In the news today, the Inquirer reports El Shaddai mobilized vs signature campaign. Apropos of administration claims of the economic advantages of parliamentary government, Rene Azurin disagrees: More graft seen under parliamentary system.
the Manila Standard-Today says Palace approves measures to ease oil price crunch (though the Philippine Star, which alas, is useless to link to, says “It’s final: VAT on oil stays”). The Business Mirror clarifies: OUT OF MENU: SUSPENSION OF E-VAT AND CLEAN AIR ACT, 4-DAY WORKWEEK: Cabinet OKs oil-tariff cuts.
So government thunders: Rallies face stricter PNP: Policemen to follow “no permit, no rally” provision of Marcos era BP 880 (Manila Times) and “Dangerous” protests will still be dispersed (Manila Standard-Today). What protests are those? Malaya says, Moment of truth on May 1 : Palace, protesters seen headed for confrontation despite SC ruling
In the Business Mirror: 63% of local companies think they will do better this year: Filipino SMEs feel optimistic.
PCIJ blog reports on the Palace testing its political messages through polling. The Social Weather Stations explains why it could disclose it’s having been commissioned to do the test:
In the punditocracy, my column for today is Lambino’s lapse. Relevant to my column are the following: Philippine Commentary’s blog entry which I quoted from in my column, as well as this comment by jumper in this blog, as well as Erwin Rafael’s draft of a letter to the editor, which I also quoted from. Actually the comments to my entry yesterday are quite interesting on the subject of claimed hits/visits.
Juan Mercado takes a pointed look at government efforts to reach a settlement with the Marcoses. Tony Abaya damns the Supreme Court with faint praise.
Connie Veneracion wonders if government is really serious about promoting healthy lifestyles: it could much more to target junk food, but isn’t. Certainly, although any government would balk at attacking fast food companies that provide jobs and contribute to the economy, there is plenty of room for official intervention through providing incentives for companies and schools that substitute nutritious food for junk food, or which orders a ban on soft drinks and sugar drinks in all schools.
Ma. Ceres Doyo looks at Filipino media-sponsored climbers of Mount Everest.
Overseas, in Slate, commentary by John Dickerson: Shooting an Elephant: Why Republicans are screwed. Republicans are in a kind of panic that only a third of Americans approve of Bush. Our President should be so lucky.
An interesting set of speeches by the King of Thailand, addressed to the Supreme Court and other judges: HM the King suggests a solution: Now, there was an election in order to ensure democracy. But if Parliament lacks a quorum, it is not democratic. There’s something ironic, of course, in a King having to insist he has no powers and tell judges they have to understand what democracy means. Most eloquent, though, is the King’s call for judges to realize the country should not sink first, before rescue attempts are made.
In the blogosphere, Edwin Lacierda thinks the Chief Justice is too talkative. Vincula says the Supreme Court’s decisions might require more decisions. Atty-at-work says verifying signatures risks Comelec officials being charged with contempt.
Carlos Celdran is foursquare for Charter change. Bunker Chronicles presents a biblical reason why heckling presidents is a no-no. Demosthenes’ Game with a further riposte to Manuel Buencamino’s low opinion of the middle class.
Torn and Frayed on plagiarism’s perils. Kerry Collison notices an Inquirer editorial.
Ellen Tordesillas on the Binirayan festival in Antique Province.
Coffee with Amee on what it means to be an American migrant.
Tech stuff: Village Idiot Savant preaches computer networking (and Linux!) in Davao. notes from the peanut gallery on how literary contests have thoroughly entered the information age.
Nostalgia trips: Wendell Capili waxes nostalgic upon hearing the news Chat Silayan’s passed away. May topak recalls Bataan propaganda during the New Society. Four-eyed Journal recalls the Chernobyl disaster (remember when people were nervous to buy powdered milk from Holland, based on the rumor of Chernobyl radiation raining down on the pastures munched on by European cows?).
Curiosities: Filipino Librarian is puzzled by an apparently popular Google fetish for library hanky-panky. crash pad has social commentary: Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition: the players symbolize the future of the Philippines. The Rocketboy Chronicles points to a great collection: 18 or 19 Movie Monologues We Think Are Really Neat!
