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Planes, trains, and automobiles

July 16, 2008 by mlq3  
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I think my first train-related entry was back in 2005, in Debating solutions to squatting, I pointed to this entry by Torn and frayed in Manila on how our country possesses “one of the most ramshackle railways in the world.” That’s putting it politely. Torn was reacting to a report by Howie Severino (and The Unlawyer also commented on it, including detailing the extremely low fares charged by the railroad).

One major problem, as recalled in Pain On The Train, was that squatters had encroached on the tracks and were, at times, hostile to train passengers. There was once a haunting post by Pulsar in 2006 (well, who says once on the Interweb, something’s forever? The blog’s gone!). Or sometimes, the problem were the passengers themselves, see Test-Riding The Metro-Tren:

But there were dreadfully more – and this was what made me uneasy and had second thoughts about using this mode of transpo on a regular basis or asking friends and family to patronize it. Dark thoughts ran in my mind thinking if I can actually still get out of this situation alive! Here we go:

Amongst the passengers in my coach were shirtless dudes who were not even drunk but were just as dangerously rowdy. Okay, to be fair, not all of them were topless. Two were wearing sando, one did not even have a footwear, and all of them did have confidently loud voices enough for anyone to understand that they are the “masters” in this place. They were huddled on two right-side doors. Some were standing and some were seated on the floor and the little steps that people use when boarding or getting off via those doors. Obviously, no one passed by those two doors. They were not just rowdy in the normal kind of kid things. They had very foul language offensive to many.

These folks were not young kids either. They were men probably in their 20s up to late 40s and they seemed to know just about every person who lived along those rail tracks as they often had a lewd or foul comment at everyone they saw. Samples? Here we go… “Hoy hostess, bihis ka na! Rampa ka ng maaga nang makarami”, or ‘Tangina! Nakaw ang cellphone na yan, kahapon lang”! And they most certainly elicited equally shouted responses from those they were shouting at. Some of the younger kids they teased even ran with wooden sticks or little stones attempting to catch and whack or pelt them as the train chugged along. And you guessed it, these men would run scampering towards the inner portions of the train (which was naturally a commotion that would make you panic). When kids on the ground can’t keep up with the train, these men would be back at the two doors and back to their usual shouting spree at people we passed by. I even saw two women-passengers stand up and walk further front – obviously to get away from this.

I’d be a liar if I said I was not alarmed. I was actually more than frightened! Then again, I could have been over-reacting, right?

Now hear this: As the train went a chugging slowly after that Espana Station going towards Blumentritt, a guy came walking from the front coaches who seemed to be looking for nothing but trouble. As he passed where I was seated and just about to pass the rowdy men by the door, someone shouted on top of his voice saying “o kayong lahat, ingatan nyo mga gamit nyo, yan naglalakad na yan isnatcher yan”! The walking man did not even look back but shouted equally loud saying “tangina mo, hindi ako isnatcher, naghahanap ako ng masasaksak” and as he said that he lashed out a knife in mid-air. I looked at the faces of many passengers and almost all had the same facial expression – they pretended to have not heard that and they all did not look at the knife-brandishing man – and so I did not dare look at him too! This time I felt my balls were already above my forehead.

After having gone to the end part of the train, that knife-wielding man returned to the men perched by the doorway and he joined in the laughter, banter and dirty shouts at people we passed by. I clearly heard him telling the group that it was too unusual the week was almost over and he has not had a fight yet. As if to emphasize that, he said “kahit asawa ko ayaw akong patulan, nakakainip pare”!

Philippine_National_Railways.png

This is a Wikipedia map of the NorthRail and SouthRail lines of the Philippine National Railways -theoretically, at least. I happen to like trains very much (perhaps not to the extent of being a trainspotter) and really wish rehabilitating our railways will be accomplished: just getting NorthRail and SouthRail functioning will actually merely return us to where we were prior to World War II, the last major extension having been accomplished with the inauguration of the Manila-Legazpi Line in May, 1938. That still marks the last major addition to our railway network. However, Marcos’ obsession with highways had led to the deterioration of the railroad.

The result? See photos in A Ride On Philippine National Railways Part I and A Ride On Philippine National Railways Part II. See also RILES in Digital Phtographer Philippines. In response to this sad state of affairs, an ambitious program of modernization has started.

One sad side-effect of modernization, however, is the destruction of heritage sites: see Las Estaciones Ferrocarril Manila-Dagupan in the ICOMOS Philippines site.

There are some extremely informative railroad enthusiasts’ blogs out there, which combine a strong historical sense with efforts to document the rehabilitation of the Philippine National Railways. See their mother organization, Railways and Industrial Heritage Society of the Phils. (and its Reese Blog), and these enthusiasts’ blogs: Philippine Railways S.I.G., Philippine Railways, and Laguna Railways,

Courtesy of Augusto de Viana is The railways in Philippine history which, however, so compresses the most interesting years, the 20s to the 50s, as to render that section meaningless. Oh well. Viviana overlooks the ambivalence and even hostility American officials felt towards railways, since it would affect the Philippine market for automobiles (see The Colonial Iron Horse: Railroads and Regional Development in the Philippines, 1875- 1935). When autonomy was achieved, railroad development accelerated. And the policy debate on highways versus railways also began, along with still-unrealized plans such as a railroad for Mindanao (the development of Maria Cristina Fall’s hydroelectric power was originally envisioned as primarily powering the Mindanao railways: there are interesting snippets on these debates in F.B. Harrison’s diary: as an Anglophile, he was pro-railways, pointing with envy to Britain’s not altogether altruistic promotion of its own steam engine industry in its colonies; as for its biggest handiwork in that regard, here’s an interesting item on accomplishing transport reform: Things Looking Up for India’s Trains).

I remember when I was still new in the Inquirer, the President had a dinner with editors and spent much of her time discussing the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (this will be one of her lasting achievements, I think). Along the way, she discussed trains and how she wanted to eliminate the old PNR lines, and have new railroad lines simply feed the metropolis, with intra-city travel done on the LRT. At the time I remember remarking that her strong grasp of detail was one of the President’s most impressive qualities, but one little-seen by the public: just as the overall schemes fed by her grasp of detail failed to be grasped, in turn, by the public: and government is at fault for this.

Today’s Inquirer editorial, Derailed, looks at the possible permutations of the ongoing problem with NorthRail: Even as our government insists that NorthRail project to push thru the reality seems to be Gov’t scrambles to save NorthRail: China threatens withdrawal, legal suit over a situation caused by the sad reality that Northrail ‘mobilization’ate up 23% of total loan. (Here’s a helpful Northrail timeline.)

See Target for Northrail: ’substantial’ completion by 2010:

As things stand now, the most realistic assumption is to have a partially—or at least, substantially—completed stretch of rail road some kilometers short of the first section of the 80.2-kilometer distance between Caloocan City in Metro Manila and Clark in Pampanga.

Officials familiar with the twists and turns of the project told abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak that the initial goal to complete at least the first phase, or the first 32 kilometers up to Malolos in Bulacan province, is not realistic anymore…

A year since the project’s 36-month construction period kicked off in February 2007, clearing the tracks, acquiring right-of-way, and relocation works are still to be crossed out from the list of pre-construction must-do’s.

No civil works on the actual railway have commenced nor has a project design been finalized, yet the designated contractor, the Chinese National Machinery & Equipment Group (CNMEG), wanted to add almost $300 million on top of the current $421 million agreed upon and signed construction cost…

According to various sources, including correspondences from NLRC and the demand letters from CNMEG, the latter unilaterally suspended work on the Northrail in February 1, 2008, with CNMEG’s Chinese engineers returning home.

Pamintuan explained that the engineers have run out of things to do since the project design has yet to be finalized.

But that was only part of the story. Apparently, while the design plan is still pending, CNMEG has been verbally demanding to increase the project cost. In succeeding correspondences, CNMEG has pegged the additional cost, based on computations as of March, 2008, at $299 million.

That would increase the project cost of the 32-kilometer Caloocan to Malolos stretch from $421 million to $720 million. That means the cost of the entire 80-kilometer Manila to Clark distance, which has no financing in place yet, will increase from $1 billion to $1.39 billion…

…After President Arroyo thumbed down CNMEG’s verbal demand in February to increase the construction price by $299 million, CNMEG formalized its demand in their May 13 notice of claim and in their June 3 demand letter to Northrail.

Of that amount, $88.63 million was due to variations in the original scope of work, such as the need to build viaducts instead of embankments in Valenzuela and Marilao areas.

The remaining $211 million was mainly due to foreign exchange losses ($106 million), inflation ($71 million), and cost of the delay in construction. CNMEG pointed fingers at Northrail’s inability to clear obstacles within the right-of-way areas and its non- completion of squatter relocations…

…In the April 24, 2008 letter of resigned Northrail president Arsenio Bartolome III to President Arroyo, he referred to a “presidential directive” regarding the completion of the Caloocan-to-Clark phase.

The directive emphasized two things: that it should be finished by 2010, the end of President Arroyo’s term, and that it should be within the project cost of $1.008 billion.

Construction cost for the 32-kilometer Section 1 from Caloocan to Malolos is $421 million, while Section 2 from Malolos to Clark is $673 million.

The design, supply, construct contract with CNMEG, for Section 1, Caloocan to Malolos, stipulates a construction period of 36 months, or 3 years, after Notice to Proceed was issued in Feb 19, 2007. It was meant to be completed by February 2010, perfect timing for the national election in May 2010.

The relocation of urban poor residents (one day, perhaps, destined to be only immortalized in photos or some videos) has proven expensive but relatively successful (most recently: an amazed foreign friend who had done some filming for a documentary in Blumentritt, Manila, and then saw how the community he’d filmed has been relocated and disappeared) see From ‘Home Along Da Riles’ to ‘Dreamland’) Of course, not every delay is due to gross inefficiency or corruption on the part of government:

The report also says,

Unlike other controversial projects that were also cancelled, like the NAIA-3 airport terminal, where there is already a massive building that just needs a few months worth of repair and remediation work, the Northrail project’s railway construction has not even started.

I’m not sure if this is accurate.

The thing is, if you look at the reports and photos in the railroad enthusiasts’ blogs, you’ll see that a tremendous amount has been accomplished in terms of rehabilitating the railways (see Northrail-Southrail Linkage Project Update and Rail Lifting at Paco Station for example) though perhaps it’s fair to say no real laying down of track has taken place.

The question is to what extent the whole gigantic effort -and it is gigantic, you’re reversing the deterioration of the past forty years while at the same time laying down an entirely new railway system- has been marred by inefficiency or even corruption. These things take a toll on ongoing projects, as the headlines make pretty obvious, but it also raises another problem: even if hounded by corruption and inefficiency, is the solution to simply tear up contracts and scrap the project?

I once heard someone explain Romulo Neri Jr.’s pragmatism as follows. First question: does the country need a modern railway system? Yes. Since it does, can it be built without corruption? No. If it cannot be built without corruption, then whether major or minor corruption takes place, what is essential is for the railway to be built, because the economic benefits of the project dwarfs whatever corruption will take place.

And pragmatically speaking, Neri is correct and was thinking in true Southeast Asian fashion. This was the Marcos way: anyone who remembers the ferocious debates on MRT-1 along Taft Avenue (expensive! impractical! will never work!) will realize that despite all the objections, the elevated railway line has become an essential part of metropolitan infrastructure.

And this brings me to Neri, his latest reincarnation as SSS Chief.

The PCIJ in a Special Report reveals that the resignation of Corazon de la Paz and the assumption of the leadership of the SSS by Romulo Neri Jr. has a major policy shift at its core:

De la Paz first intimated how she has not been able to accustom herself to the workings of government, indicating a preference to return to her work in the private sector. But upon further questioning by the media, she eventually relented to a little known fact: she had stood up against the use of SSS members’ funds for the government’s pro-poor agenda, in the process offending the powers that be.

“Using the fund has limits. (It) cannot be used to finance pro-poor projects of the government unless it is defined in the (SSS) Charter,” De la Paz explained, serving up a warning to SSS members and the public of the potential danger of the fund being misused.

With Neri at the helm of the SSS, many have indeed expressed fear that the funds will be used for partisan political interests. Both Malacañang and Neri’s avowal that the funds will not be touched for government’s welfare programs has not helped assuage such concerns for the very reason that the appointment boils down, not so much to the issue of competence, but to Neri’s integrity and credibility — and that of the one who appointed him — as a public official.

Those who insist that the economy in general, or government financial matters in particular, can and ought to be insulated from politics have another lesson coming in why this is neither possible nor desirable. This is a defect that afflicts not just loyalists of the present dispensation, but bureaucrats, too, as the PCIJ report reveals:

Neri also probably felt his detachment that he had to bring along with him to NEDA people whom he could trust. His consultants, many of whom were not known to the NEDA staff, were like a parallel office which acted as his political arm. At first, some at NEDA appreciated the arrangement as it insulated the staff from politics, preferring not to deal with politicians and just continue to do their work professionally. Later, on instructions by Neri himself, NEDA officials had had occasions to interact with his consultants. Even his meetings with them were recorded as part of his official schedule.

The way one director understood it, Neri played politics as a matter of course in public policy. The NEDA Secretariat and other oversight bureaucracies are to exert effort in providing full information to decide policy, he says, and that necessitated engaging with politicians and playing the game of politics.

From his own experience working with him, the CPBO’s Vicerra believes Neri played politics not in the sense of politicking, which he says Neri always tried to avoid. “It’s more of realpolitik,” he explains, “as he always wants to involve himself in policy issues. And he has his advocacies.”

Doing so may have made the NEDA Secretariat more aware of the nature of public policy in their work, but it also made them vulnerable, admits the same director. “It put the organization and employees unprecedently in an unrequitedly bad light,” he says, though maintaining that the Secretariat has remained nonpartisan, its own standard of integrity and professionalism undiminished by this initiation into politics.

But Neri’s pragmatism, the NEDA staff also claim, conflicted with his reformist image. Some would say on hindsight that this probably explains why he is seemingly not appalled by unethical behavior, that is, corruption by way of commissions, extortions, kickbacks and the like, because these make things move or work. Others find it ironic that he wanted reforms yet “still wants to be in the good graces of this government.” Still others comment that since he is a “political animal” himself, it was not surprising that he had been offered bribes as he had admitted.

This is a confusing passage, but then it neatly illustrates the confused, because ignorant, attitudes of bureaucrats themselves about politics and its place in governance.

Government’s policies and management of the economy can be left alone if the public feels officials are capable and trustworthy stewards. If not, then they can and should be guarded every step of the way.

In its editorial, The Business Mirror, not inclined to be an instinctive critic of the administration, advocates retaining the VAT on oil, but points out the essential problem with expectations being built on spending the windfall for the public good:

Removing the oil E-VAT may be akin to a voluntary disarmament at a time when we need all the weapons we can get our hands on to confront grave threats to our economy.

Gordon’s proposals may not be popular—but they make sense. Having said that, the only problem with following his tack is this: Local experience is replete with evidence that, in this country, it’s next to impossible to get a good accounting of where and how precisely special-purpose funds—say, E-VAT “windfall” as used for infrastructure to rebuild disaster-ravaged areas and spur local economies—were applied. For even as critics complain that letting the government use the E-VAT windfall for doles is tantamount to giving more money to crooks, that same peril lies in using the funds instead, as Dick Gordon wants, for infrastructure.

Finally, in a town where a crusading auditor who keeps asking a warlord to “please liquidate” millions of pesos in public funds may easily get what he prays for—that is, be literally liquidated from the face of the earth, his killer(s) never brought to justice—accountability, like honesty in the Billy Joel song, is such a lonely word. So, to Dick Gordon, you may be right on this one, but, good luck.

Which goes to my point about NorthRail, the handling of the economy, and what Yen Macabenta points out: that the economy is coping with increases in the cost of oil pretty well, not least, it seems, to some pretty OK handling of economic matters by the powers-that-be; the problem is that while this redounds to the benefit of big business, ours is Still a jobless-growth economy; and the powers-that-be don’t quite know how to effectively toot their own horns and even if they do, there’s a widespread assumption officialdom’s on a looting spree (made even deeper, I think, because most of the public can’t quite grasp how it’s being done):

The report on Monday that the government kept its first-semester budget deficit at about P18 billion—only half of the programmed ceiling—despite the food and fuel price crises is encouraging. Two points stand out in the report:

First, revenue collection improved during the first semester.

And second, our fiscal managers were concerned that the various agencies of the government have not been able to absorb additional funding to help perk up domestic growth. In other words, the problem is not lack of funds, but projects to spend on.

When the President decided that the government would no longer aim for a zero budget deficit this year, it was for the specific objective of cushioning the impact of high consumer prices on the most vulnerable among our people. The government has the resources to provide subsidies to the needy during these trying times. And just as important, it has the funds to put into infrastructure and social and economic programs that will boost economic growth this year and next year.

Inflation for now is our biggest worry, as it hit a 14-year high of 11.4 percent in June. But Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. believes the problem should ease before the end of the year, and the country should fully recover by next year.

If you’re wondering why skyrocketing oil prices—with talk of crude hitting $200 a barrel by the end of the year—are not taking the bottom out of the economy, here are a few reasons:

1. It’s not just the price of crude oil that has soared to record levels this year; the prices of other commodities have hit peak levels, as well. This is the difference between this oil-price shock and the shock of 1974. Higher commodity prices across-the-board are also benefiting the exports of the Philippines and other countries. So our import bill is not as crushing.

2. Oil is not as all-pervasive in our economy as many believe. It affects mainly transport. Most of our electricity needs are fueled by other sources of energy, such as hydropower and geothermal energy.

3. The general prognosis of experts is that oil prices should come down during the second half of the year, though not to the same level as last year. The bubble is simply unsustainable. Demand will ease and supply will rise following the basic law of economics.

But again, the windfall is there. Surely it’s helped fund the following: Government subsidy for cheap rice in first half reaches P8.6B:

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the rice stocks were distributed and sold through 3,197 Bigasan ni Gloria sa Palengke, 8,080 Tindahan Natin outlets, 540 Bigasan sa Parokya and 199 rolling stores nationwide.

Government subsidy for cheap rice is expected to rise as the DA said 28 million more bags of rice will be infused into the domestic market from now until December to stabilize prices.

The NFA will be injecting some 6.5 million bags monthly, from now until August.

This volume will be reduced to 5 million bags by September, when palay harvests for the wet or main crop will start coming in.

Yap said the government is confident that it will have more rice to distribute until the end of the year as 900,000 metric tons (MT) will arrive in the country before September 30.

But the questions won’t go away whether the windfall’s economic potential’s being maximized. As it is, the President has announced Round Two of her “Katas ng VAT” program (no mention if it’s part of the commemoration of National Nutrition Month):

Which brings me to something Jarius Bondoc puts forward in his column for today (no link to the Star because it still hasn’t figured out permanent links):

The truth is unraveling, slowly but surely. A clique in the Arroyo admin is capturing the energy sector for kickbacks.

First, there was a sudden flurry to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act. Rep. Mikey Arroyo, the presidential son who chairs the House committee on energy, said it was necessary to bring down consumer rates. His congressmen-brother Dato and uncle Iggy assented as committee members. It turns out, however, that the main amendment is to advance the start of open access from the time 70 percent of Napocor generators are privatized to only 50 percent. While speeding up open access is fine on paper, since it will allow big users to pick their own electric retailer earlier, it would be unfair in practice. State-owned Napocor will still control half the power plants, so there won’t be true competition. Worse, the Napocor mafia will continue to dictate, for multimillion-dollar kickbacks, imports of coal to fuel the plants, whether sold or not.

Then, Gloria Arroyo appointed amiga Zenaida Ducut as Energy Regulatory Board chief. Aside from Ducut being the town mate from whom Mikey inherited his congressional seat in 2004, they have a common friend, the oft-named jueteng lord Bong Pineda. Ducut’s posting jolted the industry because of a recent Napocor scam. The state firm last Feb. awarded to a four-month-old, undercapitalized and flighty broker a P956.4-million coal import from Indonesia. There must have been P258-million overprice, since the bid price was $109.50 per ton, although the Indonesian posted rate then was only $77 (at P40.418:$1 for three shiploads of 65,000 tons each).

Among the listed incorporators of broker Transpacific Consolidated Resources Inc. are Leslie and Ressie Ducut, but Zenaida disclaims kinship. Still, there are many inconsistencies. Napocor faxed the bid invitation two weeks prior to TCRI’s only known address then, the nearby Danarra Hotel’s business center, closed since Christmas. Now Napocor insists it awarded the deal when TCRI moved into a real office — in two short weeks. Paid-up capital was only P62,500, but Napocor says “so what?”, in disregard of the Public Bidding Act that requires congruity of capital with contract price. Ducut says the scam does not matter since, as ERC chair, she will have nothing to do with Napocor operations. But Napocor spokesman admits that the ERC, aside from the energy department and NEDA, needs to approve coal imports.

The capture of the electricity sector is complete — from the executive and legislative branches to the quasi-judicial ERC. From there the clique can move to other energy sectors — say, oil exploration — if it has not already.

(Incidentally, a sense of deja vu comes from this article: Lights Out in Indonesia: Jakarta as 1990s Manila? With India, Indonesia, Vietnam,scrambling to put up more power plants, and with the Philippines going to need more power plants soon, those who position themselves in the energy sector now are going to be positively minting their own money in years to come) If you’ve ever read how Ferdinand Marcos squirreled away funds abroad, then the stories -occasionally dribbled out in the press, but more often than not, whispered about in business circles- of what’s going on in the energy sector are equally intriguing -because the money’s come home, unlike most of Marcos’ stash. One day, hopefully, someone will write it all down, from the time money began to leave the country, a hop, skip, and a jump ahead of sleuthing legislators, journalists, and American anti-money-laundering officials, with the money making its way to places as far afield as Austria, then eventually, back home again where it could be used to buy banks, and dummy firms.

Manuel Buencamino looks at the curious story of Homobono Adaza’s alleged attempt to extort money from a Japanese businessman.

Ellen Tordesillas has the skinny on what the President was up to in Washington:

A Malacañang source who was part of Arroyo’s entourage in her recent US visit said there was no mention by Arroyo of any plans to implement martial law or authoritarian measures in her meeting with Bush, the first since she fell out of his grace after she pulled out the Philippine military contingent in Iraq in exchange for the release of kidnapped Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz in July 2004.

But he admitted that increased military assistance was top in her agenda in her talks with American officials.

The source was amused that Philippine media covering Arroyo’s US visit followed Malacañang’s spin about the near passage of the Veterans Equity when they know very well that it has a slim chance of it passing in the House of Representatives despite the approval of the Senate.

He said the real reason Arroyo wanted to meet with American congressmen was to explain to them the government’s side on extra-judicial killings. Like in the Philippines, any appropriation bill originates in the House of Representatives. That’s the reason behind the idea of giving the newly minted Order of the Golden Heart Award, which is different from traditional Order of Sikatuna awards given to diplomats or nationals of other countries who have made outstanding contributions to strengthening of relations with the Philippines. According to press reports, not all awardees showed up during the conferment affair in Washington D.C. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came very late.

(Just a correction, which I told Ellen: the Order of the Golden Heart was established by President Magsaysay. It was not “newly-minted.” A more relevant question might have been whether the Philippine Legion of Honor might have been more appropriate; but then a lower-ranking Order might be appropriate because no law has been passed yet.)

Foreign Affairs officials lobbied hard to get a meeting for Arroyo with Senator Barbara Boxer (D., Cal.) chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific. It will be recalled that Edith Burgos, widow of press icon Jose Burgos and mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos, met with Boxer last March.

In the hearing that she conducted on alleged extra-judicial killings perpetrated by the military, Boxer said, “We do not want blood on our hands. We do not want to use US taxpayers’ money to train their (Philippine) military and police to kill their own people.”

Arroyo was able to meet with Boxer, the source said. The meeting must have been so insignificant that it didn’t merit a line in Boxer’s website. Not even Malacañang reported it.

It was unfortunate for Malacañang that whatever propaganda it wanted to generate domestically for Arroyo’s US trip was negated by typhoon Frank which struck on the eve of her departure, sank a passenger ship and devastated many parts of the country. Compounding the stigma was the junket of 63 congressmen whom Arroyo brought along with her as part of her pre-2009 impeachment payment.

