defense treaties with, China, including the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation by which Asian nations have pledged nonaggression against one another. (Indonesia, a crucial American ally during the cold war, has also been forming defense ties with China.) As one senior Malaysian diplomat put it to me, without a hint of jest, “Creating a community is easy among the yellow and the brown but not the white.” Tellingly, it is Vietnam, because of its violent histories with the U.S. and China, which is most eager to accept American defense contracts (and a new Intel microchip plant) to maintain its strategic balance. Vietnam, like most of the second world, doesn’t want to fall into any one superpower’s sphere of influence.
It’s a lengthy article but well worth a read.
Technorati Tags: CBCP, Charter Change, constitution, economy, elections, House of Representatives, ideas, law, media, military, philippines, politics, society
nash, i call it national interest and self-preservation. if there is any nation on earth who could possibly dominate the world, i would put my faith on the u.s. with its proven benevolence, respect for human rights, adherence to the rule of law, fairness and justice. of course, it’s not perfect, by any means, but its imperfections pale compared to that of all the others.
UPn, Yes as far as caregivers and nannies I know..most of the mostly successful todays Filipino immigrants were yesterdays nannies, who in the old days were required to do a little schooling or upgrading and need 3 years to qualify..so I believe it is true to all contract workers as Canada adhere to the principles of Equality…
Bencard:
Per 2003 BBC survey, to the question “in military conflicts, do you think that the American military does enough to avoid civilian casualties or could it do more?”, about one in 3 Americans say “could do more”. 58% of Canadians, of Israelis.. also of Australians say “could do more”. 65% of Indonesians, 80% of Russians, 93% of Jordanians say “could do more”.
………
As to the question “do you think that Al Qaeda does enough to avoid civilian casualties or could it do more?”, no one even bothers to conduct a survey.
SUPERFERRY 14!!!
nothing they don’t already have. they’ll jz be wasting time and effort when our leaders already bow and scrape, and serve the US hand and foot.
mas masahol pa kay Willie, ay sina Gozon at Lopez, dahil sila nagdi dictate ng programming ng istasyon nila. pambobong palabas, sa kanila yun. nakakabobong noontime shows? sa kanila rin un. at pag me humirit pa na sinasagot lang nila ang gusto ng tao, hahambalusin ko sila ng rule of vicious cycles.
me oras rin ang karma.
with great power, comes great responsibility. tama.
pero with great greed comes great tragedy. ampotah, kaya nga vicious cycle eh. Gozon and Lopez wants the masses to stay stupid so that they’ll keep on patronizing their shows that makes these same people stupid (or even stupider, bordering on idiotic, and surpassing imbecility) in short, there is no incentive to make shows of higher quality and in fact, is more undesirable for if they start making more TRULY educational shows, it would mean more educated people. which would mean, lesser people to bamboozle, lesser people patronizing them – and basically less power for them. a more informed citizenry is a citizenry hard to dupe.
haha. ampotah talaga. ang sarap sapakin. with that kind of power, malaki na maitutulong nyan to improve our country. pero ampotah talaga, kaya ampotah na lang. so? me oras rin ang karma.
upn student. that was interesting. obviously, it is far easier for the indonesians (predominantly muslim), russians (still a u.s. non-admirer), and jordan (what can i say) to say “could do more”, unless, perhaps, they are the ones actually doing it.
@devilsadvoc8t
ikaw ha, kapuso ka pala. 😀
hrvds: “Case study in the history of the influence of the Chinese merchant class domination of the Philippine economy.”
Very interesting post! Mind telling your source? or is it a product of direct observation? of inside info (perhaps?)?
Wow, that gives an “inside” view about Gokongwei’s entrepreneurial success. That’s what I pointed out earlier. Entrepreneurs tell good stories about how they make it, but there are other untold ones that remain hidden from public ears. In a way, people are like newspapers – they banner headlines, good (bad) news in the front page. What is untold is yet to be known, or said. Sometimes one finds this stuff in the back page, or outside the domain of newswriting or public speaking.
bencard, it is pronouncements like these which lead me to believe that you may be living in an alternate world. either that, or you should really stop whatever drugs you’re taking.
proven benevolence? and i suppose you have the american-indians as examples of this benevolence? respect for human rights? amfufu. nagpapatawa ka ba? rule of law o rule of force? fairness and justice? skewed to the very end on their side.
not perfect talaga. and comparing to others, i can think of countries more magnanimous than the US.
To the question “which do you think is more dangerous to world peace and stability, USA or Al Qaeida?”, Indonesia says US (60 vs 27); Jordan says US (71 vs 8).