Technorati Tags: Blogging, constitution, law, people’s initiative, Philippines, politics
Hi Manolo.
Thanks for the links to my blog.
Fussing over catchwords
The SC junked CPR, saying it “has no place in our legal firmament and must be struck down as a darkness that shrouds freedom.”
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said despite the decision, government forces are prepared to “move forcefully in case of a clear and present danger to the Republic.”
From CPR – Calibrated Preemptive Response to CPD – Clear and Present Danger ??!!
The SC also said the CPR “merely confuses our people and is used by some police agents to justify abuses.” So now petetioners must be drafting another one on ‘CPD’.
Coining new words and putting in new EOs, PPs, is something that the current admin can do,and will do. That is line with MLQ3’s previous entry “Pushing the Envelope”.
Look at what happened with EO 464, and CPR. The SC gave its decision but there were no disciplinary actions. It is supposed to be that the Executive branch of government is responsible to implement what the Legislatve and the Judiciary branches have done or decided on. Now that it is the Executive itself that needs disciplining, who is left to do just that?
So, expect more of the same from GMA, SC, Congress and Senate, and us the people.
Hi, Manolo: thanks for the link to my site again.
I sent off a letter to the editor regarding the, er, cunanantastic claims. I did some additional research and found: (1) sigawngbayan.com is hosted on Yahoo and at Yahoo’s highest plan, the capacity is about 1.2m visitors per month; and (2) according to the CIA world fact book, there are only 7.2m users in the Philippines. 9m? go figure.
Ms. Cunanan might just have been duped. It’s never good to stray into topics you don’t know. She’s being left behind by technology and when she does stray into it, she gets clobbered! Poor girl.
Sigaw ng bayan is really shouting!
Even a few weeks backs if I remember it correctly they have claimed to have 2million signatures over the weekend and that was during the start of this sigaw stuff.
I take back what I said yesterday that it may be possible to have 9m hits even with just a couple of hundred thousand visits.It is just plain ands imple bragging!If sigaw is to amplify voice, their amplifiers are really working.
I even overlooked the error message yesterday which has the words huge volume of vistors.
Even their error messages are simulated.
if laser is Light Amplifiaction of Simulated Emmision of Radiation…..
the sigaw is a heavy amplication of simulated emmision of BS!
Clear and Present Danger is B880 and is exactly what the supreme court outlined.
It was also why they said every town had to have a freedom park or all parks will become one by law.
The people arrested still had no permit and they were not in a freedom park so the arrests have not been struck down..
May 1 will just show how far randy david will go with his communist friends, I can see that someone will be throwing rocks, Endangering life. If the police then come down hard on him it will be fully his fault.
And just like ABS should be held responsible for and damage and loss of life caused by his actions this coming weekend.
He will of course do a Willie “I was not directly involved in the organisation therefore cannot be held liable..”
No fussing about these numbers
IBON Survey
Economy will improve while GMA stays in power.
Yes 15%
No 70%
GMA is the best option to lead the country.
Yes 15%
No 70%
MLQ3,
This is off topic but I would like to share a disturbing e-mail I’ve just received below. Thanks for accomodating it in your space.
“Another “MODUS OPERANDI†ng mga kurakot sa ating bayan?â€Â
Below is the an e-mail circulating addressed to an OFW yahoogroup of which I’m a member concerning the extra-padded fees that OFWs have to pay (other than what they are obliged to pay already) which is apparently required by immigration officials before an already-documented OFW is allowed to leave the country.
I think the allegations are worth a meticulous check… We all know that OFWs are aleady the milking cows of various government agencies: they cough up fees for this and that document, processing of papers, endless stamps for this and that, etc., etc., that they should be milked all the way, and ilegally at that (as alleged in the e-mail) is downright disgusting.
I think we owe it to these modern-day heroes who are slaving for the country to dig into the matter so that authorities may act accordingly in case the allegations are true.