But the source said, despite the bad press that Arroyo’s US visit got, she feels that she accomplished her main objective which was to impress the military that she still has the support of the US establishment.

It maybe a meeting of lame ducks but it was still a White House meeting, the source said. Add to that was her meeting in Pentagon with Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

She may not have gotten categorical support for the things she might do in case her unpopular administration is shaken by the wrath of a long-suffering people, but it is good enough for Arroyo that she has given the military the illusion that the US is behind her. With that, she believes that her presidency, whatever questions about its legitimacy, is safe.

In the blogosphere, radicalchick aims a broadside at ABS-CBN and its Ces Drilon Kidnap Special.

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Comments

487 Comments on "Planes, trains, and automobiles"

  1. haowei on Wed, 16th Jul 2008 2:18 pm 

    Frankly, one can almost predict the general theme of editorials about government projects like North Rail: “unmoderated greed.” One can substitute NBN, ZTE or any other familiar code and the theme is boringly the same. Tell me, are there any projects marked by competence and honesty? Now that’s real news!

    Allow my exasperation to show: The democrats said once we had freedom of the press, we would have less corruption. The law and order types said, once we jailed a big fish (Erap), we would scare the corrupt. We achieved both press freedom and a jailed whopper of a fish, but now we have perhaps more corruption than ever before. What gives? Any theories?

  2. cvj on Wed, 16th Jul 2008 2:42 pm 

    haowei, i think it’s because now the corruption comes from the reformers who were brought to power by EDSA Dos and kept there by Hello Garci. They can’t be ousted because the Middle Class has cast their lot with the Oligarchs belonging to the Upper Class who both fear a return to a populist Erap-like leader.

    Since decentralized corruption is worse than centralized corruption, one option would be to give the Arroyos (and their cronies) a monopoly in corruption while they build our energy and transport infrastructure and for the public to follow the late Raul Manglapus’ advice to “lie back and enjoy it“. That seems to be the compromise that Neri has arrived at to solve our dilemma.

  3. cvj on Wed, 16th Jul 2008 2:45 pm 

    Just to be clear, i don’t endorse that option i described (at 2:42 pm). I just wanted to point out that it’s there.

  4. mlq3 on Wed, 16th Jul 2008 4:29 pm 

    howie,

    there doesn’t seem to be an incentive to keep the greed at a moderate level. government corruption is, after all, impossible to eradicate, the most effective governments manage to moderate and minimize it.

    the problem, seems to me, is that a freewheeling media is only good at exposing corruption but along with exposure needs to come either legal punishment or public humiliation that’s intolerable for those caught out.

    my understand, for example, is that malaysia and indonesia are where we were, say, prior to martial law in terms of official corruption being widespread but a certain amount of discretion being maintained by a political class with strong cultural ties maintained by its members. they didn;t go through an extended period of decline the way we did under marcos.

    michael alba, the economist, argues that corruption became pervasive in philippine society during the economic crisis in 1983, and he says it can be empirically proven. this surprised me as world war ii is usually the point identified by most people -but he says no, it was 83. other (anecdotal) accounts points to the truly corrosive combination of authoritarianism while the dictator was in terminal decline, mentally and physically. this meant that everyone discovered they could get away with petty corruption and no one would be punished.

    since then no one has really been in charge and no one can really call anyone else to task. everyone gets away and no one has an incentive to tread the straight and narrow because it’s so pervasive, it’s suicidal to follow the rules -unless you go abroad, which many of the middle class, have done.

  5. hector olympus on Wed, 16th Jul 2008 5:40 pm 

    i believe the media has done its part in this situation. we have a lot of documentary shows which has exposed a lot of those controversies about corruption in the government.

    the law is in place. and when the culprit are finally caught, “the dirty politics” come into play.

    how i felt so bad when erap just went away from that plunder case with less than a year in jail. it just doesn’t seem right and fair for the filipino people.

  6. ricelander on Wed, 16th Jul 2008 7:39 pm 

    michael alba, the economist, argues that corruption became pervasive in philippine society during the economic crisis in 1983, and he says it can be empirically proven.

    Interesting.

    If that could be done, then perhaps Alba should conduct an empirical study from year to year starting perhaps from the 50s. It would be a good to have a fair basis to compare presidents: who’s the most and the least corrupt and greedy.

    Then also we can have a basis to study the correlation of corruption to development if indeed there is any. Remember that we routinely blame corruption for our miseries and ousted Marcos and Estrada mainly for the same reason.

    Are we now saying it’s parang okay lang pala hehe?

    For example, I have read it somewhere long ago that though the Marcos regime was indeed corrupt, it was never as bad as after. The article was quoting an oldtimer at the DPWH. A good question to ask would be: how much was the standard “patong” then and how much is it now?

  7. UP n student on Wed, 16th Jul 2008 7:52 pm 

    There is a weak link in the free media. The stories about GMA headed to Washington to seek approval for martial-law from McCain and Obama is illustrative.

    The media is focused on getting the scoops — the public likes this. But a number of Filipinos also want for these “you-heard-it-here-first-speculation” to prove correct. Tabloid-speculation has gotten tiresome for many Filipinos. Evidence — apathy.

  8. PSI on Wed, 16th Jul 2008 9:56 pm 

    Corruption has been in the Philippines since the start of the republic.

    A recycled joke of corruption timelime:
    1950s-60s: Corruption in RP was under-the-table
    1970s-80s: over-the-table
    1990s-now: including-the-table

    Like the other socio-economic ills (conflict and poverty), corruption is part of the self-feeding, vicious cycle in Philippine society perpetuated through several generations of inequalities. The cycle unfortunately has not been corrected by several exogenous factors: two EDSA revolutions, globalization, and OFW voting.

    No end in sight, I believe.

  9. mlq3 on Wed, 16th Jul 2008 9:56 pm 

    ricelander, i’ll ask alba but i think his study had to stretch further back than the 50s to arrive at that conclusion.

    one anecdotal evidence you have are the lyrics to the mambo magsaysay: “no more graft and ten percent, if magsaysay’s president,” which suggests that as of 1953, that was the level of corruption.

    you also have the account of former majority leader jose romero who pointed out congressional allowances began in 1946, and increased exponentially thereafter.

    you can also go through accounts of the free press to see what sort of corruption was taking place, based on the controversies of the time:

    http://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2006/03/11/crooked-judges-get-the-boot-may-27-1939/

    http://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2006/03/11/how-quezon-handled-government-crooks-august-19-1961/

    http://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/the-hand-of-the-government-april-10-1948-2/

    http://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2006/03/15/ramon-magsaysay-man-of-the-year-january-6-1951/

    http://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2007/01/06/gaudencio-antonio-man-of-the-year-1967/

    http://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2006/01/31/that-marcos-foundation-january-31-1970/

  10. BrianB on Wed, 16th Jul 2008 11:13 pm 

    Buencamino’s article is very well written, so much unlike his old style or maybe I just prefer a little gravitas. Compared to his articles on Gloria, he seems to take this coup plot with mores seriousness (i.e. personal fear).

  11. BrianB on Wed, 16th Jul 2008 11:15 pm 

    If the “military” group is thinking of the Ninoy strategy, I have less to fear than buencamino, but what if they turned murderously mad?

  12. BrianB on Wed, 16th Jul 2008 11:19 pm 

    Hey, I had to go to Gorrell’s blog to know that risa Hontiveros was nominated for the Nobel.

  13. UP n student on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 12:16 am 

    Complaints can only get to so far (and it gets tiresome if the same plaint — “why do they keep voting in these bozos into Congress???” is heard decade after decade). To the action-oriented, there is an article a do-gooder. Problem : save millions of children from death and disease. In particular,

    …. to persuade people in the developing world to wash their hands habitually with soap. Diseases and disorders caused by dirty hands — like diarrhea — kill a child somewhere in the world about every 15 seconds, and about half those deaths could be prevented with the regular use of soap, studies indicate.

    Of course, there was re-education the Mao-Tse-Tung or PolPot way. Then there is…. (… read the article).

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/business/13habit.html?_r=1&em&ex=1216094400&en=8521c49a071adef5&ei=5087&oref=slogin

  14. nash on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 12:57 am 

    Sigh. The Philippine railway system, one of the few “British” contributions to our country.

    It should definitely be rehabilitated, if only to decongest our streets (and increase our lifespan by avoiding the maniacal drivers)

    Incidentally, UK trains are ocassionally delayed due to “Signalling failures”. This is mainly due to thieves stealing the copper cabling (to be sold to the junkyard..)

  15. nash on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 1:03 am 

    @brianB

    Sus Maniwala! There is no such thing as a ‘nobel prize nominee’. LOL.
    Nauubusan yata ng bala si gorrell…lipat muna kay kitty go…

  16. Bencard on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 2:05 am 

    if the chinese contractors want to change the contract to make “adjustments” for costs they did not anticipate, or failed to cover, they are the ones in breach, not the philippine government. their unilateral abandonment of the project for alleged non-payment of rendered services hinges on the contract terms – is such abandonment allowed and when is there non-payment? but the basic issue is which came first – the demand for adjustment, the non-payment or the abandonment? i believe, each act is a repudiation of the contract which could either have been anticipatory or after-the -fact.

    a final court ruling on whether the contract has been breached and by whom is urgent. the project has to be completed sooner rather than later. if a change of contractor is warranted, let it be. the damage to the country is irreparable, exacerbated by the a pressing need for cheap, fast and reliable transport in the midst of spiraling cost of oil.

    blaming the “government” in a knee-jerk fashion contributes nothing to the situation. the government is not a monolithic leviathan. it consists of thousands of citizens working in different branches, each with their own independent powers and responsibilities. the executive branch, by itself, is not the government. let actual responsibility be pinpointed and let the full force of the law be dealt with upon the guilty parties.

  17. supremo on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 2:28 am 

    ‘Along the way, she discussed trains and how she wanted to eliminate the old PNR lines, and have new railroad lines simply feed the metropolis, with intra-city travel done on the LRT.’

    Eliminate the old PNR lines? The only reason why North Rail and South Rail are not so expensive is the old right of way owned by PNR. GMA should have insisted on light rail instead of heavy rail to revive the PNR.

  18. PSI on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 2:56 am 

    Supremo, that’s a good insight.

    But of course ,you know how things are run in the Philippines. The light-rail transist systems you envision will not inter-connect because of turf wars!!! Tong-pats, TROs, and all that. Why do you think Imelda Marcos thought about the Metro Manila Development Adminstration (MMDA)? If the Pinoys could quarrel, we would.

    Better one integrated heavy-rail to bulldoze all the petty local feudal lords.

  19. supremo on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 3:08 am 

    If the Fil-Am community wants the Filipino Veterans Equity Act to pass then they should compromise. They should agree that only Filipino veterans residing in the US will get the benefits. This would eliminate most of the opposition to the bill. Also, Philippine politicians should stop lobbying for passage of the bill. The Fil-Am community is capable enough.

  20. Bencard on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 3:09 am 

    supremo, if your idea of “transportation” is only for passengers, light rail makes sense. but other than people-mover, what the country needs is a cheap and efficient means to move heavy cargo and serve the country through and through. the “love affair” with superhighways, tractor trailers and other gas-driven vehicles is soon to end. PNR not only needs revival, it needs enhancement.

  21. supremo on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 3:39 am 

    bencard,

    There is a light rail vehicle for moving cargo. I found a picture in wikipedia.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CarGoTram_Dresden.jpg

  22. supremo on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 3:42 am 

    PSI,

    The longest light rail line is in China at 45km. North Rail is only 80 km long.

  23. leytenian on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 3:56 am 

    agree with bencard in both enhancement and the contract with chinese.

  24. Bencard on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 4:33 am 

    thanks, supremo. if that could haul heavy equipment, logs & timber, heavy construction materials, among other heavy cargo, then i guess that would do. i believe we’d be better-off having the germans do it, if we could.

  25. Bencard on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 5:12 am 

    on greed and corruption, everything is relative. what is “moderate” in 1938 was not so in 1968, 1983 or 2008. the cost of graft follows the cost of living in luxury and maintenance of power. prior to world war 2, we talked about corruption in terms of tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of pesos. in marcos times, we talked about a few millions except, perhaps, those that went to the dictator himself. now, we talked in the hundreds of millions, if not billion. prior to 1960, we had 2 pesos to one u.s. dollar. now, it’s 45 plus. the inflation factor also applies to corruption.

  26. nash on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 5:16 am 

    @supremo

    diba cong. raffy biazon admitted to being a ‘lobbyist’ to justify the expensive junket? Well, I wish his lobbying changed some congressmen into the ‘yea’ column.

  27. d0d0ng on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 5:34 am 

    “We achieved both press freedom and a jailed whopper of a fish, but now we have perhaps more corruption than ever before. What gives? Any theories?”

    Because we look for solution outside, should be within. The corruption is homegrown. We paid our way to get into position and recoup the spent money once in power, then the cycle continues. If we can disrupt the cycle, there is real chance of better future in the Philippines.

    For now and 2010, it is grim.

  28. d0d0ng on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 5:52 am 

    “this meant that everyone discovered they could get away with petty corruption and no one would be punished.”

    That is exactly true. When president Arroyo pardoned former president Estrada the highest country official for crime of plunder, in effect she proclaimed a national policy of continues corruption. That would have been the chance to stop the cycle of corruption. However, she recognized that the criteria she set for Estrada can be applied to her when her immunity expires on 2010.

    What is heaven for big fish is also paradise for the small fish.

  29. d0d0ng on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 6:07 am 

    “The cycle unfortunately has not been corrected by several exogenous factors: two EDSA revolutions, globalization, and OFW voting.”

    There was a slight chance by with the activist court of Justice Puno (who clipped the EO#) until 5 new justices appointed by President Arroyo in 2007 and 2008 tip the balance of power.

  30. d0d0ng on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 6:10 am 

    There was a slight chance by with the activist court of Justice Puno (who clipped the EO#) until 5 new justices appointed by President Arroyo in 2007 and 2008 tip the balance of power which became evident in SC decision on Neri to answer the 3 questions. Justice Puno and others became minority.

  31. d0d0ng on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 6:26 am 

    To recap the attempt to disrupt the cycle of corruption on this present administration and the skillful hands of the President:

    1. Power vested in Congress through impeachment. The president issued blank checks the night before Congress deliberations.

    2. Church voice to guide its flock. The president went to the Pope directly and cutoff the Bishops.

    3. Call for military solution. The president issued loyalty checks to the generals.

    4. Push for Justice. The president appointed 5 new justices since 2007.

    The Filipinos are running out of solutions.

  32. hawaiianguy on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 6:35 am 

    Speaking of trains and railways, I can’t help thinking of the proposed Railway System in Honolulu and comparing it with the proposed Northrail Project of the Philippines.

    Here, a group posted an anti-rail stance, not so much that it thinks it would not benefit the residents but that the project will upset the delicate balance between the quality of life and urban landscape. I guess, many are still content with the car & bus modes of transport, not the heavier and more massive moving of people to and from their workplace. They are averse to seeing a more “urbanized city,” with those trains hovering on top of the skyways rather than snaking under the ground (as in Washington, D.C. , California and other states).

    Curiously, one of the main issues about the Philippine Northrail System is CORRUPTION. Yes, the 10-letter word has become endemic in almost all mammoth projects of the government, which are tainted with shady deals. Just look at what happens to the other China-related projects like the NBN-ZTE deal, and one gets a smell of the stink that separates this and the Honolulu railway project.

    When will Filipinos learn to get rid of corrupt leaders?

  33. leytenian on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 6:44 am 

    Planes, trains, and automobiles are under the direct supervision and management of Department of Transportation and Commission. The appointment or selection of human resource by the executive is very crucial for implementation of the process according to budgets. I went to the website of DOTC to see if I can find what’s really wrong with implementation aside from just lacking money. I have found out that experience and skills do not fit the job description. I cannot open the link on Organizational structure , hoping to find people within that organization. I did found what’s obvious from the website. It is lacking quantification management to help reduce uncertainty. There’s no projections of revenue but actual budget is already proposed. The goal and mission sounds good but the goods has not been completed since inception.

    I would like to see a NEW Department of Human Resources that will assist/guide our executives to screen, assess and hire the right professionals including prevention of conflict of interest. What we have is appointing human resource without proper assessment of skills and experience. What’s popular is conflict of interest as in the case of SSS… With Northrail, one can browse the professional experience of the secretary. The result of collective team performance can be reflected on the project itself.

  34. d0d0ng on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 7:22 am 

    “I would like to see a NEW Department of Human Resources that will assist/guide our executives to screen, assess and hire the right professionals.”

    As far as the CEO Arroyo would allow. It is her team. She can’t tolerate SSS Chief Corazon Dela Paz resistance from diverting SSS funds for presidential programs (not already content with her unprogram discretionary funds which ballooned 5 times the 2004 size).

    CEO Arroyo tapped Merceditas Gutierrez (a classmate of her husband) as ombudsman chief. The investigative arm went from 80% to 14% case disposition rate and demoralized the whole organization. She also inhibit herself on any cases involving the Palace. The constitutional mandate to fight corruption through Ombudsman is effectively neutralized by a president political appointee. It is design to fail against her.

  35. Bafil on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 7:58 am 

    Manolo,

    I absolutely share your enthusiasm for trains and wish to see the Philippine railway system rehabilitated and perhaps further expanded ASAP. And though it did break my heart to see the folks from Blumentritt station shantytown uprooted and scattered as you rightly recalled (what a memory you have!), I believe it is for the greater good of the whole society to get the riles fixed. My only wish is that the usual squandering of the funds through corruption is limited and that the project gets finished, not bogged down, so that we see cleaner and greener transport options in the country at the time when the world gets more serious about tackling the green gas emissions.

  36. BrianB on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 8:31 am 

    Trains is a liberal concept that can potentially change the kanya-kanya attotude of Filipinos.

    Nash, nasa wkipedia ni hontiveros

  37. KG on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 8:50 am 

    Cargo by rail.

    Matagal na hinaharang ng mga truckers,brokers,forwarders and some logistic companies ,as well.

    it would mean relocation for the logistics firms,getting rid of their trucks and loss of busines by the truckers.

    tapos kailangan me railway din na malapit sa airports,ngayon medyo kalat pa ang airport natin.

    why is everything a logistical nightmare?

    it can be done with a masterplan that is not vendor/supplier dictated but coordinated.

    procurement/biidings should not deviate from plans?

    how do we do it with just a one year budget,di naman pwede six year budget o three year budget dahil dahil kahit me master plan lagi na lang me bago na proposal,bago batas na kailangan ng budget.
    yan isa pa yan madami batas na ala namang budget.

    ==========================

    On leytenian’s concern on the department of human resources.

    We have the civil service comission, for career officials and of course as d0d0ng mentioned political appointees.

    I am not against assigning ex generals to the cabinet. I know many are brillaiant, sayang naman ang utak nila.

    secretary leandro mendoza in DOTC is a bad move, just listening to him sa ZTE hearings, his defensive allibi sa sulipicio accident na madaming pasahero ;na nadinig ko kay vice president noli nung initerview sya,maybe not enough to say he is incompetent, but what track record can he show us?

  38. mlq3 on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 9:03 am 

    supremo, that was not her original vision. this was after the plans for a canlubang-alabang-makati rail link foundered due to real estate speculation along the tracks (the home along the riles tenements were so close to the old tracks that it raised the serious possibility new wider-guage tracks would have to be elevated and then, the builders of the tenements could sell their air rights) during the estrada admin.

    the president, at least in 2004, envisioned expanding the lrt-mrt within metro manila, and commuters coming in from cavite and laguna would get down in depots from their trains and hop on to the lrt-mrt system. the old railway lines of pnr within metro manila would give way to roads.

  39. mlq3 on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 9:05 am 

    mmda and mm were the brainchilds of president marcos, who implemented many ideas he acquired as a young man during the japanese occupation. mm and mmda for example, had their origin in the city of greater manila and the position of mayor of greater manila set up on the eve of world war ii.

  40. mlq3 on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 9:15 am 

    leytenian, actually your h.r. department exists in embryo form, within the executive, either in the person of the executive secretary or the presidential management staff office. we actually devised a modern way of running the presidential office ahead of the americans, we had the executive secretary position prior to the war and it took eisenhower (who’d worked in malacanan) to institute a chief of staff position in the white house during his term.

    a further attempt to modernize took place under estrada with laquidan or whatever his name is being appointed chief of staff, but it was a disaster. president arroyo tried again, separating political functions, placed under the chief of staff, from bureaucratic functions, retained under the executive secretary. but the scheme ran out of steam after bobi tiglao got sick.

    arroyo also had a search committee to vet presidential appointees, under vicky garchitorena who was put in charge of pms. but that went out the window in july, 2005 (garchitorena, like yong afable, belonged to the cabinet group that chose to resign quietly).

  41. cvj on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 9:32 am 

    Petty corruption in the public sector is also a function of the low salaries of our public officials, particularly the gap between their official salaries and the cost of living.

  42. hvrds on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 9:53 am 

    “First question: Does the country need a modern railway system? Yes.”

    “Since it does, can it be built without corruption? No.” MLQ3

    I checked the records of the NSCB going back to 1946 and there is no record of a manufacturer of railroad hardware registered in the country. We have never built a railroad in the country and we have no capacity still to build one. We purchase railroads systems from abroad and we do not produce and build it. We have it installed.

    India builds their own.

    When Lincoln was made to chose between building one and purchasing one from England he chose to build one by helping to establish the U.S. steel mills under more modern technologies then. The U.S. then out produced the Europeans in steel at a lower cost.

    He actually helped establish the robber barons of old and the private railroad systems became the principal model of organizing U.S. buisness management systems of line and staff functions all linked through the telegraph system.

    Actually the discovery of oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania can be considered the catalyst of the third leg of the evolution of the steam engine to the internal combusition engine run by refined oil. Later the discovery of oil in Spindletop in Texas. The original steam engine had evovled to the steam engine driving the locomotive. Oil replaced wood and coal driving engines.

    With cheap oil and the need for highways to link cities and evacuate cities in case of war President Eisenhower initiated the interstate highway system which then relegated railways for cargo.

  43. Bencard on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 9:57 am 

    kg. tough luck for the truckers, etc. the high cost of oil will make them obsolete., except perhaps for short trips like shuttle services to and from air/seaports to train depots. in any case, there’s no way they can fight for survival unless they find a way to arrest the escalating fuel cost and make their service competitive. business is consumer-driven, not necessarily by political connection.

  44. leytenian on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 10:13 am 

    The HR department i’m dreaming about can be implemented or is the responsibility of the Department of Labor and Employment ( unemployment pala) . DOLU…

    “The Philippines’ Department of Labor and Employment (Filipino: Kagawaran ng Paggawa at Empleyo)(commonly abbreviated to “DOLE”) is the executive department of the Philippine Government mandated to formulate policies, implement programs and services, and serve as the policy-coordinating arm of the Executive Branch in the field of labor and employment. It is also responsible for promoting gainful employment opportunities, developing HUMAN RESOURCES, protecting workers and promoting their welfare, and maintaining industrial peace. It is further tasked with the enforcement of the provisions of the Labor Code”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Labor_and_Employment_(Philippines)
    It sounds like, that this department is only doing…”It is further tasked with the enforcement of the provisions of the Labor Code”
    only applies to private employees? what about the high ranking employees paid by the people? what about overseeing practices of COMELEC for political candidate applications- assesing skills, dgrees, experience and good faith… ( that’s still employment- human resources).

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Code_of_the_Philippines

    what else does this department do? overseas labor law? or whatever labor? I couldn’t open its website. Why is that? no budget too? lol

  45. supremo on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 10:14 am 

    mlq3,

    ‘mmda and mm were the brainchilds of president marcos’

    There was a Manila province with almost the same boundaries as Metro Manila created in 1859.

  46. hvrds on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 10:24 am 

    ……..”ours is Still a jobless-growth economy; and the powers-that-be don’t quite know how to effectively toot their own horns and even if they do, there’s a widespread assumption officialdom’s on a looting spree (made even deeper, I think, because most of the public can’t quite grasp how it’s being done):”

    One of the reasons , I believe that most people are clueless about why corruption inthe country can’t quite be grasped is the fact that most people naturally will be involved in subsectors of the economy and the view will alwys be micro-economics or supply side based.