Russia – 25% say US, 49% say Al Qaeida;
France – 14% say US, 75% say Al Qaeida;
Australia – 21% say US, 71% say Al Qaeida;
Canada – 25% say US, 65% say Al Qaeida;
13% of Americans say USA is the bigger danger to world peace.
nasht, pano ako naging kapuso eh sinali ko si Gozon?
haha. di mo kilala si Gozon no?
@bencard
“proven benevolence…”- the usa does not even figure in the top 10 of charitable aid as a percentage of gdp. the top spot belongs to the netherlands.
“respect for human rights” – yes, those people in guantanamo have access to lawyers and have been officially charged.
“adherence to the rule of law” – paris hilton
“fairness and justice” – aid to Israel is 100 times that given to palestine whose citizens are being starved by a big wall.
But I agree with you, in terms of real values rather than relative values, the USA, being the greatest economy of this lifetime have done a lot of good.
But as they say, to whom much is given, much is expected, and they can definitely do better.
leche, wrong grammar pa ako. dapat “has done” instead of “have done”. napala sa kapapanood ng sarimanok channel
Devils, “proven benevolence? and i suppose you have the american-indians as examples of this benevolence? respect for human rights? amfufu. nagpapatawa ka ba? rule of law o rule of force? fairness and justice? skewed to the very end on their side.”
Amen!
@hawaiianguy,
why did you have to mention the “i” word? they are trying to bury that into oblivion 😀
cvj,
Tulad ng sinabi ni bencard problema talaga na laging damay ang inosente. Pati ba naman ako na nanahimik sa opisina eh binulabog ng dalawang eroplano na yan. parang may lindol sa loob ng opisina. tapos nakita ko pa sa bintana yung mga tao na nahuhulog. buti na lang nakababa agad ako at mabilis akong tumakbo at hindi ako nabagsakan ng world trade center. kung hindi walang magsasabi sa iyo na tarantado talaga ang mga taong walang pakialam sa mga inosente.
I don’t know how vic/canada feels, but hawaiianguy and the two nash’es seem to vote like Indonesians or Jordanians (and not Canadians or Russians). Bencard votes like a typical American.
———–
2003 BBC Survey: to the question “in general, how would you say you feel towards America?” the score is “favorable less unfavorable”, so a plus-score represents feel “favorable” towards USA.
Australia — plus 35
Canada — 65
Jordan — minus 60
Indonesia — minus 27
France — minus 10
Russia — plus 21
Korea — plus 22
UK — plus 57
USA — plus 88
Now here is a zinger… “in general, how would you say you feel about the Philippines?” I vote favorable.
I only suggested a federation with Indonesia because
1. It makes sense geographically
2. The economic status is almost the same
3. It might solve the Mindanao secession problem
Thailand is also a possible partner in a federation.
devils, more magnanimous? then do it. name them. just because a country HAS DONE NOTHING worthwhile that affect the whole world, it could be described as “magnanimous”. greenland or iceland has not bothered any nation. are they magnanimous? american indians? name one great nation (pre-historic, ancient, medieval or modern) on earth that had not been founded on conquest and occupation. judea, the biblical state of abraham, was established through conquest of many tribes, e.g., hitites. so were egypt, assyria, babilonia, persia, greece, rome, the ottoman empire, etc.
perhaps you should try what i’m drinking. perhaps it could make you less pompous and presumptuous.
nash, if you are going to debate me on this subject, look at the big picture rather than zero in on particular flaws. u.s.a. is not, never has been, engaged in charity-giving contests. it just gave, and has been giving, to charity since its inception as a nation. guantanamo and paris hilton do not even begin to define america’s rule of law and justice. there are also criminals in america, you know, and they invariably face law and justice when they are caught (unlike some places i know). whether america chooses to give more aid to one country over another is not an issue of fairness (this is a very pinoy mentality). the fact is that it gives aid, period.
Supremo, so siguro alam mo na rin ang pakiramdam ng mga Iraqi na binulabog ng mga Amerikano. Sa palagay mo, katumbas kaya ng ilang 9/11 ang kanilang napagdaanan?
devils, i forgot to mention the conquest and occupation of the philippines, etc. by spain, india, new zealand and australia by great britain, brazil and sao paolo, etc. by portugal. just say if you need more, and i’ll refer you to upn (if he’s willing to “educate” you).
Bencard, so i take it that “magnanimous” means killing fewer people in a less cruel manner than the others.
cvj,
nasabugan ka na ba kahit triangulo man lang? alam mo ba ang pakiramdam? anong gagawin mo? iiyak ka lang sa tabi o gaganti ka rin? kung hindi ka pa nakaranas ng kahit na anong bombing o giyera eh tumabi ka na lang at huwag ka ng makialam. hindi mo laban ‘to. kung gusto mong makialam pumunta ka muna sa Iraq o Afghanistan tapos sabihin mo dito sa blog na ‘to kung ano ang pakiramadam. walang imagination lang. dapat totoong experience.
supremo, ang lagay ba kung inosenteng Americano ang nasantala eh inosenteng Iraqi din dapat ang kapalit? Hindi ba ang nararapat gantihan ay ang mga may kagagawan ng 9/11?
para sa mga mahilig sa sushi.