***********************
Subject: ANG KAKAPAL NG MUKHA (PLS….FORWARD)
(Forwarded by NINO GALANG/JS164/JME-RL/QA on 04/19/2006 11:00 AM â€â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ by e-mail.)
Mga Kababayan!
Alam nyo ba ang bagong “MODUS OPERANDI†ng mga kurakot sa ating bayan, nakakahiya mang isipin ngunit totoo.
Sa bawat kababayan natin na umaalis patungong Dubai, may bagong patakaran at yan ay “SUPPORTING PESOS†kung tawagin, bukod sa mga papeles na hinihingi ng isang immigration officer, kapag ika’y magtutungo sa bayan ng Middle East partikular sa Dubai, may isang documento silang hinihingi at kapag sa palagay nilang ikaw ay bibigay, io-off load ka nila sa anong dahilan “KAKULANGAN SA PAPELES†ika nila pero sa iyong pagkaka-alam at ng taong nag-visit visa sa iyo ay tama ang papeles na ‘AUTHENTICATED BY THE EMBASSY OF THE PHILIPPINES, ABU DHABIâ€Â, sasabihin nila na di ka makaaalis, hihingan ka nila ng sinasabi nilang mga papers na kailangan pa tulad ng ‘AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT’ ng sponsor mo, eh! itong mga Immigration officer ay napaka-tanga din, makahihingi ka ba ng affidavit na hinihingi nila kung ang visa mo ay from a company siguro naman di kaila na ang “COMPANY SPONSORED†on visit visa ay di makahihingi ng ganon sa dahilang di pipirma ang may-ari ng kumpanya at di basta-basta na mahihingi ito sa isang kumapanya lalo na’t malaking kumpanya ang pinang-galingan ng visa mo.
Kapag nag-inquire ka sa Embassy sa Abu Dhabi sasabihin nila na wala silang advise from Philippine Government na may bagong hinihingi, tama sila dahil kapag nagpa-authentivate ka ng papel mo, chini-check nila ito at kung hindi kumpleto di nila ito gagawin. Ang di ko maintindihan bakit ang Immigration sa ating bansa ay humihingi ng ganito ngunit di alam ng Embassy sa Abu Dhabi, ang gulo di ba.
O sige para maliwanagan ka sasabihin ko sa inyo kung ano ang papeles na hinihingi nila hindi ito isang papeles dahil nakaraming pages…mabilang mo kaya ang bundle ng 1,000 or 500 peso bill na may halagang 6,000 pesos at nakapaloob sa isang puting envelope, oo, tama ka yan ang tinatawag na “SUPPORTING PESOSâ€Â, nakaka-alarma di bah! biro mo ang dami nun para ma-check so ang gagawin nila ganito, i-detalye ko hah!:
1. pagpunta mo ng Manila airport, kumpleto ang papeles mo at alam mong o.k., not to mention authenticated yan ng Embassy sa Abu Dhabi
2. Pag-check in mo sa airport natin, may mga taong naka-abang at naka-radyo (alam mo na kung ano yon) tapos iche-check nila ang visa mo, di o.k. may original ka.
3. Pagdating mo sa airline counter, they will check your ticket and passport and they would ask for your visa copy or original, napakita mo na tapos pasok ka na sa Immigration para matatakan ng “EXIT†stamp ang pasaporte mo.