    JMK or Keynes for short changed the whole idea of economics from Smith to the macro level which is monetarism. To some it is called statism – the heart of political economy. It is the instituionalization of fiscal and monetary policies by the state. The monetization of credit.

    Countries who are pre- capitalist societies and between monetarism and commodity based trade system would be hard put to comprehend the why’s and the how’s.

    The Philippine experience since Marcos has been the professionalizing of the corruption process. Marcos brought it to the level of the technocrats. Sicat, Virata, Ongpin, Laya to name a few. They turned a blind eye to the abuses.

    They used off budget government institutions. What did not exist they created. The perfect example is the coconut levy organized and managed by Danding Cojuangco. Neri Jr. is simply an extension of this phenomena. Look at Jun Lozada. Look at the entire cabinet and the rise of the GOCC’s including the BSP. Look at the entire privatization process promoted and supported by the multilaterals. Look at the entire roro system which is simply a repeat of the DBP subsidizing the transport sector with imports from other countries.

    They call it crony capitalism, booty capitalism but it simply socialism for the well connected and rich.

    Neri’s actions are not new. It is history repeating itself.

    The preconceptions most people in the country have about fiscal and monetary systems is shallow and narrow just like the economy which is not really a macro based economy.

    Business tends to be micro in scope. But all businesses exists in the abstract of the objective reality that is the macro. If the macro is still to be formed that means all businesses must be aligned with establishing the macro conditions.

    Anyone who has read Porter will note that the precondtions for engaging the global economy is the foundational exitence of a well honed established and efficient domestic agro-industrial market base.

    We have not yet even started to move towards the formation of a firm domestic market base from local communties with other other local communities that form the backbone of a domestic market.

    Then you want to become competitive overnite by establishing a Commission of competitiveness and start sloganeering.

    The Daily Inquirer editorial said that the North Rail will leapfrog us into the 21st century. Wow!!!!!

  47. supremo on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 10:25 am 

    ‘We have never built a railroad in the country and we have no capacity still to build one. ‘

    That’s why light rail is the way to go. Bombardier or Hyundai Rotem should be given incentives to build diesel multiple unit or DMU in the Philippines. No need for overhead wires to power the train. Conventional locomotive-hauled commuter train can consume 2–3 gallons per mile, a comparable DMU will only consume ½ gallon per mile. DMU also has the potential to run on biodiesel, resulting in further fuel savings.

  48. Bencard on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 10:32 am 

    how can we build our own railroads, we can’t even produce our own tanks and armored vehicles for our military? we had iron mines but never had a world-class steel mill. we exported iron ores to japan and bought from it finished products (appliances, motor vehicles, heavy equipment).

    we’re supposed to have an accumulation of engineers, technicians, skilled workers and vast labor source and manpower. they could not have all gone abroad. i bet most of them would stay if they could work using their skills and were compensated decently.

    it’s hard to think of our’s as nothing but a consumer society. i believe we can do better than that in spite of ourselves.

  49. ricelander on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 10:38 am 

    hvrds:

    …We have never built a railroad in the country and we have no capacity still to build one. We purchase railroads systems from abroad and we do not produce and build it. We have it installed.

    India builds their own.

    I would love to see us building our own too with our own technology and resources– but how? What is the state of our steel industry?

  50. supremo on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 10:40 am 

    nash,

    Cong. Biazon just wasted his time. No one would listen to him because he is not a registered voter or a campaign contributor.

    The Philippine government should have settled this veteran equity issue on a high level instead of begging the US congress to approve the bill. They could have ask for a monetary settlement of at least $100 M deposited in a trust fund that the SSS would manage.

  51. cvj on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 10:47 am 

    Bencard, you can trace our inability to build our own railroads (while Korea has its Hyundai Rotem as mentioned by Supremo above) with the different road we took from countries like South Korea. Over there, they implemented land reform and then focused on home-grown industrialization. In summary, addressing the problem of inequality works from two directions:

    From the point of view of creating a domestic market [Demand Side]:
    land reform –> creates domestic market —> industrialization

    From the point of view of allocating capital by our business class [Supply Side]:
    land reform —> minimizes/eliminates money making opportunities (aka rent seeking) of landlords —> so entrepreneurs look for business opportunities in industry

    Of course, the above would not work without an active carrot and stick from the government which includes import and capital controls. Diosdado Macapagal with his Decontrol is one of those responsible for the wrong turn.

  52. UP n student on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 11:05 am 

    Unofficial talk in halls of US Congress about providing benefits to Filipinos who fought under the US flag during WW2. The problem is not the dollar-payments to a limited number of people with very short lifespans:

    US government data shows that there are still 18,154 surviving Filipino World War II veterans. Average age of these veterans is 84 years old and unfortunately ten die everyday,” said Yee. “The US Government can no longer wait to provide this long overdue recognition and honor for the heroic service of the Filipino WWII veterans.”

    According to the Philippine Embassy in Washington, all of the Filipino veterans will likely pass away by 2015.

    The fear is that providing the recognition to the Fil-vets is to give them (and therefore their children and their children’s children) US-citizenship rights.

  53. hawaiianguy on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 11:14 am 

    arroyo also had a search committee to vet presidential appointees, under vicky garchitorena who was put in charge of pms. but that went out the window in july, 2005 (garchitorena, like yong afable, belonged to the cabinet group that chose to resign quietly). – mlq3

    We need more professionals in govt like Vicky. Sadly, she couldn’t stomach the corruption and mismanagement in Malacanan, which tend to bring down every honest and well-meaning officials who would like the govt to succeed. But Vicky’s loss is a huge gain to Ayala, which is doing the country proud in modernizing the public secondary schools by getting them wired to the internet thru project GILAS (Gearing Up Internet Literacy and Access to Students).

    Recently, Vicky passed by Hawaii to sell her ideas, to which many Fil-Ams responded. In one fund-raising campaign early this year, $22,000 was raised to fund the project in remote high schools in northern Philippines. One pinoy medic here even donated a hundred computers to a Cebu high school in an effort to make young Filipinos competitive in the IT arena. Vicky’s modest success is a bucket in the ocean, but surely overshadows the DepEd’s proposed cybered project, which is likely to become another white elephant, a palaisdaan , of those corrupt in the public service.

    Try ask Jesli Lapuz to do the same here, and he will bring home $0 for DepEd’s rotting system. He was one of those junketeers led by Gloria, who brought home nothing but added strain in the already limited budget of poor pinas. Not a single computer, or internet connection, donated; yet millions of pesos spent. Pathetic!

  54. supremo on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 11:22 am 

    UP n student,

    ‘The fear is that providing the recognition to the Fil-vets is to give them (and therefore their children and their children’s children) US-citizenship rights.’

    The citizenship right was granted in 1990. The issue now is full benefits for Filipino veterans living in the Philippines. Filipinos living in the US receive full benefits (half before 1997). The Filipinos living in the US are also asking for additional(?) benefits.

  55. mlq3 on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 11:33 am 

    it’s taken so long when the original question was less about citizenship than our veterans availing of the gi bill and benefits promised them during the war.

    the problem’s compounded by our own government stripping usaffe veterans of their pensions due them as veterans of the philippine army. they’re entitled to both.

  56. Marcelo on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 11:41 am 

    Read this in this blog

    “Government’s policies and management of the economy can be left alone if the public feels officials are capable and trustworthy stewards. If not, then they can and should be guarded every step of the way.”

    My goodness! How simple!

    GOVERNMENT MUST NEVER BE LEFT ALONE TO MANAGE THE ECONOMY. THIS APPLIES TO ANY GOVERNMENT, ANYWHERE, AND AT ANY TIME.

    Our country’s development technocarcy is often accused of being “faceless,” “detached” and get this, “anti-people.” Yet when the technocrats need to negotiate (and they do, in all countries and at all times) with the ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE, they become, what, “politicized”?

    It is the Political Arms of Government that set policy and that, most important of all, have the power of the purse. The technocracy also has power, but of different origins and of a different nature.

    It is the interplay of these various “powers” with and against the vested interests, petty and great, of the realm (shall we say) that constitute “politics” and “government.”

    And you should be eternally suspicious of those who say they speak for the People Oor the Public). The popular will certainly does exist, but outside of elections, everything depends on who interprets it (or, to be more blunt, who is selling it).

    That’s what makes the Paeliament of the Streets such an iffy proposition. Everyone has an agenda. Even our Holy Mother Church (just read the papers on family planning the last few days)

    Unfortunately, this interplay among the powers and the vested interests may become sordid or might damage the greater good. (But not always. Lobbying has been known to get public libraries built and bridges repaired)

    This unpredictability is why a sharp eye must always be kept on government.

    Unless you live in Plato’s Republic, this is the way world works. Get used to it.

    (It would help, sometimes, if people making comments actually had real world experience in running a government office to meet targets or a company to meet a payroll)

  57. hvrds on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 1:46 pm 

    “GOVERNMENT MUST NEVER BE LEFT ALONE TO MANAGE THE ECONOMY. THIS APPLIES TO ANY GOVERNMENT, ANYWHERE, AND AT ANY TIME.”

    Ever since the Federal Reserve was created by law it was tasked with managing the entire economy. The creation of the fiat monetary system under a fractional reserve banking system essentially made the banking system a quasi-public utility with an implict guarantee from the Republic.

    Thus was born the full faith and credit of the Republic underpining the dollar.

    Paul Volker recently declared that some of the actions recently of the Fed are illegal in opening up the lending window to non banks. Institutions who do not take in deposits and are funded by rich people.

    What is more basic than determing the short term price of credit!!!!

    Who does it?????

    The government.

    You wanna fight the governmanets mangement of the economy become a tax evader and or a smuggler… Here in the Phils it is actually the norm.

  58. hvrds on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 1:59 pm 

    Who is the only animal who can create inflation????? The government by managing the economy……Who allows the importation of inflation?????

    The government. How come???? Because it is the govenrment that sets the terms of capital mobility!!!!!!! Was there ever a vote on it anywhere????

    When you question the government as to how and why in terms of international agreements, you might get the SC saying that it is only the business of governments!!!!!!

    You know capital mobility and free trade!!!!!Think JPEPA……

    It seems in this country it becomes a patritotic act to become a smuggler…. You actually help lower prices.

  59. Phil Cruz on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 3:11 pm 

    DOTC Sec. Mendoza now wants to restart the NBN project?!

    He says “that project is needed. What happened to MV Princess of the Stars, there was no signal there. NBN can help in enhancing phone signals.”

    What a twerp of a statement. Using the sinking as a reason for restarting the NBN project!!

    Even if there were telecom signals, that Sulpicio vessel would still have sank because the Sulpicio management with profits rather than safety in their minds chose to brave the typhoon. They knew the typhoon was along their probable path…just as the majority of other major shipping lines knew of it.

    So don’t use the Sulpicio tragedy as a reason, for God’s sake.

    Twerps running the DOTC. Expect more sea, air and land tragedies. Expect telecoms to go haywire. With the restart of this NBN, expect billions to sink again into bottomless whirlpools of incredible greed.

  60. KG on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 3:27 pm 

    Bencard,

    Bow, one day the truckers have to give in.

    I liked the dresden’s cargo by light rail picture and looked for an article about it.

    http://www.apta.com/services/intnatl/intfocus/cargo.cfm

  61. Jeg on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 4:00 pm 

    we can’t even produce our own tanks and armored vehicles for our military?

    We do. The MX-8 is proudly Philippine made.

    we had iron mines but never had a world-class steel mill.

    We did. Im sure you remember Philippine Blooming Mills in Pasig? Whatever happened to that? We also had textile mills. Whatever happened to those? There were plans once to put up our own plastics raw materials plants (naphtha crackers, etc.) but government (not this one) pulled the plug on that as it will conflict with a crony’s plastic raw materials importing business.

  62. The Ca t on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 4:29 pm 

    I would like to see a NEW Department of Human Resources that will assist/guide our executives to screen, assess and hire the right professionals including prevention of conflict of interest. What we have is appointing human resource without proper assessm

    Department of Human Resources?

    Ano yan maliit na corporation.

    Haven’t you heard about CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION or you are just clueless?

    http://www.csc.gov.ph/cscweb/about.html

    NEW? ano raw, bakit may old ba?

  63. The Ca t on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 4:45 pm 

    leytenian, actually your h.r. department exists in embryo form, within the executive, either in the person of the executive secretary or the presidential management staff office.

    Mlq3,
    leytenian is talking about a national agency, and you are talking about the executive branch.

    Civil Service Commission was established in 1900.

    It is the agency which sees to it that government employees have civil service eligibility whether it is a clerk or a high government official.

    The lady confuses the political appointees from the government employees.

  64. KG on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 7:35 pm 

    MX8 ,yes it is Filipino.

    dyan tayo ang concentrate sa light,like MX8

    The MX-8 Armored Escort Vehicle is an experimental armored vehicle currently under development by Philippine steelworks fabricator Steelcraft Industrial & Development Corporation, in collaboration with the Philippine Army, arising from a need by the latter for smaller, tougher armored vehicle that can fill an escort role larger armored vehicles cannot; a consideration confined Philippine jungles aggravated. MX-8 stands for “Military Experimental 8″, following from a list of prototype vehicles developed by Steelcraft during the latter half of the 20th century. The Philippine Army has expressed significant interest in the project, helping to bankroll a few aspects of the prototypes, indicating intent to purchase a number units once the MX-8 has exited the development stage.

    we had plans to develop ultra light aircrafts for surveilance purposes, and of course for the ultra light air craft clubs

    Steel?

    What happened to the rehab of National Steel Corporation?

    http://reyadel.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/national-steel-corporation-an-introduction/

    for naptha;

    PHILIPPINE FIRMS REFUSE TO PARTICIPATE IN NAPTHA CRACKER PLANT.
    AsiaPulse News, January, 2003

    no full article found:

    http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go1523/is_200301/ai_n6507827

  65. leytenian on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 7:43 pm 

    i will join the petition to remove the professor in my university. she can only talk about corporate, and government function ( goal and mission) but she has not been able to teach that result of performance and the process of implementation is very important. This professor don’t deserve respect.

  66. PSI on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 8:49 pm 

    It seems that the bishops have successfully used scare tactics to bully the congressmen against passing the proposed population control program, called the Reproductive Health Bill.

    The bill been tagged with a ‘pro-abortion’ label. There are news reports that communion and marriage will be refused to those supporting the bill. And it was reported that PGMA will go with the bishops’ position.

    In this case, the Catholic church should also provide subsidies for the poorest. Or, ang simbahan huwag nang maningil sa binyag at kumpil ng mga bata.

  67. UP n student on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 8:59 pm 

    The sooner the better when they build a light-rail line (with cargo) is between NAIA and Clark. Statement from Amer-Chamber of commerce:

    Manila-Clark Rail ñ A high-speed rail connection between Metro Manila and Clark will be essential. There will be many challenges, such as design, routing, terminal locations, technology, funding and construction, but such a multi-billion project is essential for future development and needs to be a core element in the Central Luzon Air and Sea Logistics Hub Master Plan. Extending the MRT-3 and LRT-1 up to NLEX must also be considered in order to allow efficient access to the NCR light rail system.

  68. PSI on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 9:08 pm 

    And its high time for the Philippine catholic church to endorse artificial birth control methods. Some of the priests get into trouble because they didn’t know or learn these methods. You know what I mean.

  69. PSI on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 9:37 pm 

    Back to Train and Road thread:

    The development of Metro Manila has become so eclectic that it seems we’ve lost some of the city’s pizzazz. The iconic Tutuban station is now I believe a mall. A bus station was built in front of the art-deco Met Theater. Intramuros was at least saved from being converted into a gym??? (Never mind the golf course beside it). And the way the LRT/MRT stations were built really leave much to be desired aesthetically.

    Bara bara ang dating.

  70. The Equalizer on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 9:46 pm 

    The Gloria Arroyo administration will do anything to extend it hold on power beyond 2010.Gloria is desperately trying to force the nation to amend the constitution.It will invent any excuse to do so shortly.Here’s one dumb example:

    “A federal state is not allowed within the current framework. And so because of that, the final agreement will not be executory until we have an enabling act [for a federal state]. This will come in the form of an amendment to the Constitution,” he said.

    “If there is a need to accommodate or amend the Constitution because of the provisions in the peace agreement [with the MILF], then we will go through that,” Esperon added.

  71. supremo on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 9:48 pm 

    ‘Never mind the golf course beside it’

    The golf course used to be the moat that surrounded Intramuros. They were drained by the Americans and converted into a golf course and parade grounds for the Philippine Scouts.

  72. mlq3 on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 10:31 pm 

    cat, well you know as well as i the real decisions are made in the palace and that the civil service commission isn’t particularly capable of enforcing anything. and certainly not in influencing the quality or lack thereof of executive appointments.

  73. Bencard on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 11:35 pm 

    mlq3, how many times will we argue that we have laws that even the executive branch is subject to? we have a working judiciary, haven’t we? or is it only working , as far as you and like-minded people are concerned, when a court decision goes your way?

    the civil service is governed by law, not by executive orders. the president can try to influence its supervision and control of career personnel but it cannot substitute its judgment for that of the constitutionally appointed commisioner. the latter’s judgment is appealable to the courts which has the final say.

    just because we have spineless and timid leadership in our civil service system, easily cowed and intimidated by malacanang, does not necessarily mean that the commission itself is “incapable of enforcingf anything”. in short, it has the power but is it courageous enough to test the limits of its prerogative under the law?

  74. UP n student on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 11:36 pm 

    PSI says : And its high time for the Philippine catholic church to endorse artificial birth control methods. Some of the priests get into trouble because they didn’t know or learn these methods.

    At least, they should preach during each Sunday sermon for men to abstain — NOT TO EAT — watermelon. Watermelon is a natural Viagra :wink: because the fruit is very rich in an amino acid called citrulline.

    http://www.webmd.com/erectile-dysfunction/news/20080701/watermelon-a-natural-viagra

  75. Bencard on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 11:56 pm 

    equalizer, when are you going to stop making alarmist predictions as though you have a direct line to the future? one other problem of pinoys is that we have too many “madame aurings”, jeanne dixon or nostradamus wannabbees, and too many gullibles.

    your “examples” don’t wash. it appears that esperon is simply saying that it needs an amendment to the constitution to do anything different from what it now provides. one does not have to be a constitutional expert to know that.

  76. PSI on Thu, 17th Jul 2008 11:59 pm 

    Atienza pushes pro-life policy – Manila Standard

    http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics3_july16_2008

    “Environment Secretary Joselito Atienza yesterday defended the administration’s policy on population and supported the Church’s strong advocacy in promoting a culture of life among Filipinos. ”

    “But other administration allies took a more aggressive stance and slammed the Church for blocking a proposal in Congress to enact a bill promoting the use of contraceptives. ”

    This is the big problem in policy making in this administration. There are too many mouthpieces. From the half-dozen spokespeople, to the Executive Secretary, to Gov. Salceda speaking on economic policy, etc.

    Why is the Environment Secretary making pronouncements on population control, when precisely overpopulation adversely impacts the environment??? Communications 101!!!

    What gives? Confuse the enemy or incoherent policy?

  77. UP n student on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 12:58 am 

    Bencard: I have a related thought on your comment that timid leadership in our civil service system… should not be interpreted to means that Pinas institutions do not have power … ….under the law.

    ———————————————–
    I had made previous blog-entries commenting on “how great it will be!!!” (my sentiments) if the media has more stories about current-day heroes. Not the dolphin, but a real-life Filipino who braved broken bones and drowning to help a stricken during the Typhoon Frank or an earlier storm or a Filipino soldier who risked death (or who may have died) for comrades or for civilians during a mission against the MILF or the NPA.

    The reason is in human psychology. More heroes come out now if the public has recollection of acts of heroism two years ago or the year before that. A reason cited often in the psychology literature is the BYSTANDER EFFECT. A person’s instinct to help someone in distress (or to cry “foul!!!” against an injustice) can get muted — no action — during a split-check cross-reference to the norms of society. If he can’t recall someone who acted courageously as he may need to and if his neighbor and his neighbor’s neighbor all seem to be disinterested, then the pressure is for non-action. What was the norm — no heroes — still is the norm — don’t be a hero. So with a muttering of “.. Oooops, false alarm. OA lang pala ako” an act of courage is pfffftttt and gone.

    [and again the disclaimer : above is my opinion, not of the Inquirer]

  78. supremo on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 1:32 am 

    ‘Why is the Environment Secretary making pronouncements on population control, when precisely overpopulation adversely impacts the environment?’

    Because plastic condoms are not biodegradable. The latex type is biodegradable but it will still take time.

  79. PSI on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 1:40 am 

    UP n,

    I think its quite difficult to get what you’re looking for about real-life stories of heroes when most mainstream media are owned by/affiliated with some vested interests. I’m not putting into doubt the policy of the editors or news directors, but think about it?

    The cross-ownership structure looks like this, if I’m not mistaken:

    Manila Bulletin – Yap, owner of Manila Hotel
    Manila Standard – Affiliated with San Miguel Corporation
    Manila Times – Enrique Razon, mainstay oligarch and owner of ICSTI; close with Ayalas
    Philippine Daily Inquirer – affiliated with PLDT/GMA7
    Philippine Star – close to PFVR circle
    Business Mirror- Cabangon Chua, owner of Fortune Life and motels
    ABS-CBN – owned by Lopez Group, MERALCO, Benpres, etc.
    GMA7 – has some relationship with PLDT’s Manuel Pangilinan

    Of course, the government has the sequestered broadcast stations for its own propaganda.

    I don’t know what the regulations are in the United States, but given the above ownership structure, can you honestly say that what you are getting are ‘news” not “views”?

  80. d0d0ng on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 1:46 am 

    “how can we build our own railroads, we can’t even produce our own tanks and armored vehicles for our military? we had iron mines but never had a world-class steel mill”.

    We did have National Steel Corp (NSC) now Global Steel Philippines (GSP) in Iligan City.

    Here is the info below:

    Global Steel Philippines (SPV-AMC), Inc. is the leading manufacturer and principal supplier of flat products in the Philippines and other ASEAN markets. Products include hot rolled coils, hot rolled plates, cold rolled coils (fullhard, annealed) and tinplates. Formerly known as National Steel Corporation, the plant is currently under the management of Global Ispat Holdings Limited, one of the worlds pioneering steel producers, having facilities in countries like Bulgaria, Nigeria, India, Bosnia, Libya and Zimbabwe. With integrated facilities, the plant operates hot rolling, cold rolling and tinning lines capable of producing more than two million tons of steel annually.

  81. supremo on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 1:59 am 

    “how can we build our own railroads, we can’t even produce our own tanks and armored vehicles for our military? we had iron mines but never had a world-class steel mill”.

    The Philippines initiated a missile project in the 70s but the US opposed it. The fuel for that abadoned missile project are now stored in Corregidor.

  82. PSI on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 2:09 am 

    Funny, supremo. But then again, there are methods when all one has to do is withdraw or spit. No harm on the environment, don’t you think?

  83. supremo on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 2:19 am 

    PSI,

    It’s hard to teach the withdrawal and spitting method. Withdrawal requires timing. I’ll let the other commenters discuss spitting.

  84. d0d0ng on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 2:23 am 

    “real decisions are made in the palace and that the civil service commission isn’t particularly capable of enforcing anything. and certainly not in influencing the quality or lack thereof of executive appointments.”

    President Arroyo literally demolished any opposition to her decision making from co-equal congress on impeachment to co-equal judiciary on executive powers issues by appointing new justices. If those 2 powerful institutions can be neutralized, then nothing can stand against her run of the mill decisions and corruptions.

    It is understandable why various leaders say civil service became spineless and timid. They can’t rely on Congress to fix the law or Justices to give them protection of the law. No wonder, capable technocrats just resigned from the service or get replaced when they do not toe the line of the Palace.

    The only viable option is NERI SOLUTION – you get out or you can dance.

    In the Philippines, what you planted is what you get.

  85. Bencard on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 2:37 am 

    o.k, o.k., we produce steel (i was wrong), but do we produce finish products in commercial quantities either for export or domestic use? where are the “made in the phil.” cars, jet liners, fighter planes, helicopters, navy ships, rail roads, tanks, and so forth?

    cvj, when will you ever learn? decontrol (as president macapagal advocated and impemented) is basically the discontinuance of artificial valuation of the peso, letting it seek its own level in foreign exchange. did you want it forever tied to the u.s. dollar? i thought you hate america. make up your mind, man.