‘On December 13, 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army stormed the Chinese city of Nanking. During the following six weeks, they murdered and tortured countless civilians whose only crime was being Chinese. Over 300,000 people were killed and over 20,000 women were brutally raped. However, over the decades, the Japanese began to deny that this massacre ever occurred.’
cvj, let’s just say among non-angels, america is the least evil. there’s definitely a difference between a lethal injection and cutting you piece by piece starting from your pinkie until you are deader than dead.
cvj,
pakita mo muna ang peklat mo dahil sa bomb sharpnel o debris ng kung ano man at mag-usap uli tayo. totoong experience para patas. bahala ka kung saan mo gustong kunin ang peklat mo.
@ bencurd,
I’m just splitting hairs with you. Of course I recognize, America’s contribution and charity giving SHOULD NOT be a contest as you suggest.
anyways, i’m just making conjecture here and humoring you while manolo puts up a new blog post that we can all enjoy talking about.
and let me go back to your first statement: “who could possibly dominate the world, i would put my faith on the u.s.”
Only YOU and some Americans think this way. Why should you always think about “DOMINATING” kasi???
Why can’t you let the world be? We don’t want this hegemony of yours.
Imagine how infinitely boring Marrakech or Cairo would be if it had McDonald’s or Starbucks. Or how our sex life would suffer if we had to work more than 45 hours a week as standard and without 4 weeks off paid holidays per year.
Cheers
Supremo, mas maraming may peklat sa Iraq. Alam natin kung bakit.
@ UP n,
the two nashes are me
and i don’t know what that survey is measuring. America is Mula Canada hanggang Argentina. Baka that means USA.
Anyways, I don’t know about Indonesians, but I still love USA stuff like Blues, Jazz Music, their national parks, and their literature. As for hawkish foreign policy, that is a different thing.
nash: the survey was done in the dialect of the nations; America meant USA; it was done May 2003.
As for the sentences you’ve posted re US-of-A, you could just as easily be a Californian who likes the blues, enjoys the beach and hiking the national parks (I won’t include ‘reading books’ — rare in California), and anti-Bush foreign policy. But you’re not an American.
What I’ll do… instead of “…similar to Indonesian”, I’ll mark your points of view as “… similar to the French”. 😀
@ UP n
again, for everyone’s geographical sanity, I suggest you not hi-jack the word “American” to refer solely to USAmericans.
Afterall, Argentinians are American the same way that Mexicans are American.
Incidentally, are you saying California should be returned to it’s rightful owners (the Chicanos?). Why stop there, pati na rin Texas…:D
nash, your talking to me, or is it your accent? there’s a “beancurd” here, you know.
who wants hegemony? imagining its possibility is not the same as wanting it. one american commenting about the possibility of a global nuclear war doesn’t necessarily mean he is obsessed with such a war.
cheers.
cvj,
e di doon mo kunin ang peklat mo. huwag kang manghusga tungkol sa terorismo at pumanig sa kahit kanino man hanggang wala kang peklat dahil hindi mo alam ang sinasabi mo. hindi mo laban ‘to.
nash: If the chicanos so desire, the US Border Patrol won’t stop the migration any migration back to Mexico. Now California and Texas do belong to the US. When money had changed hands and/or there are Torrens Titles or legal documents to authenticate things, then land-swaps or leases, be it 3 years ago or decades ago, is legal. Even Fidel Castro agrees with me (a treaty is a treaty is a treaty), which explains Gitmo on leased Cuban soil. 😈
anyways,
what’s happening down in florida, is my man guliani “the man who miscalculated” winning already? wawa naman siya. i can’t believe how badly he handled his campaign. sayang the $3M, papremyo nalang sana sa wilyonaryo.
ps @ UP n. – isn’t it both sad and funny that Alaska was sold for a bargain. 😀 Kung alam lang nilang may langis doon…
nash, sa palagay ko, kung china o japan ang nakabili non, wala ng kahoy, langis at wild life duon ngayon. pero seguro, mura naman ang langis, plywood, papel, sushi at venison.
What a bargain — the “Alaska Purchase”. Russia sold Alaska for $7.2million to USA. No way, they can get it back.
And I don’t know how China did it, I am sure they were under duress. Yet instead of a sale, all they signed was a 99-year lease. So China got Hongkong back without further bloodshed.