4. Eto na ang ikagugulat mo, che-chekin nila passport mo along with your documents at original visa, di meron ka non tapos yung AUTHENTICATED documents mo o.k. din, eto na may hihingin silang certain document na alam nila wala sa mga papeles mo, tapos alam mo susunod, sasabihin sa iyo na kausapin mo yung Immigration Supervisor, papupuntahin ka nila sa office nila at doon, doon mangyayari ang transaction; bale kahit anong paliwanag at maka-awa mo, umiyak ka man ng dugo, maghubad ka man, igigiit nila na di ka makakaalis at alam mo ba bakit! kahit na kumpleto ang papeles mo di ka pa rin aalis bakit kamo dahil sabi nga ng Immigration Supervisor na ito na may kulang; ano yon? eto magugulat ka na lang dahil tatatakan ang boarding pass mo na “OFF LOAD†di symepre MEGA gulat ka at yung iba iiyak pa, pero pag-labas mo may bubulong sa iyo sasabihin ano, eto “MAY 6,000 NA BOND†tanong mo para saan, eh! san pa di yan ang “SUPPORTING PESOS†kung tawagin, makaaalis ka lang kung may 6,000 pesos ka na kailangan mong ilagay sa white envelope and the next time you go, kailangan dala mo ang white envelope na may lamang 6,000 pesos at eto pa ang sistema, may mage-escort sa iyo at bubulongan ka na kailangan pumunta ka sa opisina at iiwan mo ang boarding pass mo kasabay nito ang white envelope na kapatong ng boarding pass mo at sasabihin mo na lalabas ka lang dahil may nakalimutan ka at pagbalik mo ‘WA NA WHITE ENVELOPE†syempre di naman nag-magic yon kundi naitabi na at babalik ka at pipila ulit at itong KURAKOT na Immigration Officer ay kunwari pagagalitan ka pero panay naman ang tatak sa passport mo. Ayan o.k. na makakaalis ka na.
Di ba’t nakapanlulumong isipin na bukod sa tayo ng mga OFW ang tumutulong sa ating ekonomiya ay tayo pa ang nade-denggoy, hindi tama ito at marami na ang nabiktima, sino pa kaya ang susunod, alin pa kayang bansa ang susunod, sana matigil na. Isang paki-usap lang mga kababayan ko, wag kayong matakot na isuplong or mag-sumbong dahil tama ang ginagawa mo dapat mong kalusin ang mga gobyernong tiwali lalo na ang mga KURAKOT sa gobyerno.
Ito pa isang babala, kapag balak mong i-visit visa ang kamag-anak mo, sabihin mo na tandaan nya ang pangalan ng isang babae na may “BULONGâ€Â, sya ang bubulong sa iyo at mage-escort sa iyo, itsura nya eto, “MALIIT NA MEDYO MAHABA ANG BUHOK, MAY KATABAAN†At tandaan mo ang pangalan ng Immigration Officer, isa na dito si ‘JUSAY WINNEFREDO†May reklamo ng nakahain sa kanila ngunit kailangan pa ng iba pang katibayan para madiin sila, kung sa palagay mo isa ka sa na-denggoy nila, bakit di mosubukan na gumawa ng reklamo, oo, kailangan nila ng written at kopya ng passport mo, at huwag kang matakot dahil ina-assure ko sa iyo na di kamadadawit dahil magiging HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL ang reklamo mo.
Sinubukan na rin namin na ipaalam ito sa Mission X ngunit kailangan nila ng isang malakas ang loob na mag-reklamo at pumunta sa kanilang opisina ngunit syempre di natin magagawa yon sa dahilang nandito na ang taong nabiktima, pero sa paglantad mo, matutulungan mo ang kapwa natin kababayan, hindi tayo nagpunta sa lugar na ito at mawalay sa ting mga minamahal para bigyan sila ng pinag-hirapan natin, napaka-daling negosyo ang ginagawa nila and to what expense, syempre from the POCKET OF OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS†Ganon din sa ating Embassy, kailangan nila ng letter of complaint para makastigo itong mga GAGONG OPISYAL NG GOBYERNO.
Huwag kang magtaka kung minsan mabiktima ka rin nila.
KAYA MGA KABABAYAN KO, MAGTULUNGAN TAYO PARA MASUGPO ANG MGA ASONG ULOL SA GOBYERNO, ANG HILING KO IKALAT NYO ANG E-MAIL NA ITO SA LAHAT NG TAONG KILALA NYO HINDI LANG DITO SA U.A.E. KUNDI SA MISMONG BANSA NATIN “PILIPINASâ€Â.
Maaasahan ba kita?
Nagmmamalasakit,
KABABAYAN MO!