  86. d0d0ng on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 2:41 am 

    “And its high time for the Philippine catholic church to endorse artificial birth control methods.”

    MLQ3 mentioned before that you cannot ask the Church to violate its own beliefs. However, the Church should not control the state policy on sex and population with separation of state and religion.

  87. Bencard on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 3:00 am 

    psi, in fairness, atienza is entitled to his own personal advocacy or opinion, as you are.
    i don’t quite understand you, people. when individuals in public service express their own views which are not necessarily in agreement with the others, you say “there are too many mouthpieces”. when they maintain a docile, passive, stance and follow the official line, they are “tuta”.

    i say everyone, including office holders, are entitled to properly express their points of view which may or may not be consistent with the administration’s policy. when their opinion doesn’t carry the day, they must learn to accept defeat and work for the adopted objective.

  88. PSI on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 3:06 am 

    I hear you, Bencard. But Atienza is a government minister. Like it or not, official or personal, people will hear or absorb that as or part the government’s position. When you are in the public eye, your private views take the back seat.

  89. The Ca t on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 3:10 am 

    cat, well you know as well as i the real decisions are made in the palace and that the civil service commission isn’t particularly capable of enforcing anything. and certainly not in influencing the quality or lack thereof of executive appointments.

    Are we in the same page, mlq3?

    I was responding to the clueless recommendation of a department of human resources by leytenian which from i understand is for the national goverment. If I can understand you correctly, you are referring to executive appointments which fall under appointive positions specifioally presidential appointees .

    The Presidential appointees have no government tenure; their appointments are co-terminus with the President.

    you should know that it was civil service commission which made the professionalization of personnel in the BIR and NBI possible.

    In the past, even a dentist can become a BIR examiner and in the NBI, they started recruiting agents preferably those who are CPAs and lawyers.

    You cannot become a regular employee in the government not until you have a civil service eligibillity.

    the reason why I suggested that you take up MBA is because that is one eligibility that can be credited as FIRST GRADE if ever you want to teach or to work in a government university in lieu of the professional degrees such as CPA, law, MD and RN.

  90. leytenian on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 4:22 am 

    Northrail is a typical project management. A project must have a specific start and completion dates- undertaken to create a unique product or service which brings about beneficial change or added value. The primary challenge of project management is supposed to achieve all of the project goals and objectives while adhering to classic project constraints—usually scope, quality, time and budget. Scope and quality were supposed to be delivered by the Chinese contractor. The time constraint was not addressed by whoever was in charge ( the most important is breaking down years) Budget constraint was no longer a big issue because the deal was financed by $ 503M from the Export-Import Bank of China.

    Therefore, the project was corrupt and someone was making money..

    The Northrail Project, a deal financed by a disadvantageous loan of around US$ 503M from the Export-Import Bank of China and awarded to Chinese contractors, was overpriced and allegedly involved some US$ 50-100 M in commissions and kickbacks to high-ranking government officials. This project is a burden to the people. The $400,000 monthly interest that the government is now compelled to pay can be used for subsidies and other projects for the poor and marginalized.

    Withdrawing the full amount of $503 mil was not necessary Now we are paying 400,000 of interest. This issue is lacking money management. here’s why… example only….. in very basic concept.

    budget constraint: $503 mil ( full loan amount) divide by 80 kilometers is $6.28 mil per km..,
    time constraint : 2005 to 2010 that’s 6 years..

    scope and quality : 80 km divided by 6 years= 13.3 km per year.

    13.3 km per year x $ 6.28/km=$ 83.73 . this amount should have been our first withdrawal. The 400,000 monthly interest should have been avoided.
    it’s only an example… but that’s how true project must be calculated and manage. That’s what transparency is all about. there are other ways.. Most projects are done using software and even excel spreadsheet can do. Our engineers are good at this unless the leader knows how it’s going to be done.

    The Next calculation would be the revenue generated on the first year from the completion of the first 13.3 KM. this revenue could have helped pay some of the interest….

    contract provisions to protect inflation of goods and services that are associated with the project will prevent contractor to charge more during the six year period. the whole 80 KM is a contract… if the price of oil and labor have increased during the installation of rails due to external market forces, then the contract itself will prevent changes of pricing.

    it’s only an example…

  91. leytenian on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 4:53 am 

    $ 400,000 monthly payment of interest…
    does it make sense? why withdraw all the money… why did china extend the credit on the first place? knowing that our leaders are known to be swindlers. (the most corrupt country of Asia. ). just think about it. if we cannot pay, then china is partly at fault.. lol

  92. Bencard on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 5:01 am 

    leytenean, where did you get your facts and figures? did you read the actual contracts. is the $503 mil you are talking about fully paid to the phil. govt.? is the $400 mil monthly interest accrued and owing?where did you get the $50-100 million alleged kickback. is there a paper trail?

    btw, thanks for repeating (w/ no attribution) my views @ 2:05 a.m. re contract repudiation by changing the contract through alleged “adjustments”.

  93. leytenian on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 5:17 am 

    sorry bencard..

    here’s few links.

    http://ph.news.yahoo.com/star/20080718/tph-government-deadlock-chinese-northrai-541dfb4.html

    advnave payment of $150 mil just for bribe could have been used to construct the first 20 KM at least.
    http://www.topix.com/world/philippines/2008/07/huge-bribes-delayed-503-m-northrail-project-says-lawyer

    http://www.pinoypress.net/2007/11/21/philippines-pimentel-seeks-senate-inquiry-into-503-million-north-rail-project/

    bencard if the $503 mil is only for 33 KM so be it… but correct my numbers if i’m wrong. I was giving an example on what project management is all about…

  94. leytenian on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 5:22 am 

    bencard,

    this is the fact: Philippines is the most corrupt country in Asia. paper trails are hidden by lawyers.

  95. leytenian on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 5:41 am 

    “Meantime, Filipinos continue to carry the bag. From the $112 million first tranche of the loan from China’s Export and Import Bank, we are burdened with P1.08 million in interest dues daily. ”

    actually bencard,, 1.08 mil pesos daily interest is 36 mil pesos in a month… in dollars it is close to $ 1 mil a month… not $400,000 on my above example.

    http://newsbreak.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5117&Itemid=88889051

  96. nash on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 5:49 am 

    @supremo

    plastic condoms????? ano yan, plastic para sa ice candy ginawang condom??? :D

    As usual, since GMA takes the Catholic stance as a matter of government policy we might as well rename our country The Catholic Republic of the Philippines.

  97. nash on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 5:53 am 

    If I were a corrupt government official would I keep a paper trail??

    Ano ba yang Bencard logic na yan.

  98. leytenian on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 6:00 am 

    “Meanwhile, the North Luzon Railways Corp. (NLRC) has been paying an average of $400,000 (P17.118 million) monthly in interest payments since January 2005 although the Chinese contractor has yet to build the modern Caloocan-to-Malolos railroad.”
    http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=100560

    since there is recorded interest payment, can this be used as paper trail? why look on paper trail of who receive the bribes.. the obvious paper trail is the debt payment of interest. let’s look on BSP or our central bank.. but who controls the bank? Gloria right?

  99. d0d0ng on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 6:34 am 

    “She may not have gotten categorical support for the things she might do in case her unpopular administration is shaken by the wrath of a long-suffering people, but it is good enough for Arroyo that she has given the military the illusion that the US is behind her. With that, she believes that her presidency, whatever questions about its legitimacy, is safe.”

    So far, President Arroyo demonstrated her ability to control and dominate whatever situations that threatened her presidency and continue her plans. She paid the legislators and military generals, undercut the bishops and changed the SC justices makeup. Except for one thing, the US which has the interest not to have communication key (broadband) be in the hands of the Chinese. To-date, that is the only contract she willingly forgo for very good reason after it generated too much heat. Talking to President Bush and Defense Secretary Gates cleared up the potential risk and worth the US trip despite the country’s state of natural disaster.

  100. Bencard on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 7:37 am 

    leytenean, so that was your basis, huh? it figures. keep reading and believing whatever you read. but you are not fit to make judgments. you don’t know what facts are made of. they are not the allegations of the chinese contractor, the suspicions of drilon, or the media reports.

  101. leytenian on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 7:55 am 

    bencard, i only believe the fact that interest payment are already added to our debts… whether it’s $400,000 or $1 mil a month.

    Philippine most corrupt according to surveys: To the question “How effective is the judicial system at prosecuting and punishing individuals for corruption when abuses are uncovered?” the respondents gave the Philippines a score of 9.06, with 10 being “ineffective.” our lawyers are ineffective.

    http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/13/business/peso.php

    “Yes, that’s true,” Georgina Jota, NLRC executive vice president, said of the interest payments that the government has been paying for the $400-million government-guaranteed loan from the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank of China.”

    http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=100560

  102. reg0 on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 7:58 am 

    “Bencard, you can trace our inability to build our own railroads (while Korea has its Hyundai Rotem as mentioned by Supremo above) with the different road we took from countries like South Korea. Over there, they implemented land reform and then focused on home-grown industrialization. In summary, addressing the problem of inequality works from two directions” – CVJ

    Believe na talga ako sa paging fanatic mo sa Land Reform. …

    We do have Land Reform in Philippines. Panahon pa ni Marcos or even beyond. And we all know that it did not produce the same results. MAy naipamigay ng mag lupa sa ibang mag sasaka . Myabe you shoould get out from teh book sthat you have been reading and do soem actual results onw hat happened to those Land Reform Beneficiaries in the past

    Patunay lang na what work with Vietnam Korea and other countries doesn’t automatically work in teh Philippines. We have to find another way that is effective in Philippines setting.

    And not all countries did land reform just to move forward.

    Of course you can argue that we can overhaul the Land Reform Law. But I believe its too late for that now. Gutay gutay na ang mga malalaking lupain sa Pilipinas except for some families like Cojuangcos, Tuazons etc etc and of course some government lands

  103. Bencard on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 8:02 am 

    leytenean, you don’t want to open that can of worms about “surveys”, do you? never mind, enough already.

  104. leytenian on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 8:06 am 

    ok bencard ..here’s another story… my point.. the monthly interest payment is an obvious paper trail..

    “The Arroyo government has claimed that the funding agreement for the North Rail Project is advantageous to the Philippines since it will carry a 3 percent interest payable in 20 years. But Pimentel pointed out that the government could tap other foreign sources of financing with more concessional terms like the overseas development assistance from Japan which has an interest rate of only .75 to 1 percent payable in 30 to 40 years.”

    http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2006/1211_pimentel1.asp

  105. KG on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 8:12 am 

    dito nagsimula yan sa UP paper.

    1. The absence of public bidding even if the exceptions on competitive
    bidding contained under Republic Act 9184 were absent.

    2. The contract cannot be viewed as a treaty or executive agreement
    whether seen from the perspective of international or Philippine law.

    3. The contract failed to comply with the Government Auditing Code and
    the Administrative Code of 1987, because the government’s counterpart
    fund is not supported by a certification on the availability of funds.

    wala pa implementings rules for foreign funded projects,it has yet to be drafted:

    from the case I have been following,G.R. No. 167919, February 14, 2007

    The petitioners also argue that the “Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA 9184, Otherwise Known as the Government Procurement Reform Act, Part A” (IRR-A) cited by the respondents is not applicable as these rules only govern domestically-funded procurement contracts. They aver that the implementing rules to govern foreign-funded procurement, as in the present case, have yet to be drafted and in fact, there are concurrent resolutions drafted by both houses of Congress for the Reconvening of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee for the formulation of the IRR for foreign-funded procurements under RA 9184.

  106. KG on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 8:37 am 

    RPCHINA agreements:

    even the SMC Kuok deal shown in the papers invites controversy:

    Article XII
    SEcton III

    Section 3. Lands of the public domain are classified into agricultural, forest or timber, mineral lands and national parks. Agricultural lands of the public domain may be further classified by law according to the uses to which they may be devoted. Alienable lands of the public domain shall be limited to agricultural lands. Private corporations or associations may not hold such alienable lands of the public domain except by lease, for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and not to exceed one thousand hectares in area. Citizens of the Philippines may lease not more than five hundred hectares, or acquire not more than twelve hectares thereof, by purchase, homestead, or grant.

    Taking into account the requirements of conservation, ecology, and development, and subject to the requirements of agrarian reform, the Congress shall determine, by law, the size of lands of the public domain which may be acquired, developed, held, or leased and the conditions therefor

    before that many are aware that many MOAS were signed with china

    one is this:

    MOA allowing the Fu Hua Company of China to invest some US$ 3.83 billion (30 billion RMB) in one million hectares of land in the Philippines for the cultivation of hybrid corn, hybrid rice and hybrid sorghum.

    and another:

    MOA with the Agricultural Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on the development of an initial 40,000 hectares of agribusiness lands for cassava and sugar for ethanol production for China’s domestic consumption

  107. KG on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 8:55 am 

    me tanong ako in the last few threads, what ever happened to those rp china deals, me petition na paal sa supreme court.

    http://jaefever.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/rp-china-supreme-court-petition.pdf

  108. leytenian on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 9:27 am 

    why did we do business with China to build our railways in the first place instead of Japan ( or others) who are well known for quality. Let’s study quanti and quality
    for example: ( the interest payment of loan was taken from pimentel’s concern)

    Cheap China railway will cost $1 B at 3% payable in 20 years

    Quality Japan Railway will cost more at $1.5 B at .5 % for 30 years or 1% for 40 years…or even try 20 years at .5% and 1% for 30 years.

    Try to calculate amortization of monthly payment in each scenario. Which project do you think will enhance our country and with less monthly payment. Also take consideration of warranty of service and stability of the lender.

  109. hvrds on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 9:55 am 

    Who is the guy who said that vested interests have captured the regulatory agencies that is supposed to regulate them?

    That is obviously made possible by the vested interests capture of the institutions of government.

    So Neri Jr. and in so many ways Salceda accept that as reality. But Neri Jr. is now a super fund manager of funds taken from entitlement taxes.

    Why does’nt he instead ask Big Mikle and GMA to put him in charge of the revenue generating agencies and consolidate it under a super collecting agency.

    That means he will collide with the very regulatory agencies that he wants freed of control by vested interests.

    That means the various economic fiefdoms in the bureaucracies of the government will have to be destroyed. The bureaucracies of revenue generation have all detiorated not only due to vested interests control but the emergence of these economic blocs within the bureaucracy that have a vested interests in the way government works. Endemic corruption is a sign or effect of weak economic fundamentals.

    They have commoditized bureaucratic power and monetized it to create streams of additional income.

    This deadly virus has permeated all branches of government. What has happened is this type of fiefdoms have multiplied by the creation of additional agencies or offices to do the job of agencies who are failing.

    This also applies to the BSP. Let us look at the Monetary Board. You have clearly vested interests that are loyal to the Palace. Bunye and the wife of Villafuerte.

    Why does it matter you ask. The probability is high that advance information of BSP intervention in the forex markets is akin to insider trading in the financial markets. Millions can be made without anyone being the wiser. Luis Villafuerte is a trained investment banker who trained under Bancom. Anyone looking for edges in the marekts, the information available in the BSP is a literal treasure trove.

    This most important function of the BSP price stability is directly influenced by the forex rates since we are import dependent.

    Rates are determined on the trading floor of the BAP.

    That gives the BSP awesome discretion without any sort of oversight from anyone or institution.

    At the end of the original Bretton Woods agreement, the U.S. took institutional control of the Bretton Woods twins the IMF-WB. They as Neri Jr. likes to say captured these so called multilateral regulatory agencies that managed the supply of currency availabe for international trade clearly to favor U.S. interests.

    Now the abuse of that capture is shaking the foundations of the world economy.

    The world is scrambling to find a replacement. The G-& led by the U.S. would like the world to continue with the slight adjustment of the world compeletly liberalizing capital account flows so the world can continue subsidizing U.S. interest rates with their savings.

    The exchange is protections under the U.S. military umbrella. Sort of like the Soprano’s model of protection.

  110. supremo on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 9:57 am 

    ‘why did we do business with China to build our railways in the first place instead of Japan ( or others) who are well known for quality.’

    Only God knows but don’t discount stupidity.

  111. UP n student on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 10:10 am 

    rego and cvj: Now here is a monster-problem growing in size:

    —————-
    More children out of school

    By Michelle Remo, Beverly T. Natividad, Philippine Daily Inquirer

    MANILA, Philippines—One in six school-age children is being deprived of education and the number is rising steadily, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) said Monday . . . ..

    The percentage of children enrolled in primary school was down to 83 percent in the 2006-2007 school year from 90 percent five years earlier, the NSCB said in a study, according to Agence France Presse (AFP).

    ———–

    High school?? Worse!!! Participation is 59%.

  112. UP n student on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 10:21 am 

    Side-topic: The Executive Branch is using the UNDP Millenium Development Goals as key driver for shaping policy. Education-participation is an explicit goal.

    Goal 2: Achieving universal primary education

    * Target 3: Achieve universal access to primary education by 2015.

    Land-reform land-for-urban-poor//rural-poor IS NOT a development metric.

    Goal 1: Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger

    * Target 1: Halve the proportion of people living in extreme poverty between 1990 and 2015
    * Target 2: Halve the proportion of population below the minimum level of dietary energy consumption and halve the proportion of underweight children under five years old

  113. UP n student on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 10:48 am 

    And apparently, the MTDP (Medium Term Development Plan), in the section for poverty reduction, makes no mention of giving away land for free nor forcing the hacenderos to give up land. The MTDP states:

    A key strategy for job generation is the development of 2 million hectares new lands for agri-business which is expected to generate 2 million new jobs and enhance the productivity and incomes of Filipino farmers who comprise a large portion of the country’s poor. The Plan also aims to create 3 million micro-enterprises and provide them with credit, technology and marketing support, as embodied in the SULONG and the One Town One Product programs. LGU support is deemed vital, particularly in the establishment of SME support centers nationwide.

  114. supremo on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 11:06 am 

    ‘More children out of school’

    Distribute free condoms with the kilo of rice and this problem will go away in about 6 years. Rice for the kids and condom for the parents.

  115. KG on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 11:22 am 

    All China Hi Speed trainsare based on technology transfer licences from other countries, kahit na imported ang design,the thing is sila pa din ang gumawa,unlike what I read in the hard copy of the UP law center claim that China relies on other countries for the modernization of its railways.

    * CRH1 based on Bombardier’s Regina C2008.
    * CRH2 based on Kawasaki Heavy Industries E2 Series Shinkansen
    * CRH3 based on Siemens’ Velaro
    * CRH5 based on Alstom’s Pendolino

    china is no longer the low quality stereotype, even made in taiwan for low quality no longer applies.

    if you may,
    lets look at comparative costs.

    Express Rail link Project Of malaysia, constructed from July 2000-2002
    length is : 57 km
    Project Cost: MYR 2.4 B
    or $ 631.68 M
    2000= MYR 1 = $ .2632
    Cost per km= 11.08 M
    track gauge: Standard
    no. of tracks: double
    design speed: 160 kph
    Traction: electric

    Sige diesel na lang:

    Australia Railway project bult: april 2001- september 2003

    length is :1,420 km
    Project Cost: A $ 1.3 B
    or $ 659.23 M
    2001= A $ 1 = $ .5071
    Cost per km= .464 M
    track gauge: Standard
    no. of tracks: single
    design speed: 115 kph
    traction: diesel

    North Rail Phase 1

    length is :32.2
    Project Cost: php 28,188.12 M
    or $ 503 M
    2004= $ 1 = php 56.04
    Cost per km= 15.62 M
    track gauge: Narrow
    no. of tracks: double
    design speed: 120 kph
    traction: Diesel

    SouthRail Phase 1

    length is : 34
    Project Cost: php Php 2,823.52 M
    or $ 50.42 M
    2006= $ 1 = php 56.00
    Cost per km= 0.28 Mouble
    track gauge: Narrow
    no. of tracks: single
    design speed: 58 kph
    traction: Diesel

  116. KG on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 11:29 am 

    Southrail cost per km

    0.28 M

  117. The Ca t on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 4:20 pm 

    blockquote>Cheap China railway will cost $1 B at 3% payable in 20 years

    Quality Japan Railway will cost more at $1.5 B at .5 % for 30 years or 1% for 40 years…or even try 20 years at .5% and 1% for 30 years.

    Try to calculate amortization of monthly payment in each scenario. Which project do you think will enhance our country and with less monthly payment. Also take consideration of warranty of service and stability of the lender.</blockquote.

    This is a nursery analysis of analyzing which is a better project.

    An mba graduate would tell you to use ;

    1. net present value
    2. discounted cash flow
    3. payback

    For ODA funded project, the recipient country has to come up with a certain amount as equity.

    They have also priority areas for loan assistance like poverty reduction…

    PLUS the implementation policy of hiring their own consultants whose salaries are paid from out of the loan proceeds.

  118. mlq3 on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 5:30 pm 

    cat-

    we were arguing apples and oranges, you’re right, i was mainly discussing executive positions where most of the coming and going is taking place. and i’ve written before that much of my experience with civil service bureaucrats was not only pleasant but considering the limitations they’re working under, seems to me they’re doing as good a job as can be managed.

    still, a lot of discretion is granted the chief executive and it just keeps widening over time. the administrative code grants the president continuing power to reorganize the op when prior to martial law, it required special acts of congress to authorize a government reorganization. and the check and balance of congress viz presidential appointments, through the commission on appointments, keeps getting weaker and weaker.

    bencard, the disagreement we tend to have stems from your approaching things from the perspective of “pure law,” of course on paper everything is beautiful, rational, balanced, etc but the practice is far different.

  119. ricelander on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 5:45 pm 

    Ca t, you having trouble with blockquotes eh.

    Tip: Type

    pronto. then copy from where you wish to copy. go between >< then paste or ctrl/v. You can’t go wrong.

  120. ricelander on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 5:50 pm 

    should go:

    type “

    ” pronto (minus the ” “)

  121. ricelander on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 5:51 pm 

    haha heck the line disappears. forget it.

  122. Bencard on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 7:00 pm 

    mlq3, that’s the whole trouble with our officialdom. most buckle under extreme pressure. the usual pattern is kiss, resign and tell (with diminished credibility).

    if one is convinced that he/she is on the side of reason and the law, why quit instead of fight?

  123. leytenian on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 7:10 pm 

    the cat,

    were you really a teacher? i feel sorry for the students. a teacher should stimulate participation in or outside the classroom.

    one thing ive learned from my professors which was very effective , they allow students to GET INVOLVED by challenging them. I have seen results in our attempt to revitalize our student committees by encouraging greater participation and providing more opportunities for leadership.

    “An mba graduate would tell you to use ;

    1. net present value
    2. discounted cash flow
    3. payback”

    huh? you are outside your classroom ..you are full of theory. I don’t think you have managed over 10,000 people and have done projects over $2 B. If you have then challenge me, anytime. sounds like you want to get personal again. take it literally.

    in this blog site, try to get GET INVOLVED in improving it. Encouraging greater participation and providing more opportunities for leadership should be your approach of teaching. Now I’m worried of all the students that had graduated underneath you. you said you were like devil’s advocate? not enough..

  124. leytenian on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 7:25 pm 

    KG,

    thanks for expanding the chinese railway discussion. please try to consider the loan terms involve in financing then contracts and employment. which contractor uses more of our own people to build the railways?
    i mean lots of things to consider.

    Also consider that china remains in the early phase of branding its product. it has not been tested over time. they don’t have the real LV..

  125. The Ca t on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 7:42 pm 

    huh? you are outside your classroom ..you are full of theory. I don’t think you have managed over 10,000 people and have done projects over $2 B. If you have then challenge me, anytime. sounds like you want to get personal again. take it literally.

    It is not a theory, honey, we use it to on actual project evaluation. it is just that you also do not have that experience doing it so you say that.

    do not impress me, your comments reflect what you are. your remarks are clueless bordering to stupidity.

  126. The Ca t on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 7:50 pm 

    were you really a teacher? i feel sorry for the students. a teacher should stimulate participation in or outside the classroom.

    See this comment. You do not know the difference between a teacher and a professor.

    The professor is an expert in his own field or specialization.