———-
Now Spain lost a war, but at least they got $20Million also. Philippines… ceded by Spain to USA via Treaty of Paris and $20million.
I’ve been to Japan hiking and as far as my limited experience there is concerned, they seem to be doing well with protecting their few remaining forests and the wildlife is booming.
(They are also severely overpopulated in the megalopolises, which is good in a way because the rural areas are left for agri)
But again, this comes at a price for the rest of the world. To keep their backyard in this pristine environment, they have to look elsewhere for certain consumables. The metals they need for the electronics industry is open pit mined in Russia (platinum, palladium) and Australia.
And sushi is always expensive. It will never be cheap unless you catch the fish and slice it yourself. 😀
@ UP n,
kaya naman ang mga Moro, nagulat nalang pag-gising nila kinabukasan, “Ha? Paano kami nasama diyan sa Treaty of Paris na yan?”
Kami ring mga Igorot, nagulat rin, nabenta na pala kami eh hindi naman kami sakop masyado during that time. Kasi, the moral of the story “Learn the language lest you be sold in the market…”
😀
You may have some chance if you know the language.
But they who do not know the language:sad:, along with the meek — they will not inherit the earth.
Nash: “and let me go back to your first statement: “who could possibly dominate the world, i would put my faith on the u.s.â€Â
“Only YOU and some Americans think this way. Why should you always think about “DOMINATING†kasi???”
Bencard thinks only USA could “dominate” the world, but vehemently rejects any other idea that suggests USA is, in fact, behaving like an imperial nation that it once was. Isn’t USA the touted Policeman of the world?
Proven benevolence? Another FACT to Bencard. Wonder how many Bencards believe that USA is “benevolent” and at the same time could “dominate” the world (isn’t it doing this now?).
Whereas benevolent assimilation has become a thing of the colonial past, seems that it lives on in some “colonized” minds.
deQuiros writes about Titsers, in particular, raising teacher salaries. “…. the Association of Concerned Teachers once used to call public school teachers “the new national animal,†having replaced the carabao for that dubious honor. No profession is more grossly overworked and underpaid. 😥 Which is why public schools often resemble a tiangge, the teachers supplementing their income by selling tocino and bra payable in four “gives.†But which is better than soldiers supplementing their income by enforcing drug and gambling activities and robbing banks.”
@ UP n
Yup, we couldn’t say go away hijo de puta….
But in defense of Spain, they have come a long way. When they suffered those March Bombings, they did not go on raising flags and looking for a place to blame and bomb to oblivion in retaliation. The repudiated a government which dragged them into the mess, withdrew their troops from an upopular war, and went about their police business quietly. And contrary to all those stereotypes of fumbling spanish police, their secret service caught most (if not all) of the culprits.(Partida pa ha, dahil unlike the UK, Madrid has very few CCTVs)
I visited Atocha recently and it’s again a bustling train station.
I wrote this comment at 6:25.
While the poor will meet the basic needs first except for their vices which they justify to be their only comfort for their depression the people belonging to higher income bracket will spend more on other non-food stuffs.
You refer to Starbucks as non-staples. That’s a luxury for the poor.
Luxury is different from vice.
And Solita’s observation is that the percentage for the drinks and smokes have increased.
What I disputed in the observation is the reason she gave for the increase, drinking to forget about their misery. Sheesh.
Rich and poor drink when lonely or happy; the only difference is in the kind of wine they drink.
Solita’s explanation about the increase of percentage of food expenses to total income is the decrease in the income.
What she failed to account is the addition of members in the family.
Say of example in 2003, there are only the couple and two children. In 2006, there must have two additional children. The income of the family may not have changed but the food expenses increased.
We’re talking about basic commodities such as food which comprised . What you mentioned are luxury items.
Devils
Not that I do not agree with you re Gozon and Lopez but don’t you think the masses also asks for it? Try showing documentaries in these shows and guess what the masses will do.
I guess the question will get thrown back at you if ever you face these guys…so what will you show them? And how will you make them sit still and watch. At the end of the day, the institutions they run are still businesses beholden to their stockholders…
Supremo
CVJ has a very romantic view of the world. Wala ka nang magagawa diyan. Bata pa kasi. ANg galing niya kasi magsalita kasa he’s holed up in SIngapore, the land of the free….;-)
nash: Your comments about Spain’s reaction re bombings. Well-verbalized… I’ll remember. And what has happened from Spain the imperial power of centuries ago is done — you study for history, not to seek reparations.
[Now those terrorist cells that struck Madrid were, indeed, operating on their own, totally independent from the terrorists who struck SuperFerry14. The Bin-laden Al Qaeida virus has mutated on its own in separate countries. The terrorist in some cave somewhere provides inspiration, not command-and-control.]