DEMPZ’23
salamat sa pagbanggit, sir.
much respect. 🙂
Tom said (at pcij),
April 28, 2006 @ 3:20 am
Just consider the first item of the poll: “The members of the opposition against President Arroyo should start helping to improve the economy and stop too much politics.†The statement is deliberately designed to make it difficult for a thinking person to choose the “disagree†option. Pag pinili mo ang “disagree†iisipin mo muna, ibig sabihin ba ayaw mo na ang opposition ay tumulong para ma-improve ang economy? Ibig bang sabihin gusto mo ng “too much politics� Masyadong heavy ang slant towards the “agree†option.
a response bias from a double-barreled question.
Combining the two questions into one question makes it unclear which attitude* (help the economy OR stop too much politics) is being measured, as each question may elicit a different attitude. Tip: If the word “and†appears in a question, check to verify whether it is a double-barreled question.
http://knowledge-base.supersurvey.com/response-bias.htm
*Attitudinal objects – objects within a survey question. Example: Do you think teachers should have more contact with parents? The attitudinal object is “parents”
—–
mlq3, debunk the ads more we should…just like the bel’s 9M guffaws.
…sorry,
baycas said: a response bias from a double-barreled question…
I wonder if the GMA has any real plans for the Bataan power plant…we should sell it for scrap or something. At least our taxmonies would be worth something.
“Apropos of administration claims of the economic advantages of parliamentary government, Rene Azurin disagrees: More graft seen under parliamentary system.”
I may sound like a broken record if I say agin that the parliamaentary government will dump our nation with uneconomic or infeasible laws with out money to back their grand plans for the country.Many more mps will sponsor similar verbatim bills because they are approached by the same lobby group.
Even in the present setup many USDs are paid for the numerous consultants,numerous unfinnished projects.
More of these will happen in a parliament of almost 500 members…..
A grand example are the unnnoticed bridges to nowhere,and mind you this has been referred to the supreme court as early as last year and it did not move a bit
let me refer you to one of my previous posts last dec 27
Karl wrote on December 27th, 2005 at 1:21 pm
DZRH once interviewed my dad about a dpwh overpricing something(maybe related to the article bout bridge to nowhere….
I googled it please refer below
…………………………………………………
Dalawampu’t apat na proyekto pa ng dep’t of public works & highways ang natuklasang “overprice.â€Â
Bukod sa 200-milyong pisong halaga ng overpricing road project sa catanduanes, nadiskubre rin ng pma class ‘59 ang iba pang kuwestiyonableng proyekto ng dpwh.
Sa panayam ng dzrh, sinabi ni ret. Commodore plaridel garcia na aabot sa anim na bilyong piso ang kabuuang halaga ng 25 overpriced project ng dpwh.
Tinukoy ni garcia na lumagpas ng 27 porsyento ang mga pinasok na kontrata ng dpwh para sa mga paggawaing bayan kumpara sa 19 bilyung pisong pondo na inilaan ng gobyerno para sa naturang mga proyekto.
Nagharap na kahapon ng petisyon ang pma class ‘59 sa korte suprema na ipatigil ang konstruksyon ng maanomalyang road project sa catanduanes.
I have to apologize for the nth time for my wrong spellings.
Just by the thought of having more than 400 members,how can that be easier for us to get out our budget deficit.
More people to pay,more pork barrel which even when scrapped will find its way back soemhow.
Who says things will get faster and smoother.
We have no money. Again in the present setup even well funded congressmen can’t pay their staff of four on time and that is only more or less 18000 a month .Without money, they have no staff,witout staff all of them are virtually useless with only saliva and face value as tools.
With that oversimplification can we say that our lawmakers can make quality laws ?
It’s the quality not the quantity.
“the Manila Standard-Today says Palace approves measures to ease oil price crunch (though the Philippine Star, which alas, is useless to link to, says “It’s final: VAT on oil staysâ€Â). ”
I rember the daylight saving time which was implemented last 1990 when everything was set back to normal it became D.O.T
What does it stand for again, was it Dating Oras Tanga?
What ever! How can moving your clock 1 hour in advance,help in saving energy. Can anyone give me a lecture on this?