    I do not stimulate outside the classroom. Outside the classroom, my professional students are in the same level.

    I may ber expert in finance, accounting and economics, but my students who are marketing executives are experts in their area.

    In the same manner that a professor in economics of manolo may be expert in that subject, but in the field of journalism, it is manolo who has more expertise.

  127. The Ca t on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 8:01 pm 

    In this blog site, try to get GET INVOLVED in improving it. Encouraging greater participation and providing more opportunities for leadership should be your approach of teaching. Now I’m worried of all the students that had graduated underneath you. you said you were like devil’s advocate? not enough..

    I do not have to IMPROVE this blog site. It is good as it is. Remember you are not the blogger nor the webmaster of this website so you cannot do anything about the post and the design. hahaha

    You are just a commenter. Clueless one.

    I have the impression that you do not even think before you submit your comments. some of your observations are not yours, they were merely copied from other writers.

    Thank you for reminding about my former students.

    Some of my students in the executive programs which were conducted in modules in our satellite classes are already successful in their own professions.

    two of those who finished the regular program became my partners in the business that I’ve put up here in the States.

  128. The Ca t on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 8:07 pm 

    Ca t, you having trouble with blockquotes eh.

    Tip: Type

    pronto. then copy from where you wish to copy. go between >< then paste or ctrl/v. You can’t go wrong.

    thanks ricelander.

  129. The Ca t on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 8:19 pm 

    still, a lot of discretion is granted the chief executive and it just keeps widening over time. the administrative code grants the president continuing power to reorganize the op when prior to martial law, it required special acts of congress to authorize a government reorganization. and the check and balance of congress viz presidential appointments, through the commission on appointments, keeps getting weaker and weaker.

    Manolo, I agree with you. but in management, you want to hire your own people…your team…people who can you trust…people who you expect to become team player…regardless of their qualification.

    you do not hire people who you will be suspecting will sabotage your organization.

    in private organizations, the executives are allowed to bring their own team that some people are displaced, transferred or terminated to accommodate the new people.

    I recognize this weakness in the bureaucracy like when neri was appointed in the CHED and now appointed in the SSS.

    Corazon dela Paz lamented that the position should have tenure so that projects that are in the procss of implementation does not suffer with the change of leadership at the pleasure of the president. Between Corazon de la Paz who is a fellow PICPAn, i would go for this lady.

    but this is reality as real as the appointment of the person we know and discussed about when we were talking about teaching in the university.

  130. Bert on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 8:50 pm 

    “just because we have spineless and timid leadership in our civil service system, easily cowed and intimidated by malacanang, does not necessarily mean that the commission itself is “incapable of enforcingf anything”. “-Bencard

    Bencard, those are not ’spineless and timid leadership’ in our civil service system. Some of them are people of proven characteristics; examples, guts, talents, loyalty, face-thickness, etc., appointed by malacanang to their positions not to be easily cowed and which require no intimidation by the appointing power.

  131. supremo on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 9:04 pm 

    ‘the cat – The lady confuses the political appointees from the government employees.’

    ‘bencard – just because we have spineless and timid leadership in our civil service system, easily cowed and intimidated by malacanang, does not necessarily mean that the commission itself is “incapable of enforcingf anything”. in short, it has the power but is it courageous enough to test the limits of its prerogative under the law?’

    ‘mlq3 – well you know as well as i the real decisions are made in the palace and that the civil service commission isn’t particularly capable of enforcing anything. and certainly not in influencing the quality or lack thereof of executive appointments.’

    pcij –
    This one-part story exposes how the Career Service Executive Board (CESB), the government body that oversees the top tiers of the country’s bureaucracy, is being punished by Malacañang for its defiance.

    In a March 20 resolution, the CESB did something unheard of: it accused Malacañang and the Cabinet of “transgressions” of civil-service laws, rules and regulations.

    It cited the unjust termination of Education Undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz and former Pag-IBIG Fund president and chief executive officer Manuel Crisostomo, both career bureaucrats, and the appointment of non-civil service eligible officials. These, the CESB said “have resulted in growing apprehension and demoralization” in the civil service and threatened to “further erode the institutional foundations of a professional bureaucracy.”

    In return, Malacañang has reacted with a series of what appear to be punitive and retaliatory moves against the CESB.

    Within days after the resolution, two of the CESB’s eight members lost their seats. Two others — one of whom was reportedly forced to resign — were replaced after a couple of weeks. Insiders at the agency say the resolution also strengthened the resolve of Palace officials to replace Civil Service Commission Chair Karina David as CESB chair.

    Earlier, Malacañang had withdrawn its then two-week-old nomination of CESB executive director Mary Ann Fernandez-Mendoza as commissioner at the Civil Service Commission. Mendoza had issued a ruling that Luz was a tenured civil servant who could not be summarily terminated.

    http://www.pcij.org/stories/2006/cesb.html

  132. Bert on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 9:11 pm 

    “Manolo, I agree with you. but in management, you want to hire your own people…your team…people who can you trust…people who you expect to become team player…regardless of their qualification.”

    Or reputation. Hehehehe, Gloria is not too far ahead.

  133. vic on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 9:35 pm 

    It all started with rumours and whispers about a fund that had been set up in the wake of the 1995 referendum on Quebec sovereignty to help promote federalism. The money was supposed to be used to raise Canada’s profile in Quebec.

    But it wasn’t clear how the money was handed out: there were no application forms for this fund that was supposed to help pay the costs of social and cultural events and programs. There were rumours that the money was little more than a vehicle to reward loyal Liberal supporters.

    No paper Trails, transfers were all done under the table. No value in exchange for money.

    By the early spring of 2002, then prime minister Jean Chrétien was forced to address the issue. The Globe and Mail – under the Access to Information Act – tried to find out why the government paid $550,000 to advertising firm Groupaction Marketing for a report that could not be found. No one at Public Works or the company could explain it.

    See, took Seven Years before before a Reporter Suspected something amiss..why, because there was no Paper Works.

    Chrétien asked federal Auditor General Sheila Fraser to see what she could find out. She learned enough to launch a full investigation – and to ask the RCMP to get involved as well.

    By the time Fraser released her explosive report on Feb. 10, 2004, Paul Martin was prime minister.

    Still no Paper Trails, but the RCMP already got involve and Paul Martin after being elected to a minority Government was pressured to Call a Judicial Inquiry and the Paper Trails was written and composed to the very minute details by Justice Gomery in 2l months of his Inquiry which saw both the former PM and the sitting PM testified under oath, and the RCMP in their Parallel Criminal investigations also was able to build up enough Evidence to send the culprits for a “very nice” vacation in Jails and ruined quite a few political career of some and the enactment of the amendment in 2006 to Accountability , Procurement and Electoral Acts.

    For In-depth of Uncovering Crimes of No Paper Trails you may check this site:

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/groupaction/

  134. Bert on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 9:44 pm 

    “if one is convinced that he/she is on the side of reason and the law, why quit instead of fight?”-Bencard

    One brave person in Mindanao, name Dimasidsing, who was so convinced he’s on the side of reason and the law, decided not to quit that easily.

    He is now a martyr.

  135. Bencard on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 10:34 pm 

    bert, the way things are, i’m not too sure about that. in the philippines, especially mindanao, as elsewhere, people get killed, the good, the bad and the fraud. it seems we are a little too quick to confer martyrdom, and politics is not the least reason why we are. everybody will eventually die but not everbody will have an opportunity to die for a right cause, and most of those who have would rather cower “in peace”.

  136. Bencard on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 10:58 pm 

    btw, further to my response to mlq3 @ 7:00 pm, law is not theoretical – it is most “real world” than anything. nothing is not touched or governed by it. the entire nation exists by virtue of it. remove the law and there’s no government, no state, no philippines. law is not rendered non-existent or ineffectual by its violation, or non-compliance “in practice”.

  137. Bencard on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 11:19 pm 

    supremo, whatever happened to comm. mendoza’s ruling that juan luz’s was a “tenured civil servant” and may only be fired for cause as provided by law and after due process? did it ever reach the court? if not, this is exactly what i am talking about.

  138. PSI on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 11:53 pm 

    Back to Road and Track:

    The Tutuban Station is now the 168 Mall, where the bargain-hunting shoppers flock everyday. I heard on radio that even former first lady Imelda Marcos is a patron. But of course, most if not all of the items are made in China. where else? It has been reported that the mall hosts Chinese illegal aliens who are fronting as businessmen.

    Contrary to popular belief, Tutuban got its name not from the sound that train engines make but from the fact that the area was where the popular native drink tuba was made i.e. “Tuba-an”. The Tutuban area is also where the true revolutionary Andres Bonifacio was born.

    Talking about transportation (bus) depot, the area in the North Triangle is where high-end Ayala Land developed the mall TriNoMA (Triangle North of Manila). But really, there are so many malls in Metro Manila. I’m not sure if demand could be sustained but I guess as long are thousands of OFWs leave everyday, the malls would have free-spending customers as even the middle classes are tightening their belts.

    The Philippines is such a consumer-driven economy that I won’t be surprised if SM and Robinsons are now the biggest employers in the country.

    Soon, Manila will change its name to Mallina.

  139. d0d0ng on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 12:40 am 

    >the whole trouble with our officialdom. most buckle under extreme pressure. the usual pattern is kiss, resign and tell. if one is convinced that he/she is on the side of reason and the law, why quit instead of fight?<

    Philippine is obviously not America. There is huge gap between the strong and the weak as there is that unbrigdeable gap between the rich and the poor. In democracy, the groundworks are laid with the institutions to secure and protect the rights of the weak. Unfortunately those institutions malfunctions in the Philippines just taking account of the padrinos alone in high places. Point in case, Philippines has the highest death casualty of local media next to Iraq, just fighting for the side of reason and the law. In America, they would be heroes for having the courage to fight and what they believe in. In Philippines, they are stupid and forgotten.

  140. Bert on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 12:44 am 

    PSI, I’m confused. Last time I was there Tutuban Station, or part of it, was Tutuban Mall east of Divisoria. There was a 168 Mall located corner of Reina Regente and Soler St. in the Binondo side west of Divisoria.

    Two times my wife was in 168 shopping same time that Imelda Marcos was there shopping also.

    Tutuban PNR Station is still there where you can take an aircon train to Bicol if you are not in such hurry, 15 hours it will take for the whole trip if luck be with you.

  141. supremo on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 12:45 am 

    bencard,

    On Juan Miguel Luz

    http://www.bingguanzon.com/wp-content/files/Luz_vs_Ermita_Memorandum_on_Appeal_final.doc

    Now

    ‘In 2006, Juan Miguel (Mike) Luz was appointed as Pratima Kale ’s successor. Mike Luz comes to IIRR with extensive experience and leadership positions in NGOs, academia, government and the private sector. He most recently hails from the Department of Education, the Republic of the Philippines, where he served as Undersecretary of Education. Prior to government, he was associate professor at the Asian Institute of Management and headed the Institute’s Center for Corporate Responsibility. Mr. Luz also served as associate director of Philippine Business for Social Progress, the largest developmental NGO in the country.’

  142. PSI on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 12:49 am 

    One honest-to-goodness government official who didn’t cower in his duty was the late Assistant Solicitor General Nestor Ballacillo. They said he was such a simple man (and most probably not on the take ), he took public transportation almost everyday. That where his and his son’s murderers got him.

    The assailants were never caught.

  143. supremo on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 1:05 am 

    PSI,

    ‘Talking about transportation (bus) depot, the area in the North Triangle is where high-end Ayala Land developed the mall TriNoMA (Triangle North of Manila).’

    This is American style transportation center. Malls in the US are usually transportation hubs where motorists park there cars and hop on a bus or train nearby. Most of these hubs have funny names like Kiss and Ride, and Park and Ride.

  144. d0d0ng on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 1:18 am 

    >>The assailants were never caught.<<

    “Pards, read his miranda’s rights”, said a police to another. “You have right to remain silent and I will make sure you use that right” and then shoot the victim.

    Case closed.

  145. PSI on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 1:21 am 

    Supremo, I don’t think our good, prudish Catholic bishops will like the name “Kiss and Ride.” Such double entrende!

    Could we have “Wave and Pray” instead?

    Or maybe the old reliable “Stop, Look, and Listen” (with no condom attached).

  146. PSI on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 1:31 am 

    Dodong, SolGen Ballacillo was handling so many high-profile, ‘dangeorus to your health’ cases (including the NAIA terminal III case, big time consumer rights cases, etc.), that the police didn’t know where to look for suspects. Then, it was reported that murderers were really after the son who was involved with drugs. I don’t know.

  147. PSI on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 1:41 am 

    Correction please:

    “were really after the son who was ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED…”

  148. supremo on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 2:11 am 

    MMDA should consider the Curitiba Bus Rapid transit model for EDSA. No need to buy buses.

  149. UP n student on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 2:38 am 

    supremo: I’m impressed the ideas — Curitiba, Casa, the light rail cargo — you’ve tossed into this blog threads. Must be MaSci.

  150. d0d0ng on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 3:02 am 

    Thanks PSI.

    These crusaders of the law ended up like dead flies, a very high price of fight instead of dancing to the music. These happened not in lawless Mindanao but right in Luzon frontyard.

    1. Assistant Solicitor General Nestor Ballocillo handled the the government’s expropriation case with the PIATCO, operator of mothballed NAIA terminal 3. The work documents were taken by the assailant at the time of his death. NBI Vallejo confirmed the killing was work related.

    2. Judge Henrick Gingoyon of Pasay City Regional Trial Court, Branch 117, who ordered the government to pay Piatco was killed by unknown gunmen in Cavite.

    The law exist but useless when easily muzzled by the guns.

  151. Bencard on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 3:46 am 

    so when the gun is pointed at you, you just bend on your knees and plead for your life? a genuine hero dies only once. a coward dies a thousand times. heroes end up dead like dead heroes. cowards die like “dead flies”.

  152. Bencard on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 4:06 am 

    supremo, thanks for the update on luz. so the case hasn’t reached the courts yet. i hope it fares better there.

    psi, thanks for your comment on tutuban. its mere mention evokes fond memories of childhood and teen-age years, and sentimental trips to and from bicol (my home region). i hope the paco station is still there with its splendid architecture. gosh, i loved that smell of burning coal and the haunting strain of the train’s whistle.

  153. supremo on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 4:13 am 

    UP n student,

    We have discussed planes, trains but not the automobile. How about a self driving car like the Honda Accord ADAS or Volkswagen Golf GTi ‘53 on Manila’s street? Self driving cars will definitely improve Manila’s chaotic traffic. You can now say ‘Dude, where’s my driverless car?’

  154. supremo on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 4:41 am 

    bencard,

    ‘i hope the paco station is still there’

    It’s still there the last time I went home but some parts were demolish to make way for a mall. I think this was done during the Ramos administration. The mall was not finished. It was abandoned by the builder.

  155. KG on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 4:48 am 

    Leytenian,

    I have to agree with the Cat on project evaluation.
    But you are right there are lots to consider, and those three are very important.

    Beyond determinig if both npvs are greater than zero; you have to know the future cash flows’ present value and of course the payback period,ilan taon makakabawi.

    If you are lucky enough to get an ODA from Japan,it does not mean that you wiill use Japanese technology; it is just the funding and it won’t always be 0.75 to 1 %
    That is why I wonder what is taking Congress so long with the IRR-B of the procurement law para me implementing rules tayo sa mga international financial institutions,kundi sila lagi magdictate.

    If you look at the procurement law it is ambiguous, ang palausot for the delay; section four states that the funding may come from anywhere.

    would you like to have an idea how much a japanese railway cost?

    I will give an example, like I gave above.

    Three-Way Shenkasen Project in Japan:construction 2005-2012

    length is : 53.8
    Project Cost: 1.16 Trillion Yen
    or $ 11,252 M
    2005= 1 yen $.0097
    Cost per km= $ 209.14
    track gauge:Standard
    no. of tracks: double
    design speed: 220 kph
    traction: Electric

    It is not peanuts.we cannot afford,kaya ng bidding natin pababaan.
    sa corporate world, sa mga supplier/vendor mo pag nagpaquote ka,pababaan din di ba,wala ka ng pakialam sa reputation ng vendor ang importante ang least cost for the company.Ideally,but even electronic biddings can be rigged,because familiarity always breeds contempt.

    sa style mo kulang data puro palabas ang pera,naghula ka man lang sana kung magkano kikitain sa pamasahe,ano yan pinapacompute mo ammortization ng housing loan or car loan?Those are projects na me pera papasok,and For the last time the time value of money is very important.

    nagkaayos na kayo ni the Cat, balik na naman sa dati.
    IKAW KASI EH.

  156. leytenian on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 5:44 am 

    “I recognize this weakness in the bureaucracy like when neri was appointed in the CHED and now appointed in the SSS.”

    “If you look at the procurement law it is ambiguous, ang palausot for the delay; section four states that the funding may come from anywhere.”

    weaknesses are manageable.

    oo ayos na kami ni the cat.. lol.

  157. leytenian on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 6:21 am 

    not sure about japan is too expensive… but of course , the price must be considered and cannot be ignored.

    our current Metro I Philippines is making 170% over cost. this is another consideration why we need to build our Northrail.

    http://www.railway-technical.com/finance.shtml

  158. leytenian on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 6:30 am 

    KG,
    you can use the revenue of that link as your future cash flow, NPV, payback…( as an example)…
    I don’t see a point of delay and making us wait for years…

  159. d0d0ng on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 6:47 am 

    “a genuine hero dies only once. a coward dies a thousand times. heroes end up dead like dead heroes. cowards die like “dead flies”.

    Eulogy is for the consumption of the living and the state bestowed poetic justice and exultations while amused of the deaths it had sponsored. Parang si President Arroyo which ratified the optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Cruel and Unusual Punishment on April 22, 2008 and spoke of the moral obligation of the state. While the commander in chief silently condoned her military enforcers on human rights abuses whose favorite victims are leftists and journalists who expose corruptions.

    Human Rights Director Dr Renato Basas disclosed that Arroyo administration has outdone all other post-Marcos presidential regimes in the number of torture cases and deaths.

    The irony is that the commander in chief Arroyo sent her military enforcers to the US for FBI forensics and help bury the evidences.

    Cowards dying a thousand times is only good in poetry. Military disciples have consistent observation on kills (courageous or cowards), there is that last breath before death.

  160. KG on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 7:21 am 

    Leytenian ,read your link again.

    read starting from profit onwards.or maintenance onwards.

    lrt one was satrted late seventies and completed early eighties,of course maliit yung cost nuon,compared sa mga mrt na nahuli.
    mrt 3 is being subsidized to prevent fare hikes.

    Esep esep.

    the delays are mentioned.

    the up paper, a senate investigation,and other factors leading to the pullout.

    kung sa procurement law pa lang sabit na ito, buti pa zte me AHI at isa pa.
    north rail dumaan ba sa bidding?

    Sino ba ayaw nito,bukod sa mga masokistang truckers na gusto yata palaging naglalagay?

    It might be anomalous e di ayusin at planstahin para wala gusot.
    and me nagsabi baka di na raw ito speed rail, at yung mga pessimist o hatchet guys sinasabi konti daw mga magiging pasahero.

    Build it and they will come.

  161. tester on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 8:30 am 

    to d0d0ng: i guess you still live in the Philippines, because you sound very angry and unhappy, unlike vic (in Canada), benign0 (in New Zealand), or rego.

  162. WAN tester on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 8:33 am 

    to d0d0ng: a parable for you:
    An American professor goes to a Zen master to learn about Zen Buddhism. The Zen master pours tea in a cup for the professor. After some time, it starts spilling and the professor shouts, “Stop, no more will go in the cup.” Says the Zen master: “Likewise, your mind is full of your own ideas. How can I teach you when your cup of knowledge is so full?”

  163. leytenian on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 8:37 am 

    Agenda: ( Goal and Mission) The rehabilitation and expansion of the PNR network is one of the key projects in the ten-point agenda of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

    KG: the point i made on the link is there’s profit to be made but this is NOT the issue of delay. It is the implementation of process to achieve the AGENDA. the delays you mentioned are the result of poor implementation.

  164. hvrds on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 9:21 am 

    “btw, further to my response to mlq3 @ 7:00 pm, law is not theoretical – it is most “real world” than anything. nothing is not touched or governed by it. the entire nation exists by virtue of it. remove the law and there’s no government, no state, no philippines. law is not rendered non-existent or ineffectual by its violation, or non-compliance “in practice”.

    Before the onset of organized communities what was the law then?

  165. hvrds on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 9:50 am 

    Interesting to note that there are many buisness projections on the viability of the railroad but no one has laid down the frame for the more important economic analysis.

    The business analysis only becomes viable if the economic analysis projects it to be viable.

    It is also amazing that many do not know the workings of the ODA format for loans. All ODA loan formats are eseentially vendor financed loans. They lend you the money at low rates but you have to buy their goods and services. It is a closed end propostion.

    Simple economic analysis as to the effects on the economy going forward from 50–100 years. First the linkages to the productive sectors. There is almost no loinkage to the manufacturing secotr. In point of fact we are actually exproting labor value to a foreign country.

    The only productive industrial activity is construction. Even the future mainatenace and supplies of the railroad will tie the business to the supplier going forward for more than 25 years.

    Add to this the projections of forex risk. You earn in pesos and pay for capital stock and supplies in yen or dollars. You have to make very broad assumptions about your cost structure depending on a forex rate band.

    Then comes your ate to be charegd since this is not BOT. No need for take or pay. The state will most assuredly subsidze rates as even if it were electric driven that would entail an increase in generating capacity of the power industry.

    Who would benefit??? Landowners along the route would see the value of their lands surge and hubs will be establsihed for housing and commercial applications.

    You will simply expand the Manila model and create enclaves for the rich and the rest would live in slums and middle class communities.

    Once again you will fail to create meaningful growth that will lead to development as the model is simply expanding the urban areas to create bedroom communities for Metro Manila.

    The entire project is simply to create spurts in growth in construction and create revenue for the transportation and ancilliary services.

    Once again the Sy’s , Ayalas and Gokongwei will simply expand their mall models
    outward.

    It is the Edsa model with the MRT. Off course no telling what the price of the entire project willbe with all its cost overuns and the cost of energy going forward.

    The Philippines economy is still based on the land value model. Everything revovles around land valuations. The creation of capital stock whether physical or metaphysical is not part of the wealth creation process in the Philippines.

    Point of fact the government expects consumption taxes and realty taxes that will be generated along the railroad to compensate for the subsidized fares that will be charged.

    GMA and Co. are simply creating impact projects for the medium term for projections which is not linked to any long term growth model leading to developing the entire economy. The target is May 2010 elections at any price. Any way the futrre generations that will be paying for this project will not have a say or vote in this. executive privilege and even if not most people today are clueless…..

    What is so funny is the state wants to direct the planning of behavior between man and woman in the bedroom but is not planning for the long term on providing the physical framework for viable communities to grow.

    That would mean sustainable growth with good quality job creation to solve the poverty probelm. Instead you blame the poor for having too many babies and blame them for our maldevelopment and underdevelopment.

    Politicans simply plan to remain in political power to further their vested interests.

    There really are a lot of highly schooled and trained ignorant people in this country.

  166. UP n student on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 10:14 am 

    hvrds: isn’t land-value model just a variant of the gold model (which you espouse)? Land-valuation is better than valuation-by-eyeballs, for sure. And physical is gets you up, Black-Scholes-Merton puts you to sleep. Just open up YouTube to find Olivia Newton-John singing

    I’m saying all the things that I know you’ll like
    Making good conversation.
    I gotta handle you just right
    you know what I mean.

    …..
    Let’s get physical….physical -
    I wanna get physical
    let’s get into physical

    Let me hear your body talk
    your body talk
    Let me hear your body talk.

  167. Bencard on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 10:22 am 

    you asking me? before the dawn of civilization, the law is the one who wielded the deadliest club. next question, please?

  168. UP n student on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 10:42 am 

    hvrds : kidding aside, the Executive Branch has created projects synched up to the UNDP Millenium Goals for 2015 — the usual ‘reduce poverty’, ‘primary/secondary universal access’, ‘HIV/AIDS’, others..

    But the reason escapes me :roll: why 2010 is a specific milestone for GMA’s planning dudes.

