Pluck yourselves

To prevent the Guimaras oil spill from spreading, chemical dispersants being used. President decides to cancel foreign contract for oil exploration –foreign investors not amused.

Red tape getting worse, says businessmen. There is an emergency in education, businessmen also announce -and they intend to do something about it, lest they run out of qualified managers.

Melo Commission sworn in tomorrow. He asks for cooperation. I’m willing to suspend judgment until they issue their report.

President won’t cut short term, so no one should get their hopes up. She says, punish those who made possible cheating in nursing exams. Randy David suggests what ought to be done.

Southcom cut into two parts: ostensibly to react better to threats, but what if also to curtail any mischief on the part of a powerful military command?

Newsbreak feature on the Lebanese among us.

Curiously, the person accused of trying to assassinate PM Thaksin says he’s an admirer. But is Thaksin facing a future that requires exile and disgrace?

In Malaysia, Mahathir has ended up like our own Fidel Ramos.

In Singapore, is the Prime Minister out of touch?

Cha-Cha-1

(Free Press editorial cartoon by the late E.Z. Izon, circa 1997) Of course media is also focused on the ongoing question pending before the Comelec: what to do with the so-called “people’s initiative”? Fidel Ramos says it’s all perfectly legal. Those who agree and disagree explain their respective positions. One way or another, it will reach the Supreme Court. Government faced with El Shaddai saying “no”. Inquirer editorial says government move is scary; Fr. Joaquin Bernas says the move is scary, but he trusts the Supreme Court cares about the verdict of history; Billy Esposo says constitutional amendments is the oligarchy’s Trojan horse. Edong Manabat cheekily argues for a monarchy.

Rep. Teddy Locsin, in his explanation of his vote on impeachment, says Congress must remain bicameral until 2007 at least, because the impeachment process has moved out of the halls of Congress and into the country at large. But the House doesn’t want to take the risk.

In the punditocracy, my column for today is Pluck yourselves. Thank you to readers who caught the deliberate resemblance to the style of the late Joe Guevera. Other lines that couldn’t fit in my column:

Rep. Marcoleta says he has no human hair to donate for cleanup. Environmentalists reply that his toupee will do as a mop or even as an artificial reef.

Rep. Cuenco offers his hair, but DENR says they’re afraid it would create another oil slick.

Raul Lambino asked what his inspiration is. Points to Sigaw website that says, “this nation will be great again.” Imee Marcos accuses Lambino of plagiarizing her father’s famous “this nation can be great again.” Lambino replies, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

JB Baylon discusses why flying to Germany to disprove the existence of accounts is a lot of crap (Philippine Politics 04 points to report that President’s husband presented the wrong account number, anyway) -and why the issue of accounts is not crap at all.

Amando Doronila argues something I’ve pointed out often enough here and in private: the President’s check-mated opposition to her by keeping events bottled up in Metro Manila. But, I do think Doronila overlooks a couple of things, too.

First, the resentment of the rest of the country against the capital disguises the relative freedom residents of Metro Manila enjoy. I recall an activist for indigenous people’s rights saying something at a symposium some months ago: “you people in Metro Manila are lucky you can still complain; in the provinces we can’t do that; if we tried to protest in our areas the governors and mayors would never let it happen.”

For example, protests have taken place in other metropolitan areas: in Cebu, in Davao, in Baguio, the same places where remarkable protests took place, too, both in 1986 and 2001, except they were overshadowed by events in Manila. In those places, urban development means there’s also more democratic space.

And Doronila also overlooks something that the President, in league with the military, has been able to do: precisely prevent non-Manilans from joining protests in the metropolis. Last July and up to last February, people tried to join from as far as the Visayas and Mindanao. Ferries were blocked, caravans stopped, all entry points to Metro Manila cordoned off.

But I do agree with Doronila’s observation that opponents of the President are handicapped by their inability to more effectively engage the provinces. If the overall Philippine economy has a lifesaver in overseas remittances, so do the provinces, and the ability of people to leave for abroad serves as a great mechanism for relieving social pressure. Also, even to engage the provinces for a national cause requires resources only the President can harness, as proven by the so-called “people’s initiative.” When I proposed a similar (but province-centric) solution, it wasn’t taken up because no one had the money for it.

But the things that do provide hope for the country are taking place in the provinces. Read Jonathan Rowe in the San Francisco Chronicle to see just one example. Not that everything is peachy keen: evictions from Naga City Hall; demands for residence certificates in Baler -including teenagers.

Liling Briones on schools that avoid the temptation to view their activities as purely a business enterprise.

Administrator on a critic of micro finance efforts in Mindanao.
Bong Austero on a trend few have noticed: while Filipinos take pride in taking care of the elderly, more and more of the elderly are suffering neglect.

In the blogosphere, Susan Ople explains One Voice’s opposition filed before the Comelec today. big mango thinks constitutional amendments are being peddled as a miracle drug.

Philippine Commentary watched Media in Focus (see Sassy Lawyer’s account on her guesting). Newsstand attempts a survey of sorts.

caffeine sparks thinks the Secretary of Justice had a lapsus senilis. Maimed by Rock and Roll would rather see him marooned on an ice floe.

Butch Dalisay delves into the history of the University of the Philippines.

Gigi goes Gaga on positive imitation. Galatea goes on a book-buying binge.

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Avatar
Manuel L. Quezon III.

63 thoughts on “Pluck yourselves

  1. may i appeal to commenters to keep the discussion civil among themselves, and particularly to avoid being unreasonable with those who are expressing contrary views -let’s keep our strong words for those who deserve them, the ones in office on whatever side. for each other, we can be skeptical with each other but not nasty.