Karl said: “How can moving your clock 1 hour in advance,help in saving energy. Can anyone give me a lecture on this?”
Here is David Prerau, Engineering Phd from MIT, on DST:
“The main purpose of Daylight Saving Time (called “Summer Time” in many places in the world) is to make better use of daylight. We change our clocks during the summer months to move an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening
Energy use and the demand for electricity for lighting homes is directly related to the times when people go to bed at night and rise in the morning. In the average home, 25 percent of electricity is used for lighting and small appliances, such as TVs, VCRs, and stereos. A good percentage of energy consumed by lighting and appliances occurs in the evening when families are home. By moving the clock ahead one hour, the amount of electricity consumed each day decreases.
Daylight Saving Time, therefore, saves energy. Studies done by the U.S. Department of Transportation show that Daylight Saving Time trims the entire country’s electricity usage by a small but significant amount, about one percent each day, because less electricity is used for lighting and appliances. Similarly, in New Zealand, power companies have found that power usage decreases 3.5 percent when daylight saving starts. In the first week, peak evening consumption commonly drops around five percent.â€Â
So there’s the rationale for DST. However, here is the rub when it comes to tropical countries like the Philippines:
“If you live near the equator, day and night are nearly the same length (12 hours). But elsewhere on Earth, there is much more daylight in the summer than in the winter. The closer you live to the North or South Pole, the longer the period of daylight in the Summer. Thus, Daylight Saving Time (Summer Time) is usually not helpful in the tropics.”
Sigaw ng Bayan is nothing but desperate echoes from Malacanang Palace and it’s impossible to have 9 million hits in three weeks time frame. It’s for Ripley’s believe or not? Raul Lambino is living in Fantasy Island. Sigaw ng Bayan is just a paper tiger.
no matter who sits on the throne there is an urgent need to change the economic provision of the constitution. The longer we do nothing and keep on fighting we will sink .already Vietnam has surpassed the Philippines. what a shame to be in a country full of idiots.
To Carl, Thank you very much for your accomodation!
What ever! How can moving your clock 1 hour in advance,help in saving energy. Can anyone give me a lecture on this?
If not for an energy saving but how about helping families spend more time with their families when it is light.
I get home quite late each night and it is already dark, or getting there. But if there was more light i could spend more time with my family outside. When i go to work it is allready getting hot. By changing the hours the home life of many people will be improved.
In the case with students they will have more time to do their homework and the be able to go out and play still. (Younger children.)In the case with the parents and older students, having more light available at night means less power. How many of us see people at 8pm-9pm still doing the washing but with all the lights on.
In countries away from the equator it does make more sense but we have so much light available in the morning which is either slept through or people do get up but spend this “Light” in traveling time..
It would also help our economy more but moving closer in hours to our neighbors. In the case with the call center industry it just moves them about by one hour.
Some of our electricity also comes from Dams so lowering the consumption of water from the dams helping the situation further also.
Why not move it by Two hours. Thus helping further the fuel savings and water savings, and improving the home life of most Filipinos. The farmers and agricultural workers do not work on time anyway as they get up at the break of dawn, and do not use time as is done in the cities.
Theoretically, moving time forward by 2 hours should help with energy conservation. Normally, the day is bright enough by 5 a.m. Moving time forward by 2 hours means that daylight starts by 7 a.m., when most people start going to work or to school. Normally, it gets dark at at 6 p.m. So by moving time forward 2 hours, you have sunlight until 8 p.m. So people don’t have to turn on the lights until after dinner time. And, as “sleeping” points out, there would be the added bonus of more quality time with the family.
This is how it could be in theory. But it may take time for people to get used to it. And some people may just use it to stay up later into the night. We are known for bending every rule possible. But it can work, at least theoretically.
The place where I used to work tried the 6 am to 3 am
and 7am to 4 am
I don’t know if they are still doing it.
Thanks sleeping and Carl.
I was just wondering few days ago that the GMA administration is mostly related with numbers (PD 1017, the Batasan 5, EO 64, etc..)
hmm i guess GMA days are numbered as well as a prexy!