  169. UP n student on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 10:54 am 

    But the United Nations is just one huge bureaucracy with no unique expertise of its own, so I will understand if hvrds or cvj disagree with Pinas designing programs in consonance with the UNDP Millenium Goals. Different folks, different strokes.

  170. supremo on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 11:03 am 

    ‘the Executive Branch has created projects synched up to the UNDP Millenium Goals for 2015′

    That only proves that Filipino leaders are not imaginative. For Filipino leaders meeting the UN goals is like getting the latest cellphone. It’s all about bragging rights. Never mind that the goals are ridiculously relative in nature.

  171. mlq3 on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 11:30 am 

    bencard, sad to say all that’s left of the paco station is the facade. pnr embarked on property development and tore down most of the old station -in fact wanted to tear the whole thing down until heritage proponents raised a fuss- so their consuelo de bobo was that they’d integrated the old facade into their new mall. then the asian financial crisis hit and they ran out of money. result? no mall, just a couple of half-completed floors, and a crumbling facade.

  172. mlq3 on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 11:40 am 

    PSI, your info is slightly out of date, a more accurate reflection might be:

    Manila Bulletin – Emilio Yap, Manila Hotel
    Manila Standard -Enrique Razon, ICSTI;
    Manila Times – (am not sure who owns this now)
    Philippine Daily Inquirer – Prieto family largest shareholder, Dunkin Donuts, Shakey’s, invested by affinity in Rufino properties; Romualdez, related by marriage, is spokesman for mining industry
    Philippine Star – Go family and QC Mayor Sonny Belmonte;
    Business Mirror- Amb. Cabangon Chua, owner of Fortune Life and motels
    ABS-CBN – Lopez Group, MERALCO, Benpres, etc.
    GMA7 – Duavit, Jimenez, etc. (shares contested by Marcos family), in talks with PLDT
    DZRH: Elizalde

  173. leytenian on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 11:53 am 

    hvrds,
    “The entire project is simply to create spurts in growth in construction and create revenue for the transportation and ancilliary services”

    not only that, for global economy:
    Northrail will facilitate and strengthen linkages between southern China provinces and northern Luzon. the exchanges of goods and people. Growing world trade and tourism during the past century has increased the importance of providing good grounds for rapid transfer of cargo and passengers among cities and countries.

    for local economic advantage: rail is proven to reduce transportation cost,
    electrical power is more environmentally friendly ( global warming policy), development of rail transportation will pave the way for development of marine and road transportation and provide needed grounds for further development of local tourism industry.

    “Point of fact the government expects consumption taxes and realty taxes that will be generated along the railroad to compensate for the subsidized fares that will be charged”

    that’s standard.

    “Simple economic analysis as to the effects on the economy going forward from 50–100 years. First the linkages to the productive sectors. There is almost no loinkage to the manufacturing secotr..”

    might have to disagree. i am open to tourism and global exchanges 7100 islands in Asia, is a must see place according to world tourism. ( but let’s not ignore national interest of china)

    “In point of fact we are actually exproting labor value to a foreign country.”
    true… in the case of ODA… I did mention contract and employment http://www.quezon.ph/1911/planes-trains-and-automobiles/#comment-874529

    hoping that the project will be materialized before 200′ forgotten.

  174. d0d0ng on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 12:33 pm 

    tester on, “i guess you still live in the Philippines, because you sound very angry and unhappy”

    You are 0 on 3 guesses (live in Phil, angry & unhappy) far below an average person of hitting an equal chance. You can do better than that.

  175. d0d0ng on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 1:41 pm 

    “The Zen master pours tea in a cup for the professor. After some time, it starts spilling and the professor shouts, “Stop, no more will go in the cup.” Says the Zen master: “Likewise, your mind is full of your own ideas. How can I teach you when your cup of knowledge is so full?”

    Tea(knowledge) is as worth its medicinal properties(uses) if it is drink(applied). It is not meant to be contained in a cup(possessed).

  176. PSI on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 1:42 pm 

    mlq3, thanks for the update. I Googled-searched the ownership of The Manila Times. The paper was sold by former Estrada-crony Mark Jimenez to GMA-ally Dante Ang, who is also currently the chairman of the Commission of Filipinos Overseas (CFO). I’m not really sure ofthe mandate of this Commission is.

    Let’s hope Manila Times and CFO do not get used for propaganda in the coming 2010 elections.

    Back to Trains and Planes: the NAIA III will now open but used mostly for domestic flights specially by the Gokongwei’s Cebu Pacific. Philippine Air Lines will continue to use the Centennial Terminal, which I believe Mr. Lucio Tan helped build.

    NAIA III is quite modern with nice feature: you guessed it, a big shopping mall!!! What else? Need you doubt?

  177. PSI on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 1:46 pm 

    Whoa! Nice new look mq3. I must say tight!

  178. cvj on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 1:47 pm 

    PSI, that’s not so bad. The Changi terminals here in Singapore similarly have shopping malls so sometimes i hang out there during weekends as it’s near my neighborhood.

  179. PSI on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 7:51 pm 

    kg, your calculations are spot on:

    RP’s Northrail project could be world’s costliest railway – Drilon

    “The Philippines will be having the world’s most expensive railway — about $25 million per kilometer — ”

    “He said Tibet’s electric railway system, which was harder to build because of the area’s mountainous landscape, would fail in comparison with the Philippines’ Northrail project.”

    “Drilon said Tibet only spent about $3.7 million per km for the construction of the complicated structure.”

    http://www.gmanews.tv/story/108020/RPs-Northrail-project-could-be-worlds-costliest-railway–Drilon

  180. leytenian on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 9:06 pm 

    Drilon’s $25 mil per km is nothing compared to 1999 Metro manila Line/ Elevated/ Light Metro- $ 50 mil /km. http://www.railway-technical.com/finance.shtml#How-Much

  181. The Equalizer on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 9:09 pm 

    July 28,2008(SONA 2008,hopefully)

    Mga Kababayan (My Countrymen):

    This will be my second to the last State Of The Nation Address before my term legally ends in 2010.

    I have 710 days left in office.

    Help me be a good president during the remainder of my term.

    I am announcing my seven-point agenda in the remaining 710 days.

    1) I am declaring a national policy of AUSTERITY.I will not go on expensive foreign trips during the remainder of my term. No more costly junkets! If ever I need to travel,I promise not to bring the retinue of 59 congressmen who accompanied me to the recent US trip.

    2) I will appoint men and women of probity to important government positions.I am delighted that the general public welcomed the appointment of General Alexander Yano as AFP chief and Leila de Lima as Commission on Human Rights head.

    3) I promise a policy of non-interference with the Supreme Court in spite of the fact I have a majority of nine Gloria loyalists in the SC bench.I will allow the Great Dissenter,Chief Justice Reynato Puno to exercise the rightful independence of the highest court.

    4) I promise a more objective handling of our foreign affairs with China.There will be no more scandalous ZTE deals!

    5)I promise not to inititate a hasty Charter Change move just to find a way to legally extend my
    term beyond 2010.No more Cha-Chas! No More Con -Ass!

    6)I will review the possiblity of reducing the VAT on oil .

    7) I promise a a policy of national reconciliation with all my political enemies.I swear I have no more Presidential ambitions beyond 2010!

    So help me God!

    Gloria Arroyo

  182. leytenian on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 9:29 pm 

    I don’t understand Drilon can just speak to the public without consulting from the experts.. Look if our government cannot make its decision. The easy way is to hire a consulting firm that can assess the whole project.
    There’s plenty in the world.. the link I provided are one of them. Why bother to try to manage if the team are obviously intellectually bankrupt.

    to the cat:
    “Manolo, I agree with you. but in management, you want to hire your own people…your team…people who can you trust…people who you expect to become team player…regardless of their qualification. ”

    true for Philipine management and small business consulting. It may work to pinoy owners of small business in america. Management in the corporate world will go thru hiring process ( HR Management- MBTI assessment of personality, skills and experience). One important question in the application, how did you hear about our company? who refer you to our company. If one will answer, sister… good luck. Private companies can have the power to appoint but it’s already been proven that family should not be involved in the real business. The relationship will be at risk. ( no wonder lots of my filipino friends wo are doing business together as family are not talking.. lol). For public companies listed on the stock exchange, your strategy is a big NO NO.

  183. vic on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 9:39 pm 

    leytenian, the extention of our TTC subway, The Sheppard Subway at 6 km at the cost $200 millions per km. and Spain built 150 km at $90 millions per km. and for comparison, consultants are going to Spain to figure out, but they already have some idea why the difference is quite BIG..here is the news item:

    Madrid built 150 kilometres of subway between 1995 and 2007 for about $90 million per kilometre.

    The Sheppard subway, by comparison, is about 6 kilometres long, took eight years to build and cost $200 million per kilometre. (Sheppard Subway is just an Extension and more are planned, including one to the Airport).

    That’s a difference worth exploring, says Metrolinx, the Toronto region’s transportation planning agency, though it acknowledges that direct comparisons with European examples it studied aren’t fair.

    The TTC is sending its own engineers to look at the Madrid subway this year. </But chair Adam Giambrone is already rejecting England’s idea of using public-private partnerships to extend subways.

    A partnership with the private sector could compromise quality and, in the long run, cost more, he warned. “Retrofitting subways is very expensive.”

    He said that if the TTC had to negotiate a private-public deal to build the Transit City light rail lines it could delay the start of those projects, slated for 2009 and 2010.

    Giambrone is also opposed to any arrangement that would put TTC operations in the hands of a private company, citing the case of Montreal, where riders pay a surcharge to ride on the Metro extension. But, a design-build partnership is something the TTC may consider on projects such as refurbishing and extending the Scarborough RT. (Rapid Train is a light train traveling on surfurce, above ground on its own fenced tracks interconnecting to the last subway station)

    Metrolinx’s chief executive officer, Michael Fenn, chair Rob MacIsaac and York Region chair Bill Fisch, who sits on the Metrolinx board, travelled to England and Spain in November to look at their transit systems.

    Their report on that trip, to go before the Metrolinx board tomorrow, isn’t meant to be authoritative or suggest any particular direction for the region, Fenn said. “One of the things we need to look at in the evaluation of the projects is the best way to deliver them,” he said.

    The report notes Madrid has been building subways under different political and geographical conditions. The extensive project can rely on economies of scale, in everything from the purchase of equipment to engineering contracts. “The government is taking a long-term view.

    They plan out the building of infrastructure over a long period of time. They don’t do them as a one-off. It has the effect of creating an industry that specializes in that kind of work,” Fenn said.
    A 2003 consultant’s analysis shows that, all things being equal, the difference in cost between Madrid and Toronto is only about 10 to 20 per cent, said TTC chief general manager Gary Webster.

    The Madrid subway is built deeper than Toronto’s because the soil is easier to dig. That means the Madrid rails don’t need to be laid on rubber pucks to reduce noise and vibration, as is done in Toronto. Madrid’s ventilation and evacuation standards are also different, he said, adding that Spain also requires less time-consuming public consultation on such projects.

    http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/296999

  184. PSI on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 9:50 pm 

    Leytenian,

    There’s a big cost differential between an elevated rail like MRT/LRT) and straight rolling railway like Northrail. I believe that if there were no right-of-way issues for the latter, it is indeed quite expensive.

  185. leytenian on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 9:58 pm 

    thanks Vic… at least you understand why consulting at least help. Might be a good thing to train our corrupt officials. Let them hear it from somebody else.

    “geologically sound, sparsely populated landscape in a developing country might be built for as little as US$ 2 million per kilometre including electrical and mechanical equipment.”
    http://www.railway-technical.com/finance.shtml#How-Much

    the 10% to 20% of difference is already enough to upgrade our educational system or even subsidies our poor farmers. i have to run… this topic is driving me nuts… have a good weekend everyone.

  186. Bert on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 10:13 pm 

    “You are 0 on 3 guesses (live in Phil, angry & unhappy) far below an average person of hitting an equal chance. You can do better than that.”-dOdOng to tester

    Got 1 score out of 3 on the other though (vic is a happy guy).

    Got another 0 on 2 about ‘live in Phil.’ (angry and unhappy).

  187. KG on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 11:21 pm 

    Hvrds,
    mea culpa on ODA.I am not afraid to be called stupid,I made worse comments than that.but this I am sure, the procurement law is bound for ammendments,because section 4 is indeed ambiguous.

    My dad,with congressman Abaya(cabvite),with the advice of Yet to be supreme court justice Nachura proceeded to question the foreign funding portion of the procurement law,because with what is happening the bank dictates everything including the supplier, all this baloney about the competion on the donor country’s side means simply the donor dictates who the supplier ; and it practically made the procurement law useless.They lost in the supreme court,but all is not lost.

    The Marikina Infanta road, the largest locally funded project is way over tongpats because of the share of the gentlemen.My dad and congressman abaya,et al also questioned it. at least even if they lost in the supreme court, all is not lost,kahit konti napababa nila ang price ng marikina infanta road kahit di sila kasali,me sentimental value sa kanila yun dahil nung junior officers pa lang sila they pushed for its construction.

    ==========

    on another note: for those advocates of food security and rice self sufficiency; FYI;the National Irrigation Authority has a larger budget than the DPWH.

  188. DevilsAdvc8 on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 11:21 pm 

    http://www.slate.com/id/2195158

  189. KG on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 11:52 pm 

    CVJ

    Try finding out why koreans are here, some suck doing business in Korea; so dito sila nakikipagsapalaran.Only a few are big shots there at sila lang ang malalakas duon.

    Vietnam, ilan kilometro na ang inandar ng kotse mo isang tanim lang ang makita mo.medyo ang ganda ng zoning nila, dito one product one province ????pwede kaya yun?

    Also you will find out that there are lots of NFA sacks in Vietnam.

  190. KG on Sat, 19th Jul 2008 11:59 pm 

    Psi ty.

    leytenian, mrt 3 extension ba yang $ 50 million per kilometer, Holy Cow!!!!

    quite ka muna, hintayin mo munang simulan pag kumalat yan, baka di matuloy.

    nabannggit natin Japan kanina, they have zero percent interest rate.

    kaya sa contrata sila bumabawi.

  191. UP n student on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 12:10 am 

    to KG , who said : mea culpa on ODA.I am not afraid to be called stupid,

    Actually, to hvrds. Why make them feel stupid those who do not know what you do not know — e.g. ODA. I think it is more accurate to say

    HVRDS is THE ONE….. hvrds knows more than 99% of the college-
    or even the graduate-degree holders of Pinas.

  192. cvj on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 12:12 am 

    Devils (at 11:21 pm), thanks for the heads up. I saw the book last night at Borders, will have to come back tomorrow to buy it :-)

    Karl (at 11:52 pm), is your comment a response to something i said? If yes, please explain as i’m unable to follow. Thanks.

  193. UP n student on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 12:12 am 

    to KG , who said : mea culpa on ODA.I am not afraid to be called stupid,

    Actually, to hvrds. Why make them feel stupid those who do not know what you do know — e.g. ODA. I think it is more accurate to say

    HVRDS is THE ONE….. hvrds knows more than 99% of the college-
    or even the graduate-degree holders of Pinas.

  194. UP n student on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 12:18 am 

    regarding ODA…. or Black-Scholes. Now still not what hvrds knows about brainwashing :evil: a population, or if HVRDS is only good for 3 beers before he acts stupid. :grin:

  195. PSI on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 12:27 am 

    Regarding property rights (subject of the book linked by Devils above), this “anti-commons” gatekeeping, i.e. right of way issues, is one big reason why many infrastructure projects in the Philippines get long delays and incur huge cost overruns.

    Sad thing is, it has been reported that some of these “property owners” are illegal occupants or squatters themselves.

  196. cvj on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 12:59 am 

    PSI, would it be ‘less sad’ if the property owners where legal occupants? I remember, for example, that the reason why the C5 flyover near Eastwood going to Katipunan was delayed was because the original plan would have it go through Blue Ridge subdivision. Eventually it got built via another route where a lot of squatter shanties where demolished instead.

  197. leytenian on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 2:41 am 

    Karl,
    japan might be flexible in terms of employment. i believe japan will hire our local people to do the installation but will use their engineers for supervision. china is a different story. Its employment rate is low compared to japan. Very few japanese do the dirty work…it’s china’s advantage to bring their own workers to our country.
    As far as I can remember, Kumagai, INC a japanese corporation did the contract for southern leyte ( Maasin to Sogod ) highway . The company employed and trained our local people and some local engineers. Only the managers were japanese. The highway in Southern has no potholes until now of 27 years. From Sogod to Silago of which was done by a local contractor and some chinese contractor.. both were using chinese cement ( for housing kono) the results, lots of potholes within a year causing my little brother to wreck his car and lots of friends with moped getting injured.

    The advantage of hiring our own people for installation is revenue from income taxation during the terms of the project contract. It will hopefully balance few project cost but quality is not sacrificed. The second advantage of having our own people do the dirty work is gaining actual , on site experience which will be useful for long term maintenance of our railways.
    China is desperate to employ their own people. That’s a fact and our government must consider some other options.

  198. UP n student on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 4:46 am 

    leytenean: Explanation for the difference in the quality of Leyte projects is project-management, in particular, quality control.

    Quality control is why the items sold in Walmart or Costco will outlast and/or are ‘mas pulido’ than similarly-looking items you may buy in Beijing (or Bangkok). Made-in-China clothes (or tools) made for US-consumption are better than made-in-China goods for China-consumption.

  199. leytenian on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 6:03 am 

    quality control is very important:
    “The Chinese contractor has no technical capability to undertake the North Rail project. It has no expertise or proven track record in turnkey railway projects.”

    “While it claims to be ranked no. 37 (now ranked no. 47) by the Global Engineering News Record in the list of 225 largest international contractors in 2004, the CNMEC is also ranked no. 14 nowhere to be found on the ENR’s list of top 60 Chinese contractors.”

    “CNMEC’s full corporate name is China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation, a trading company. The omission of “Import and Export” may have been intentional to hide the fact of CNMEC’s lack of technical qualification as a contractor of the North Rail project”

    “The loan also has some strange features: a down payment equal to five percent of the contract price (due within 30 days upon signing of the loan agreement); and advance payment of 25 percent to the Chinese contractor within 15 days of contract effectivity”

    http://www.pcij.org/blog/?p=419

    http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=alvinCapino_oct14_2005

    Karachi Pakistan is also having the same problem but only 15% downpayment was required.
    http://www.governorsindh.gov.pk/pressrelease/news.asp?id=322

  200. KG on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 6:56 am 

    CVJ,

    been in a long journey yeaterday with a few businessmen.
    wala napag usapan ko lang ang mga ideas mo tungkol sa isang businessman citing Korea and Vietnam as your favorite topic as success stories.

    kwentong kutsero lang from someone who has done business with Koreans in Korea and Koreans in the phils.

    Korea, although very succesful, has only a few companies that made it big.Others do business here or elsewhere.

    Vietnam,wala naiinggit lang ako sa zoning nila,dito malabo mangyari yon.at ang narrative tungkol sa dami ng nfa sacks dun;i was not surprised.. heard it here first,ke Cat yata.

    eto wala ito nagkukwento lang ako hah.

    Kahapon. I went back to my province in Mulanay Quezon for the first time in 33 years, ang haba pala ng Bondoc penninsula nanghinayang ako for lack of agricultural support; I was with a few businessman me tiningnan kami oil mill na nasequester nagbabaksali kami na pwede ilease.

    dyan ko nadinig ang mga kwentong kutsero about vietnam and korea,nagpakwento precisely because naalala kita.At yung mga concerns mo about land reform;katabi ko di kinausap ko na, gurang na ito and been all over the country and the world.

    Quezon should be divided in to two, Lucena lang at kaunti ang umasenso,madami pang pwede gawin.

    pero going back to coconut mills;another sad story how the PCGG ruins everything it touches.

    We have visited a typhooon ravaged coconut mill in Pasacao Bicol,last February sira nga yung bubong naalagaan naman ang gamit.
    Sa pcgg through the one handling coconut ciif yata …. pinalitan nga yung bubong,pero yung mga equipo bulok.

    ilan pa kaya ang mga pinabayaan ng pcgg mabulok.

    dami ko naalala sa blog na ito
    wala pang pang ilang araw pinag usapan dito ang project evaluation,ang gagawin kasi namin we are figuring out which is better to lease or to buy.
    many factors to consider ika nga ni leytenian at ni Cat.
    O sige na HVRDS pati economic icoconsider din.

    ==========================================

    HVRDS,

    produkto ka pala ng San Beda.Roco was a product of Beda na bow ako,among many others,like Ninoy,etc..

    http://www.degalen.com/zzaagallery25.htm

    http://www.degalen.com/zzaagallery20.htmV

  201. mlq3 on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 9:51 am 

    kg, bakit ka sang-ayon sa paghati ng probinsya?

  202. KG on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 10:55 am 

    Manolo,

    mali ba ako sa obserbasyon ko na napapabayaan na ang southern portion.
    kaya ba ng isang governor ang buong quezon?

    I know the filams might disagree because of the size of the sates that their governor,governs.

    What about you, I know I remember that you mentioned this once, so I won’t have to google, might as well wait for your answer.

    Thanks.

  203. hvrds on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 11:03 am 

    In a recent Congressional hearing, Greenspan confessed that he was having problems with the current definition of money.

    The context of his statement was related to the the unabated increase in M3 money supply. Greenspan was speaking in his normal euphemestic way of saying that the Fed had lost control of tracking the money supply on M3 aggregates or totals.

    Credit was being created for these unstructured complex derivatives with very high leverage ratios. This was being done outside any oversight of the formal banking authorities.

    That created a credit induced asset inflation that is now popping after it migrated to all forms of asset classes and the process of deleveraging or debt deflation is ongoing. That means a process of demand destruction is moving from the the financial markets and will migrate to the physical economy.

    For some ignorance is stupidity but in reality when egos get pinched they react.

    One of the greatest debates on monetary policy occurred during the formation of Bretton Woods between JMKeynes representing the U.K and H.D. White representing the U.S.

    JMK wanted currencies to backed up by a basket of commodities to include silver and gold but the U.S. wanted simply gold. Keynes already had a name picked out for ther new international currency of the world -Bancor.

    There was to be an Internationa Clearing Union set up like a formal International Central Bank that could include the then developing countries. No one country could dominate trade through the use of currency manipulation. Countires then would be forced to develop internally to have something to trade.

    All these plans for monetary stability for the world collapsed in the face of the schism that developed between the Soviet Union and the U.S.

    The entire rationale for the IMF/WB was to create an institution to prevent beggar thy neighbor policies in the world trading system.

    Sadly history intervened. In its first test to prevent beggar thy neighbor policies by the U.S., The U.S. shut down the Bretton Woods system and coopted it by placing their currency as the reserve currency of the world. They were the tip of the spear guarding the West versus the Soviet Union. The lessons of the Cuban Missle Crisis and Vietnam forced the States to seek dialogue even with China. The military industrial complex in both contries destroyed the Soviet Union (internally) and is what will destroy the new empire the U.S. The dollar standard is what is keeping the U.S. economy whole. The entire world is subsidizing the economy of the U.S.

    Simply type in bancor or unitas or ICU on google or yahoo and you will get more information.

    It was said that the stress and strain of the negotiations eventually caused the death of Keynes.

    Keynes like all other econmists of his time was also a math whiz. But instead of simply relying on complex math simulations (econometrics) the guy was also a student of human history.

    A large percentage of equilibrium scientists are simply practicing econometricians. They become slaves to their econometric models and forget about the variables of human nature. Just like financial practioners they mark themselves to their models. Computer modeling even with trillions of calculations per second will still not be able to contain all the variables that can and will happen.

    When markets correct or expand they tend to overshoot or overeach in either direction. The time it will take for markets to correct or move to a new level of equilibrium would be uncertain. In the meantime people have to eat.

    The responsibility of economic planning and management is on the government.

    GMA and her bunch of econometricians have their own set of mathematical simulations that guides their policy framework. In their mind they are scientists that conclude that equilibrium will fix everything just give it time to adjust. That is why Angie Reyes said na mas maganda na i’ todo na ang price increase to teach people to conserve and demand will drop. He gets his guide from the so called scientists in NEDA.