  2. MB wrote:
    “we don’t know if Mike’s bank certification is correct.

    If not sure then check, verify, confirm.

    mike arroyo should have done that while he was still in germany. pero mali yung account numbers na pina-verify niya sa german bank.

    Mike Arroyo’s bank certification reads: 87-570-23030-32100-62771571

    Cayetano: 87-570-23030-32100-6271-571

    More:

    The certification was signed by bank vice president Peter Reisner and general secretariat head Evi Vollmann, who also declared that the bank does not maintain an account in the name of Jose Miguel Arroyo.

    The certification was dated Aug. 25.

    Cayetano, in disclosing that the evidence of this bank account in one of seven boxes of alleged impeachment evidence, never claimed that the account was in the name of the presidential spouse.

    The tribune tried to verify the account, but was turned down by the bank because they are not their bank clients.

    Pidal OTOH, who is not a bank client raw, got the bank to issue a certification.

  3. I agree though that cayetano should have been much more prepared to deal with the questions re the bank accounts.

    the reason why lacson’s expose on the pidal accounts was more credible ay dahil napaka-kumpleto ng ebidensiya niya. kinindap pa nga si udong mahusay eh para lang mapatahimik yung witness ni lacson.

  4. inudoro,
    i could have put a period in my last comment because i can sense that you are one person referred to in Tagalog as buko na hirit but I have to correct wrong concepts that you are trying to push in this discussion. Kakahiya sa magbabasa.

    Straight line is a statistical tool for trend analysis, the aimplest among the three, semi-parabolic and the parabolic.

    Straight line (depreciation accounting)is not a statistical tool.

    How can you make me use the latter to something for which it cannot apply. There is no point of comparison. If I do not know my statistics from my accounting, I could have fallen to your wrong reasoning.I do not have to lecture to you Quantitative Methods of Analysis. Sabihin mo na naman, self-promo. But for us to be credible, we should be able to talk the language.

    Come on, accept the fact that there are fields which are outside your expertise. Randy admitted that he is not an expert on statistics. Just remember, I would not dip my finger in a cup of chocolate if i do not know how hot it is.

  5. In econometrics, we call that linear trend analysis, not straight line because it is redundant to call linear regression as such.

    Pray tell at humirit ka pa sa definition ng straight line in accounting terms in your previous post, aver?

  6. indoro,
    you are sinking every time you open your mouth.
    here:

    A classic statistical problem is to try to determine the relationship between two random
    variables X and Y. For example, we might consider height and weight of a sample of adults.
    Linear regression attempts to explain this relationship with a
    straight line
    fit to the data.

    source: http://www.math.csusb.edu/faculty/stanton/m262/regress/regress.html

    By insisting that you know something na kahit anong gawin mo, I will never be convinced that you speak my language.

  7. cat, sabi nang tumahik na na. there you go again, this time may reference ka pa. let me elaborate on the use of proper mathematical register: straight line is not a tool, regression analysis is. straight line is the by product when you regress your random data to approximate a linear equation. you got your highlighted term woring. gets mo? now scram.

  8. John Marz:

    I don’t think it is a matter of palakasan. The German Bank is not even concerned I guess about losing a good client in the Fatso, but a matter of privacy especially when the bank has started getting calls from everybody. I don’t think the bogus president and her husband has now clout on everybody even overseas. Kaya lang nila mga OFWs as a matter of fact.

    The point is Filipinos themselves are lapping up the bogus informercials for example of state visits kuno just to convince Filipinos in fact that she may not have the blessings of her compatriots but she is recognized by overseas governments by calling her personal gallivanting for instance as state visits! Pwe! Kundi pa nabibisto just like when she went to Italy and made to wait because the premier there wanted to see the world football match than entertain a trespasser from the Philippines!

    She did that in Japan as a matter of fact. Pumapansin lang sa kaniya mga pilipino din, but the Japanese government had to make it clear that all her other visits except for one was no state visit but what she herself called as “working visits!” Now she cannot make anymore of such, so she has to send her paid emissaries from the Philippine Tongress to ask for more Japanese financial aids to pay them with.

  9. inudoro,
    ang mga nagdudunungdunungan, magpumilit man ay labas pa rin ang walang kaalaman, Ako ay may reference, ikaw wala.

    Ako CPA tapos bibigyan mo ako ng maling concept mo tungkol sa straight line metod of depreciation. Grabe ka naman. Ililigaw mo pa ang mga istudyanteng nagbabasa sa pamamagitan ng pagpapalabo mo ng argumento dahil ayaw mong masabing hindi mo alam ang pinagsasabi mo.

    I am a financial analyst as well preparing business plan with forecasts using the statistical tools , linear (straight line, time series )when I tend to be conservative and non-linear or better still multiple regression if I want to have a more complex financial model . SO I should know what tools to use and when to apply. Gusto mong computin ko saiyo. LINEAR means straight as against non-linear.
    Inudoro, i will give you free toilet paper, just wipe your face instead of trying to save it. Unang hirit mo pa lang pare, wala ka ng alam.

  10. cat, if you’re an expert you purport to be, you should be quoted, and not the one quoting. don’t lecture me about the difference about linear and non-linear, at bago itapon pa kita sa hyperbolic space.

    let me quote from your expertise: know who you’re dealing with.

    you can throw me any crap, and i know it’s your crap.

    quid erat demonstrandum. finis.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.