    The past years has seen growth accruing to only a few. The past years have been good to Big Mike, GMA and friends. Now that the models are broken and peoples very lives are at risk you blame them for having too many babies. Now the government is hard pressed as they forgot that markets are the basic social institution that organizes society. You left it alone to be ruled by the rich and powerfull. Now you don’t even know who to help. How can GMA claim success and blame the crisis on world markets. She earlier claimed that the pinoys role in world markets are responsible for our success. Now you tunr to the domestic markets and find out that oops we neglected it pala. Why did you guys have so many babies.

    The reason for the current global crisis is still the same as it was at the turn of the century. Control of global trade by controlling the supply of international money.

  204. KG on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 11:04 am 

    related to the topic above,
    nakita ko yung mag railtracks ng PNR sa bondoc peninsula na dadaanan yata ng Lopez papuntang Bicol.

    Ayun nakadinig na nama ako ng old stories dati daw wal masya do nypog dun,medyo pinutol ang mga puno pinalitan ng coconut.

    PNR, me kasama pala kami, gusto sana mag implement ng cargo rail for PNR a few years ago.pag preesent pa lang daw sya ng proposal madami nang requirements.
    me natutunan ako bago term:detalye

    yun pala ang hatian: so the devil really is in the details.

    Mahirap ba talaga mag business dito, bakit kahit makakatulong pahirapan pa din?

    sabi ko lang sa sarili ko,welcome to the real world.

  205. mlq3 on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 11:26 am 

    kg, ako, im for the merger of provinces not the creation of new ones. maganda mga arguments ni kakataspulong, lawyer-blogger from the province. like sharif kabunsuan, most slicing and dicing of provinces is the wrong cure for the legitimate symptoms, gerrymandering lang.

  206. cvj on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 11:26 am 

    Karl, thanks for remembering and bringing it up for discussion. Regarding the South Korean bigshots, their benefit (to Korean Society) is that they [i.e. their firms] have been able to produce real stuff i.e. ships, trains, lcd TV’s etc (contributing to 30% of South Korea’s GDP). That’s nowhere near what our local Oligarchs are able to do since they are mostly landlords, traders or monopolists/oligopolists who extract rents from the public.

    In any case, South Korea’s loss is our gain. I hope the Korean migrants stay, and that their numbers increase further (but i also hope it does not kick up xenophobia among the locals.)

    As i said two and three years ago, we should encourage foreign talent (entrepreneurs and professionals) to come in (and stay).

    http://www.quezon.ph/1089/cabinet-cannibalism/#comment-242894

    http://www.quezon.ph/993/continuing-contentions/#comment-33203

  207. hvrds on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 11:31 am 

    you asking me? before the dawn of civilization, the law is the one who wielded the deadliest club. next question, please?

    The question was organized communities. The root word from which politics sprang forth was the Greek word for community (polity)ion the English language. The word economics similarly has its roots from the Greek word for household.

    It was only till sometime in the 20th century that the absolute majority of humans on the planet could read and write.

    The majority of humans before then were illiterate. So beating people on the head or sometimes cutting off their hands or head or burning them alive was the law. That way people were taught by example. That was the originalism of law based on the king or chief getting his powers from God. The tribal cheif always had his witch doctor and Kings and Queens always had their bishops. They made public punsihment a vital complement of education on the fine qualities of law and order.

    The word civilization is a misnomer. Even today in organized societies agents of the state still use that weapon of fear and discipline amongst the poor and unconnected by a bullet in the back of the head. That is the law in the favelas and shanty towns around the world.

    The excuse naturally would be well they deserve it or in case of insurgents they do not follow the law also so why follow the law in going after them. To maintain order killing a few to save the many would be the expedient way of imposing the law.

    To maintain civilized societies one must become a barbarian to protect civilization.

    Usma Bin Laden and his band of anarchists have upset the whole planet. Empire has a way of creating its own nemesis.

    http://www.newsweek.com/id/143674

    After shooting Lincoln, J.W.Booth, the Southern anarchist “patriot” was said to have declared “Sic semper tyrannis” “Thus always to tyrants”

  208. hvrds on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 11:55 am 

    Majority of peoples around the world have become disciples of monism wittingly and unwittingly. The means or tool for human economic interaction has become the end in itslef.

    It has become a potent weapon that has confounded the most of us.

    “Lenin is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the capitalist system was to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. By this method they not only confiscate, but they confiscate arbitrarily; and, while the process impoverishes many, it actually enriches some. The sight of this arbitrary rearrangement of riches strikes not only at security, but at confidence in the equity of the existing distribution of wealth. Those to whom the system brings windfalls, beyond their deserts and even beyond their expectations or desires, become ‘profiteers,’ who are the object of the hatred of the bourgeoisie, whom the inflationism has impoverished, not less than of the proletariat. As the inflation proceeds and the real value of the currency fluctuates wildly from month to month, all permanent relations between debtors and creditors, which form the ultimate foundation of capitalism, become so utterly disordered as to be almost meaningless; and the process of wealth-getting degenerates into a gamble and a lottery.
    Lenin was certainly right. There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose.” John Maynard Keynes

    “The long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead. Economists set themselves too easy, too useless a task if in tempestuous seasons they can only tell us that when the storm is past the ocean is flat again.” JMK

    “The love of money as a possession — as distinguished from the love of money as a means to the enjoyments and realities of life — will be recognised for what it is, a somewhat disgusting morbidity, one of those semi-criminal, semi-pathological propensities which one hands over with a shudder to the specialists in mental disease … But beware! The time for all this is not yet. For at least another hundred years we must pretend to ourselves and to everyone that fair is foul and foul is fair; for foul is useful and fair is not. Avarice and usury and precaution must be our gods for a little longer still. For only they can lead us out of the tunnel of economic necessity into daylight.” JMK

  209. cvj on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 12:51 pm 

    To maintain order killing a few to save the many would be the expedient way of imposing the law. – hvrds

    Scriptorium, do you find any parallels with the above and your thesis about authoritarians vs. totalitarian orders as you posted here…

    http://marcusapollo.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/rethinking-pinochet-and-franco/

    …and which we discussed here…

    http://www.quezon.ph/1828/squeezing-the-turnip/#comment-834936

    …?

    IMHO, i can see how your idea and hvrds’ complement each other.

  210. cvj on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 12:53 pm 

    To maintain order killing a few to save the many would be the expedient way of imposing the law. – hvrds

    Scriptorium, do you find any parallels with the above and your thesis about authoritarians vs. totalitarian orders as you posted here…

    http://www.marcusapollo.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/rethinking-pinochet-and-franco/

    …and which we discussed here…

    http://www.quezon.ph/1828/squeezing-the-turnip/#comment-834936

    …?

    IMHO, i can see how your idea and hvrds’ complement each other.

  211. cvj on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 12:53 pm 

    To maintain order killing a few to save the many would be the expedient way of imposing the law. – hvrds

    Scriptorium, do you find any parallels with the above and your thesis about authoritarians vs. totalitarian orders as you posted here…

    http://www.marcusapollo.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/rethinking-pinochet-and-franco/

    …and which we discussed here…

    http://www.quezon.ph/1828/squeezing-the-turnip/#comment-834936

    …?

    IMHO, i can see how your idea and hvrds’ complement each other.

  212. cvj on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 12:54 pm 

    apologies for the triple post

  213. BrianB on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 1:45 pm 

    So Manolo, when are we going to talk about The Dark Knight (a great movie, according to most critics) and the relevant metaphors and parallelism to the Philippines?

  214. KG on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 3:58 pm 

    Maybe an empowwered mayor can do the trick and not the porkbarrel of an additional congrressman or IRA of an additional governor.

    pero bakit napapayaan ang iba,problema na ba nila yun dahil mahina ang mayor nila o binulsa lahat ni mayor.

    let me check google for past discussions.

    http://www.quezon.ph/1057/unleashing-billboard-vigilantes/#comment-99115

    Jeg, actually, yes, one of the good ideas of FM typically screwed up by his dictatorship. The idea of a metropolitan manila dates back to the war, when in advance of the Japanese occupation of Manila, the Commonwealth merged all the cities into Greater Manila.

    But then I’m for merging things. We had 52 provinces in the 1950s, now 79 -but the same territory. I’m not convinced it’s all in the interest of greater democracy but instead, gerrymandering, but of course there are those who think they’re better off.

    but in terms of metro manila, there has to be greater integration otherwise we’ll never have a coordinated effort in terms of public transport, etc.
    September 29th, 2006 at 5:07 pm

    From History Unfolding which you linked about:

    Now as many of you know, I was extremely concerned by possible effects of gerrymandering on the 2006 elections and speculated late last summer that they would make it impossible for the Democrats to win control of the House. I turned out to be wrong. The Democrats gained 5.4% of the raw vote from 2004 to 2006, worth 33 new seats, and now hold a total of 233, almost exactly reversing the result in the last Congress. But I was not altogether wrong. In 2004, the Republicans won 232 seats with 51.4% of the major party vote; in 2006 the Democrats won 53.3% of the major party vote–almost two percentage points more–but emerged with just one more seat. The electoral math clearly favors the Republicans now.

    So if we always think of the main agenda;the purpose is who controls congress; kung ganun ang dahilan it does not matter in the Philippine setting; IT only worked during the impeachment of Erap and the failure to impeach Gloria a couple of times.

    Sa bills na kailangan mag hello partyline;gerrymandering does not affect it.Sa ngayon sa tingin natin laging lutong makao ang mga resulta ng law making pwede nating maisip na gerrymandering is bad.

    I don’t know , that is just my opinion.

    maybe I was only trying to cure the symptom .its like taking biogesic , brain cancer pala ang problema.

    Thank you very much MLQ3!

  215. KG on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 4:17 pm 

    CVJ,
    Bow, maybe Hanjin is good(not the one I am referring to na small time.)We built our first container ship with their supervision.

    Alright so our senate questioned their condo in the rainforest.

    I questioned why they use their own tour guides among other problems.And why setup own grocery stores,instead of patreonizing ours. I hope I was not borderline Xenophobic.
    Pag na homesik tayo hahanapin natin ang lutong pinoy,mali nga naman ako syempre sa simula habang di pa sanay, yung nakasanayan muna nila.
    They are heping those looking for temp jobs for teaching english, I remember my sister attempted to tutor one neighbor,medyo lumipat ng bahay eh,namahalan yata sa rental.

    Ok comment mo:

    UP Student, yes we should. There are probably a number of rich Chinese entrepreneurs from the mainland who would like to set up shop here. On the professional sector, it would also be worth attracting Indian medical practitioners, and teachers who would like to relocate to our islands. Government regulations should be relaxed and simplified to expedite this process.

    That was your quick fix to the doctor and shortage.
    it might also be looking at the symptom rather than the disease but it would be a better temporary relief than a biogesic for a person with brain cancer who is terminal.

  216. The Equalizer on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 5:46 pm 

    Mga Kababayan (My Countrymen):

    This will be my second to the last State Of The Nation Address before my term legally ends in 2010.

    I have 710 days left in office.

    Help me be a good president during the remainder of my term.
    Gloria Pidal
    The VATWoman

  217. cvj on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 7:56 pm 

    Karl, ganoon talaga ang mga Koreano. I remember back in 1989 when i had my first training in Singapore from my employer. Kasabay namin ang mahigit na twenty Korean classmates. It was only a three week-class pero ang floor kung nasaan ang hotel rooms nila, amoy Korean food.

    Regarding my suggested ‘quick-fix’ on the labor shortage, think of it as blood transfusion. A similar model is being followed here in Singapore. I had long exchange with Justice League on this who thought i was giving the government a free pass:

    http://www.quezon.ph/1171/premature-celebration-2/#comment-439598

    I think we should make it easier for businesses to make hiring (and firing) decisions and to source skills regardless of nationality. If we don’t grant them that flexibility, then that adds to the cost of doing business in the Philippines, which is not good for the economy.

  218. The Ca t on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 8:43 pm 

    true for Philipine management and small business consulting. It may work to pinoy owners of small business in america. Management in the corporate world will go thru hiring process ( HR Management- MBTI assessment of personality, skills and experience).

    there you are again with your myopic vision. And I am talking about nation leaders who bring their own people in the cabinet and other appointive assignments.

    how long have you graduated? You were still a student, early 2000, that means you are too raw to tell me what you know.

    true, corporations have HR but the executives can always bring their people thru negotiations which are not necessarily revealed in the corporate world.

    They can ask their people to apply because the decision who to hire will rest on who needs the personnel. do you know that?

    there is always empire-building in the corporate world. execs also protect their asses. if the exec thinks that you are not a team player,you can kiss that department good-bye.

    don’t impress me with little observations you have, the more i am convinced that you know nothing except for what you have read.

  219. The Ca t on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 8:58 pm 

    Management in the corporate world will go thru hiring process ( HR Management- MBTI assessment of personality, skills and experience).

    it shows where you are in corporate hierarchy. still in the bottom.

    In the real world, hiring of people who will work with the execs are done backwards. Te execs are given the freedom to choose the people who would constitute the team regardless whether these people are already in or are still to be hired.

    interviews, negotiations for salaries and other fringes are done by the executives who need the people.

    The HR’s function is merely to publish the wanted ads or call their headhunters to send candidates.

    After the executives are convinced that they have gotten the right people, HR merely process the documents.

    if you have not undergone this kind of recruitment and selection process, you are just a small fry in the ocean.

    Even in the academe, topnotch professors don’t apply for teaching, tHEY ARE INVITEd to teach.

  220. leytenian on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 9:42 pm 

    the cat: i hope you have taught corporate ethics to your students. It doesn’t matter if your talking public/nation leaders or corporate leaders. There’s what we call Ethics. The trouble is many companies/countries are structured so that no one has complete information, no one makes complete decisions and no one has clear responsibility. This kind of structure lets managers to CEOs/president hide behind their lack of accountability, which guarantees corporate/country governance irresponsibility , stock decline ( poor country) and fall of the empire… you sound very Gloria to me in terms of appointing people. Honesty is the best policy.

    The concept is the same in terms of Ethics- Conflict of Interest…. common the cat. what’s wrong with you.

  221. leytenian on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 9:46 pm 

    “if you have not undergone this kind of recruitment and selection process, you are just a small fry in the ocean”

    am just smiling. i’d rather be a small pry than a small pry tyring to be a big pry. that’s a lot of work. it’s like.. it’s hard to be somebody that you can no longer be. That’s a lot of work… stability is better.

  222. leytenian on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 9:48 pm 

    Out of topic:
    oh the cat, you are from florida right?
    are you watching arnel pineda. he’s coming to tampa in July 30th.. i’m watching. tell your family and frineds to watch him. I’ve heard his really good.

  223. leytenian on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 9:51 pm 

    aw sorry, wrong spelling… fry pala…

  224. Bencard on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 9:59 pm 

    leytenean, i hate to be the one to tell you, but it’s “small fry” not “small pry”. you did it twice so i’m convinced it wasn’t typo but either deliberate (for whatever reason) or just plain ignorance. do you write like you speak, or think?

  225. UP n student on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 10:16 pm 

    Quick test to separate rules-concerned from heart-concerned people. Shouldn’t golfer Michelle Wie be allowed to play?

    Michelle Wie was one good round away from finally living up to her deep potential.

    Then, minutes after tapping in her last putt of the third round, Wie … [was] disqualified from the tournament.

    The 18-year-old, playing her best golf of the year, broke one of the game’s most basic rules: She failed to sign her scorecard before leaving the scoring area.

    She failed to sign her scorecard before leaving the scoring area.

  226. PSI on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 10:20 pm 

    This would have been an opportune time to push the envelope for a truly meaningful population control (ok, to be politically correct management) program in the Philippines. The stark reality of high food and fuel costs is staring everybody in the face, most severely the poor and other disenfranchised people. And the economic hardships are not seen to abate quite soon.

    But our good Catholic bishops cannot be denied. Come hell or high water, the CBCP will not allow the proposed Reproductive Health Bill to pass. From labeling the bill as “pro-abortion,” to denying communion and marriage to the bill sponsors, the bishops are now making threats that they will campaign against supporters of the bill come 2010 elections.

    Talk about bullying tactics.

    And the administration seems helpless. First, it is not giving the right policy signals to the legislators. Worse, it seems to be siding with CBCP. Bishops take castle.

    In short folks: no condom and gutom!!!

  227. leytenian on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 10:24 pm 

    bencard, yeah i’m ignorant . are you happy?

  228. leytenian on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 10:42 pm 

    UP N,
    Michelle was disqualified also in 2005. she was also disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard and that she had illegally dropped the ball closer to the hole than its original lie the day after she completed her third round.

    Second disqualification- rules are rules. plenty of time for her to catch up and learn. she’s young…

  229. leytenian on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 10:59 pm 

    PSI,

    on population control..

    HVRDS made comment that I agree.
    http://www.quezon.ph/1911/planes-trains-and-automobiles/#comment-876486

    The past years has seen growth accruing to only a few. The past years have been good to Big Mike, GMA and friends. Now that the models are broken and peoples very lives are at risk you blame them for having too many babies. Now the government is hard pressed as they forgot that markets are the basic social institution that organizes society. You left it alone to be ruled by the rich and powerfull. Now you don’t even know who to help. How can GMA claim success and blame the crisis on world markets. She earlier claimed that the pinoys role in world markets are responsible for our success. Now you tunr to the domestic markets and find out that oops we neglected it pala. Why did you guys have so many babies.

  230. PSI on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 11:02 pm 

    On old roads:

    Over at FV, Benign0 posted an old photo of Quezon Boulevard (Quiapo area) of the 1950s or 60s? To those young-at-heart enough, Carriedo Street was the location of SM (known then as Shoe Mart), Ang Tibay (now gone), GEE (also)and other shops which sold Made in the Philippines products. I remember in grade school, students would troop to these stores to try on white polo shirts and black oxford shoes.

    At the end of Quezon Boulevard, before the bridge, is the Quinta market, fondly called ‘Ils de Tuls’ aka ilalim ng tulay. Here, one can buy Filipino souvenirs and other items, subject to intense haggling or tawaran. I learned that business had become so slow because of the malls’ (again the modern scourge!)Filipiniana sections.

    And who will not remember Quiapo church? All the penitents and indulgents going the altar kneeled. And of course, those old women outside selling all sorts of herbs and oils from rayuma to birth control.

    And then Plaza Miranda where rallies galore were held. Where the famous “Could we defend this in Plaza Miranda?” became a famous slogan.

  231. cvj on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 11:07 pm 

    Yes Upn, i saw Michelle Wie’s interview. She said it was a ‘mistake’ and she doesn’t know how it happened but she did accept that she should be disqualified. Definitely better than others who are caught cheating and come up with a lame excuse like she was just ‘protecting her votes’.

  232. The Ca t on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 11:29 pm 

    the cat: i hope you have taught corporate ethics to your students. It doesn’t matter if your talking public/nation leaders or corporate leaders. There’s what we call Ethics.

    what has ethics to do with the issue. again you are exhibiting your cluelessness.

    the recruitment process that i have just discussed is not unethical, in fact ,it is a courtesy to people who would like to choose the people whom they know can deliver.

    a vp for finance would always want his employee to be an expert in finance.

    there is no way by which the HR people which you always suggest (blech) for recruitment will determine whether
    the candidates. background really match the requirement of the exec.

    HR merely processes paper, takes care of the employees benefits, settle employers’ issues.and do te recruitment of the rank and file. Kaya siguro that’s what you’ve mentioned in your comment showing that you have not climb a single step of the ladder. You are just trying to impress of what you are not. I do not even believe that you are an MB, because an MBA would know that the tools that I have mentioned to determine the feasibility of a project are not just the gauge to decide whether the project is socially desirable or not. But you interest amortization gave you away. Walang kaalam-alam.

    and when you mentioned something about a person managing 10,000 people. Are you real? A single person does not manage 10,000 people, not even the CEO. CEOs or Presidents manage the VPs, who in turn manage the department managers and DM managing supervisors and supervisors managing lead people.

    Managers do not manage people only. They manage the system… the operation.

    Ang iniisip mo ay amo sa bahay na panay ang utos sa katulong. That is not how it works.

    no matter how you make yourself impressive, I don’t buy it. To me you are just a trying hard intellectual whose brain may be at the tip of the fingers used in browsing the internet.

    BTW, even your perception is close to zero. If you have been reading the comments, you will know that i am not from florida. Be keen and observant and respect the commenters’ intelligence here.

  233. leytenian on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 11:50 pm 

    browsing the internet is data mining. nothing wrong with that. i am sensing attitude not brain and it’s not healthy. sorry if i have pushed the button further. one more thing.. it’s better to accept one’s mistake rather than defending it.
    i actually just finish a seminar of ” how to deal with difficult people” I’m still applying it. i will get better , I know myself very well. have a nice day.

  234. PSI on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 12:13 am 

    The tone and complexion of the current debate on population control is a bit worrying.

    The administration has not stated its position unequivocally. They have many mouthpieces giving all sorts of signals. And the sound bites coming from the ‘enlightened’ legislators are not really that encouraging.

    The junior senator Chiz Escudero said that the Catholic church should back off from the population debate because “they bishops are not demographers.”

    Weak. Is he presidentiable or is posturing as a politician? Or was his statement taken out of context?

    Please, say it as it is. Overpopulation is not good for the country as it exacerbates poverty. And the only way to control or manage runaway population growth is through an aggressive program.

    Maybe, the good representative Ruffy Biazon could drop us a line again. Well, as we say in New York, ‘it ain’t over until the fat lady sings.” Need we doubt?

  235. PSI on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 1:22 am 

    Recently, cvj and some others has been expounding on market failure relating to Sulpicio Lines. To my mind, a true market failure is the current financial meltdown brought about by excessive greed in the global financial markets.

    See what happens when uncontrolled market forces are allowed to shape the economy? These financial genies abetted by econo-quacks have now created another global crisis.

    Again, Main Street will has to bail out Wall Steet. This, after the big shots of these investment banks and finance houses walked out with million dollar bonuses just one yera ago.

    For a sophisticated market like the United States, I am astounded by the naivete of the investors given past failures like Long Term Capital Mangement, Enron, etc. We just don’t learn, do we? Or is it unmoderated greed, like flipping houses and properties as hamburgers? Or too much of the good life?

    That’s why folks, when things have to be regulated, let us allow government to do its job. Now, we blame it for not telling us erlier. OMG.

  236. nash on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 1:44 am 

    ayan ha, bago kayo mag-comment, show the C at muna your CV including Barangay Clearance…

    meow…

  237. PSI on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 2:23 am 

    BTW, the most stolen street sign in Manhattan, or New York City for that matter, is the one of “Wall Street 10-40″

    Which reminds us how true this Pinoy gem is:

    ‘Ang magnanakaw galit sa kapwa magnanakaw.’

  238. cvj on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 2:39 am 

    PSI, i just watched a segment in BBC which featured this guy who has a beachfront house in Malibu and earned 500 million dollars last year from buying a type of derivative known as a Credit Default Swap (CDS). This same CDS’s which financial institutions have been selling have the potential to cause a chain of insolvency which would, as a result, have an effect on the real economy in terms of lost jobs and business closures. The problem is that these Wall Street Financial types (and their local counterparts) possess an aura of respectability that they don’t deserve. They are little different from gamblers in a casino.

  239. leytenian on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 3:12 am 

    “Few Americans have heard of credit default swaps, arcane financial instruments invented by Wall Street about a decade ago. But if the economy keeps slowing, credit default swaps, like subprime mortgages, may become a household term.”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/business/17swap.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&adxnnlx=1216580800-7XrJEesUgeeTosI%20WqNpRg

    thanks for opening the topic.

  240. PSI on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 3:19 am 

    Credit default swaps. Are you kidding?

    Under the present economic circumstances, the next time your broker sells you anything, buy him/her a cup of coffee and a donut and politely say, “No thanks. But I’d rather go my mother in the Philippines and put my excess money in my little piggy bank.”

    Then you could sleep well at night.

  241. leytenian on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 3:31 am 

    one can sleep well at night to those with jobs. what about those people who are not even aware, i’m sure they cannot sleep well. the crisis is right in front of us.

    Benjamin Franklin’s Solution:

    “Nationalization has traditionally had a bad name in the United States, but it could be an attractive alternative for the American people and our representative government as well. Turning bankrupt Wall Street banks into public institutions might allow the government to get out of the debt cyclone by undoing what got us into it. Instead of robbing Peter to pay Paul, flapping around in a sea of debt trying to stay afloat by creating more debt, the government could address the problem at its source: it could restore the right to create money to Congress, the public body to which that solemn duty was delegated under the Constitution.

    The most brilliant banking model in our national history was established in the first half of the eighteenth century, in Benjamin Franklin’s home province of Pennsylvania. The local government created its own bank, which issued money and lent it to farmers at a modest interest. The provincial government created enough extra money to cover the interest not created in the original loans, spending it into the economy on public services. The bank was publicly owned, and the bankers it employed were public servants. The interest generated on its loans was sufficient to fund the government without taxes; and because the newly issued money came back to the government, the result was not inflationary.7 The Pennsylvania banking scheme was a sensible and highly workable system that was a product of American ingenuity but that never got a chance to prove itself after the colonies became a nation. It was an ironic twist, since according to Benjamin Franklin and others, restoring the power to create their own currency was a chief reason the colonists fought for independence. The bankers’ money-creating machine has had two centuries of empirical testing and has proven to be a failure. It is time the sovereign right to create money is taken from a private banking elite and restored to the American people to whom it properly belongs.”

  242. Bencard on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 5:38 am 

    no leytenean, i’m not happy. i’m genuinely sad, especially when you argue against the cat.

  243. KG on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 7:43 am 

    Leytenean,

    Ngayon ko lang napansin na ganyan pala dapat ang spelling.
    Parang atenian instead of atenean……

    Leytenian,

    Usually hr people are psychology graduates.
    Even the consuls in the US embassy are psych grads.

    Is it not?

    Stop shooting blanks with the Cat,check your gun me backfire yata eh.

    kaya ko nabanggit psychology,ako pikon din napikon ako ke hvrds di naman ako tinitira,ikaw(pundit from outer space)at yung many still does not know how oDA works,tatlo lang naman tayo bumanggit nun, Ikaw ,ako at si Cat.
    Inako ko na para walang cat fight at walang masaktan.

    pero tooo yung sinabi nya when egos get pinched they react. Syempre ano ito simbahan,pababayaan mo na lang mag sermon ang pari dahil it is tradition.

    pero iba nga ang ignorance sa stupidity, as Forrest Gump says Stupid is as Stupid does.You do stupid things even if you know they are wrong. but if you allow me to quote Pocahontas’ theme song, if it is about those things you never knew, you never knew;that is ignorance.

    since we do not know everything, we are all ignorant one way or the other.if alam na natin, tuloy pa din tayo, we could all be stupid at any given time.

  244. leytenian on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 9:01 am 

    Arguing or debate of a topic is not just about personalities or psychology, and you should never belittle or degrade another person simply because they disagree with you. This is about ideas, and in a battle of ideas, the only acceptable weapon is a well-reasoned argument. I have learned to separate my emotion from any discussions/arguments.

  245. d0d0ng on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 9:08 am 

    Bencard on, “leytenean, i hate to be the one to tell you, but it’s “small fry” not “small pry”. you did it twice so i’m convinced it wasn’t typo but either deliberate (for whatever reason) or just plain ignorance. do you write like you speak, or think?”

    Leytenian – people can call you names to show their insecurities. It is rare opportunity to know that people hate your guts and savor it with smile… :)

  246. leytenian on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 9:18 am 

    who cares about emotional intelligence?

    http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/6635410-1.html

    http://www.businessballs.com/eq.htm

  247. cvj on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 9:29 am 

    PSI, in the case of the Credit Default Swaps, it’s the sellers of such a financial instrument who are now at the losing end because it’s acts like an insurance on institutions that are going to go bankrupt/insolvent. It’s like i (and a lot of other people who have no relation to the passengers) took out a life insurance policy on each prospective Sulpicio Lines passengers on the bet that one of its ships will eventually sink.

    The BBC report said that the sellers (i.e. banks and other financial institutions) are exposed to the tune of an estimated 62 Trillion US Dollars and rising so if the more financial institutions go insolvent, the more Credit Default Swaps will have to be paid out, causing even more financial institutions to become insolvent and so on.

  248. hvrds on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 10:09 am 

    “It is about the future stupid”

    Rubin and Greenspan wrote about it in both their books. Uncertainty and the age of turbulence. Toffler wrote about it it seems ages ago. The collision of first, second and third wave.

    The entire rationale of financial capitalism is the future direction of prices. Instead of retrospective it is prospective.

    But it is still an abstract. Similarly the GWOT is an abstract war based on ideas. How do you fight that kind of war.

    How do you survive in an abstract metaphysical economy where prices today are affected by future predictions of price based on estimates of supply and demand in the future?

    The mature economies can afford to speculate on the direction of future prices sometime in the future based on the large disposable income in their economies. The poorer countries do not have that luxury. They are dependent on the actual supply and demand of goods to determine prices in the present to feed themselves. Not some abstract benchmark heavily influenced by the supply of funds bidding up options for some future date.

    Financial and economic theoreticians base their forecasts entirely on mathematical simulations. A very small percentage of them take human history as an added guide.

    Stiglitz won a Nobel prize on that very subject. Asymmetrical information. Depending on ones own personal history the future will be always uncertain.

    Economists and financial theoreticians who are equilibrium ideologues are not better than the witch doctor who predict the future with chicken bones.

    Look at the different prognostications on the North Rail as a business enterprise.

    Who can predict with a certain degree of accuracy what the average exchange rate will be 1 year from completion, 5 years from completion, 10 years from completion and onward. Who can predict with the same accuracy the level of interest rates for the same period? The price of iron ore just doubled in price and steel costs going forward are sure to rise to higher level.

    How does one hedge that kind of risk that will make a shambles of any predictions/forecasts and affect the direction of prices????? Simple build it yourself as the labor that builds the railroad is the actual creator of the money which is denominated in pesos. No forex risk and no interest rate risk. It is labor that builds capital and not the other way around. The basic means of production land and resources and recreated into goods is the value created of which money is simply representative of.

    Money has and always will be an abstraction of labor or on the supply side the abstract (representative idea) of our shared expectations of value.

    In the short term horizon governments can influence the markets. Their words affect the markets. GMA just “requested” the oil companies to roll back prices of diesel. She is scheduled to speak next Monday.

    In a futures market the availability of information and separating the chaff from the grain would be dependent on people who have a basic foundation in history. No history no clue.

    The entire internationl division of labor is a network of supply chains that are all interconnected. Then you have the uncertainty of politics thrown in.

    History becomes as scientific as if it were a physical science. In legal circles it is called case law based on empirical history. Progressive judges create new case laws based on prevailing new realties in communities while judges steeped in originalism interpret the law as written.

    Kantian categorical imperative to push political will and the politics of command.

    GMA made the choices in her executive decisions based on what she knows and understands but she failed to note that all decisions have intended and unintended consequneces.

    That is why you always make sure that you have the safety nets in place for the unintended consequences. Yung safety net ninakaw na pala.

    Noon pa sa 1994 sabi ng gobierno na the adjustment of globalization will create winners and losers. But do’nt you worry we have put safety nets in place. The lady who said that was none other than GMA.

    Yung safety nets pala para sa pamilya niya at para sa mga kaibigan niya. Yung iba, sabi pa noon ni former trade Secretary Navarro, let them die. He was referring to businesses.

    Tapos sasabihin niya kasi may crisis sa mundo.

    Look to hwo controls the direction of future prices and you will see who controls the global commons.

    Who has extraterritorial rights over the global commons?????What is Doha all about????

    The curse of free market capitalism is that it has to keep on destroying without thinking of the consequences.

    The present accounting method for measuring economic output does not take into account the futures market. Yet a small minority are already earning profits from that metaphysical economy at the expense of all others.

    The ideologues of capitalist monism are in charge of the world.

    Fiscal policy has not caught up yet with that economy.

    Buffet himself said that his secretary pays more in income taxes than he does.

    How do you track the inside information available to members of GMA’s own family that can influence the financial markets.

    Her closest advisers are Neri, Salceda and her own brother who are all involved in the financial markets in one way or another.

    Tapos naging executive privilege lahat.

  249. cvj on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 10:50 am 

    PSI, here’s some info from last May on the CDS:

    http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2008/05/credit-default-swaps-losses-estimated.html

  250. The Equalizer on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 11:46 am 

    Senator Chiz Escudero said politicians and political parties have their attention trained at the 2010 presidential elections and they are more comfortable that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would finish her term.

    “We have already suffered and sacrificed for seven years, what is two years?” he said of Arroyo’s administration.

    To Chiz Escudero,patience is long,long,long suffering!

  251. KG on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 11:50 am 

    Arguing or debate of a topic is not just about personalities or psychology, and you should never belittle or degrade another person simply because they disagree with you. This is about ideas, and in a battle of ideas, the only acceptable weapon is a well-reasoned argument. I have learned to separate my emotion from any discussions/arguments.

    if it is not about psychology, then why even bother with EQ.

    now on checking your guns if it backfires :check on what you said, “the only acceptable weapon is a well reasoned argument.”

  252. d0d0ng on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 11:51 am 

    Leytenian – thanks for the links

    http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/6635410-1.html

    http://www.businessballs.com/eq.htm

    Thats the difference of mastering technical skills (of typos as sample)and managing organization and people.

    Leytenian – in my experience, these masters kuno are proud product of elite school from the Philippines or having this proficiency (like differentiating professor and teacher) but wasted when turned out to be just a rank and file employee. In short, underperformance.

    Take this case, our HR Director is keen of hiring Filipinos due to my contributions. So he showed up some resumes and interviewed a bunch. As expected, the applicants gloss over the school and education and little on work or business achievement. It is amusing to see graduates of top schools in Manila and my friend asked me if I knew the school. Of course I did but I told him they would not even recognize the school where I came from.

    In essence what you know and where you came from is immaterial if it cannot be seen in your actual work.

  253. KG on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 12:05 pm 

    History:

    The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and included banking reforms, some of which were designed to control speculation. Some provisions such as Regulation Q that allowed the Federal Reserve to regulate interest rates in savings accounts were repealed by the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980. Other provisions which prohibit a bank holding company from owning other financial companies were repealed in 1999 by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

    The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, also known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act, Pub. L. No. 106-102, 113 Stat. 1338 (November 12, 1999), is an Act of the United States Congress which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, opening up competition among banks, securities companies and insurance companies. The Glass-Steagall Act prohibited a bank from offering investment, commercial banking, and insurance services.

    The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) allowed commercial and investment banks to consolidate. For example, Citibank merged with Travelers Group, an insurance company, and in 1997 formed the conglomerate Citigroup, a corporation combining banking and insurance underwriting services. Other major mergers in the financial sector had already taken place such as the Smith-Barney, Shearson, Primerica and Travelers Insurance Corporation combination in the mid-1990s. This combination, announced in 1993 and finalized in 1994, would have violated the Glass-Steagall Act and the Bank Holding Acts by combining insurance and securities companies, if not for a temporary waiver process [[1]]. The law was passed to legalize these mergers on a permanent basis. Historically, the combined industry has been known as the financial services industry.

    ============

    From George Santayana:

    Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

  254. hvrds on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 2:14 pm 

    Where Credit Is Due: A Timeline of the Mortgage Crisis
    By Nomi Prins
    NEWS: A field guide to the loan sharks and politicos who got us into the predatory lending mess

    Mother Jones writer Nomi Prins has worked at Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns.
    http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/07/where-credit-is-due-timeline.html

  255. PSI on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 2:25 pm 

    In case you missed this:

    Too Big to Fail? – The New York Times

    “…the debt mounts along with the costs of an ultimate day of reckoning. Debate grows about the wisdom of leaning on foreign credit, and about how much longer Americans will retain the privilege of spending and investing money that isn’t really theirs.”

    “Bailouts amount to mortgaging the future to stave off the wolf howling at the door. The likelihood of a painful reckoning is diminished, while the costs of a reckoning — should one come — are increased.”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/weekinreview/20goodman.html?ex=1217304000&en=4ba4cc60de91dd5c&ei=5070&emc=eta1

  256. hvrds on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 2:30 pm 

    The Internationalization of the Phoenix Program (Vietnam war)

    Meet the New Dr. Strangelove and Reviving Vietnam War Tactics

    “The top counterinsurgency adviser to Gen. David Petraeus in Iraq advocates practicing a “global Phoenix Program,” alluding to the notorious Vietnam-era CIA operation that provoked a worldwide uproar because of the detention, torture and execution of thousands of Vietnamese.”

    “His name is David Kilcullen, an Australian academic and military veteran, who seeks to impose a mad science of counterinsurgency on Iraq.”

    “The mainstream media has never reported on the use of the “global Phoenix program” in Iraq, perhaps because the explosive terminology has largely disappeared from the writings and résumé of Lt. Col. David Kilcullen after he first being referred to it in a forty-eight-page strategy paper, “Countering Global Insurgency” published in the obscure Small Wars Journal in September-November 2004.”

    “Kilcullen, an Australian PhD who served for twenty-one years in the Australian army, was the “chief adviser on counterinsurgency operations” to Petraeus in planning the 2007 US troop surge. He also served as chief strategist in the State Department’s counterterrorism office in 2005 and 2006, and has been employed in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa and Southeast Asia.”

    “In the section titled “A Global Phoenix Program” in his 2004 article, Kilcullen describes the Vietnam Phoenix program as “unfairly maligned” and “highly effective.” Dismissing CIA sponsorship and torture allegations as “popular mythology,” Kilcullen calls Phoenix a misunderstood “civilian aid and development program” that was supported by “pacification” operations to disrupt the Vietcong, whose infrastructure ruled vast swaths of rural South Vietnam. A “global Phoenix program,” he wrote, would provide a starting point for dismantling the worldwide jihadist infrastructure today.” Tom Hayden, The Nation

    http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080707/hayden
    http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080331/hayden

    http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070924/hayden

  257. hvrds on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 2:36 pm 

    The Internationalization of the Phoenix Program (Vietnam war)and Institutionalization of Assymetrical Warfare – Rules About No Rules

    Meet the New Dr. Strangelove and Reviving Vietnam War Tactics

    “The top counterinsurgency adviser to Gen. David Petraeus in Iraq advocates practicing a “global Phoenix Program,” alluding to the notorious Vietnam-era CIA operation that provoked a worldwide uproar because of the detention, torture and execution of thousands of Vietnamese.”

    “His name is David Kilcullen, an Australian academic and military veteran, who seeks to impose a mad science of counterinsurgency on Iraq.”

    “The mainstream media has never reported on the use of the “global Phoenix program” in Iraq, perhaps because the explosive terminology has largely disappeared from the writings and résumé of Lt. Col. David Kilcullen after he first being referred to it in a forty-eight-page strategy paper, “Countering Global Insurgency” published in the obscure Small Wars Journal in September-November 2004.”

    “Kilcullen, an Australian PhD who served for twenty-one years in the Australian army, was the “chief adviser on counterinsurgency operations” to Petraeus in planning the 2007 US troop surge. He also served as chief strategist in the State Department’s counterterrorism office in 2005 and 2006, and has been employed in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa and Southeast Asia.”

    “In the section titled “A Global Phoenix Program” in his 2004 article, Kilcullen describes the Vietnam Phoenix program as “unfairly maligned” and “highly effective.” Dismissing CIA sponsorship and torture allegations as “popular mythology,” Kilcullen calls Phoenix a misunderstood “civilian aid and development program” that was supported by “pacification” operations to disrupt the Vietcong, whose infrastructure ruled vast swaths of rural South Vietnam. A “global Phoenix program,” he wrote, would provide a starting point for dismantling the worldwide jihadist infrastructure today.” Tom Hayden, The Nation

    http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080707/hayden
    http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080331/hayden
    http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070924/hayden

  258. PSI on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 4:34 pm 

    Politicians defer to Church on population bills – abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak

    “No matter how heated and emotional the debates are on proposed population management bills, the inevitable finale is that the Church will have the last say.”

    http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=125891

    “Based on past experience in the Philippine Congress, the Church has always objected to bills on family planning, population management and reproductive health. Legislators make a hasty retreat and the bills are archived, only to be resurrected at some time. And the cycle begins.”

    Another one bites the dust.

    This ‘pro-life” stance is not even pro-poor, but pro-poverty.

  259. The Ca t on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 4:58 pm 

    ayan ha, bago kayo mag-comment, show the C at muna your CV including Barangay Clearance…

    meow…

    I do not bother about the commenter’s background nor his PERSONAL opinion no matter how inane it is. As you can see I do not argue much about politics.

    What I hate is when people write as if there is a stamp in truth in it which can mislead readers.

    If you have been reading leytenian, you will obserce that there is nothing new in what she writes. Or did you ever notice that. Many of them have been lifted from some articles, the first time she joined us. It is only when I started criticizing her when she put the links. Many of us
    do not read the links but if you do, you will notice that she does not editorialize the news or the article, she writes it as if she authored it. Manolo has been including the links of articles but he never owns the opinion; in fact he quotes them.

    She does not attempt to correct herself. She has no respect to know who the commenters are.

    So when I disprove her to the point that I reveal who really she is, I am mean but when her comments hint of insult to my persona, you do not care.

    The idea is simple to quiet me down… don’t try to appear what you are not and I would keep my silence.

    Don’t give nursery analyses and I would keep quiet.

    Just give your OWN PERSONAL OPINION and I would not care about you.

  260. KG on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 5:54 pm 

    “In essence what you know and where you came from is immaterial if it cannot be seen in your actual work.”

    Tama, bakit kailangan pa ilagay ang skwela?Pag tanggap ka,SOP yung transcript.

    mas matindi yung id picture requirement,para san yun, kung pangit ka ,out ka agad???
    di ka naman makakapasok sa building pag wala kang identification, so it must be the discrimination factor.

  261. PSI on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 6:24 pm 

    Population projections for the Philippines:

    2010 – 94 million people
    2015 – 103 million
    2020 – 112 million
    2025 – 120 million

    http://www.census.gov.ph/data/sectordata/popprojtab.html

    If the global economy takes the expected downturn in the near future, there would definitely be diminished demand for RP’s exports and OFW labor.

    Superimpose on the overpopulation scenario a very weak agricultural sector and heavy debt overhang, and one wonders: How on earth, or for heavens sake, are we gonna feed over a hundred million people???

    Pray?

  262. grd on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 7:03 pm 

    Superimpose on the overpopulation scenario a very weak agricultural sector and heavy debt overhang, and one wonders: How on earth, or for heavens sake, are we gonna feed over a hundred million people???

    Pray? … psi

    let those religious leaders run the govt? let them solve the country’s problems.

  263. PSI on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 9:21 pm 

    Instead of having a state-sponsored population management program, CBCP’s position is that government should clean up its act to address resource insufficiency.

    I agree that we should include the big ‘C’.

    Overpopulation + Heavy Debt Burden + Corruption => Decreased spending on education, health, and infrastructure. The country in worse economic shape.

    So by 2010, there will be more uneducated, sick, and homeless children which the good priests and bishops would have to minister to.

    We’ll just have to double our prayers???

  264. Bencard on Mon, 21st Jul 2008 11:52 pm 

    in fairness, the cbcp is just another lobby, engaged in what every “civil society” ngo’s are doing. the only difference is that instead of money, they use moral and/or religious “coercion” (in addition to political threat come election time) to advance their cause. at the end of the day, it’s up to the individual conscience of the politicians to do what is right.

    having said all that, the effects of unchecked population growth have been discussed extensively in this blog and elsewhere. we have a very finite resources and the demand for them is a ticking time bomb that threatens everybody. the break down of law and order would be complete.

    if the cbcp values life, it should not allow for most of the population to die of hunger, disease, crime and violence, and ultimately, war in a mad scramble for the insufficient goods and wherewithals that are scarcely available.

  265. vic on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 12:20 am 

    For Every Program the Government propose or plan to introduce, it should always be accompanied by sufficient source of Funding and as much as possible a clear guideline for its enforcement of implementation..or it will be another Act crowding the Arhives of Good Laws that never was implemented to the fullest and that just a waste…

  266. d0d0ng on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 1:01 am 

    “in the case of the Credit Default Swaps, it’s the sellers of such a financial instrument who are now at the losing end”.

    It is the other way around. The seller freed up his credit insurance risk by assigning (selling) the instrument to another investor bank. What has been sold is the value of the future premiums underwritten on credit default risk.

    In case of default, the seller is out of the picture. At the losing end will be the original customer who bought the insurance protection because in case of default it needs to file a claim with the final holder of the instrument which can be difficult if sold many times and the risk coverage have varied in many ways as it changes hands. The other loser is the holder of credit instrument who will pay higher default settlement.

  267. nash on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 1:28 am 

    Oh, I agree C at. It’s just banter. Nothing personal.

  268. PSI on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 2:07 am 

    mlq3,

    Just finished reading your column in today’s Inquirer.

    Besides prostitution, marijuana use in the Netherlands is I believe legalized up to a certain quantity. You gotta give it to the Dutch for being ultra-liberal. From the mixed marriages to being a haven for leftists.

    No, but legal prostitution will not fly in the Philippines, not in the forseeable future. We couldn’t even get family planning past the good bishops.

  269. d0d0ng on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 2:14 am 

    In credit default swap, the risk is turned into liquid asset by selling the instrument along with the risk of default (less chance of happening in sound credit underwriting as opposed to subprime market). Unless actual default happens, the investor banker is making steady cash streams (of future premiums) bought at discounted price.

    The idea is still sound as long as the large portion is not sitting in the subprime mortgages. Hence, the Fed is calibrating the low interest for a while to avoid increase in default which will shake the financial market as opposed to increasing interest to address inflation.

  270. UP n student on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 2:38 am 

    to cvj and leytenian on Michelle Wie: I think that she — Michelle — should be allowed to play. After all, her transgression (she forgot to sign a scorecard) is trivial compared to the enjoyment of golf that she will give had she been allowed to play. Her being allowed to play “… contributes to the greater good”.

    But I defer to those hard-of-heart. Makes sense to make the world be aware “rules are rules” and whether you are a gifted/elite like Michelle Wie or an urban squatter, respect for laws and rules-of-conduct is paramount.

  271. supremo on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 3:15 am 

    Michelle Wie signed the score card for the 2nd round outside the scoring area. She was already playing the 3rd round when officials heard about the incident. Too bad she was not playing in the Philippines.

  272. UP n student on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 3:41 am 

    supremo: looks like a candidate for an XBOX-360 game. Golf, no holds barred, Basilan-island as setting. Watch Tiger Woods using a driver to defend himself while a shark (with Greg Norman holding the leash) snapping at his/Tiger’s feet.
    Team-1 will be the MILF/Abu’s (goal: most number of foreign golfer captured for Kidnap/ransom, plus payments obtained; penalty for civilians killed — zero). Team-2: Filipino team of priests-and-congressmen. Don’t know their goals; don’t think they know it, too.

    Team-3 : the media. Goal : get most number of pictures of heads decapitated or limbs blown off. And interviews… normal points for interviews with foreign golfers; triple-points for interviews with Abu’s. 75%-odd that the ABU they interview also invites them as “house guests” (kidnap/ransom). Board-and-lodging nonpayment means “–end-of-game”.

  273. supremo on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 4:17 am 

    UP n student,

    That’s bloody. What about a game based on Philippine presidential elections. Minimum of 2 players. The first goal is for each candidate to collect as many campaign donations as possible using every trick in the book including extortion. The second goal is to disburse the campaign funds. Buying votes gets the candidate 1 point. Bribing election officials 10 points. Killing your opponent 100 points. The candidate with the most number of points wins the game. There should be a special level where the candidates fight for the “I’m sorry” jackpot price for an automatic win.

  274. leytenian on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 5:42 am 

    Debating frequently makes use of good evidence to support arguments, and that evidence is often topical- taken from the internet, television or newspapers. Keeping an eye on these things makes you better in-formed about the world so that you can make better decisions.

  275. KG on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 6:19 am 

    PSI,

    di ba tinanong mo si Cong Ruffy Biazon tungkol sa Reproductive health bill, ayun napanood ko na iniinterview ni Korina Sanchez about the topic.
    dahil yata sa tanong mo eh(joke)malay mo.

    ngayon biglang nasali sa to do list ng mag-ama ang reproductive health. siguro dati na,ngayon lang na publicize.

  276. KG on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 6:23 am 

    “Debating frequently makes use of good evidence to support arguments, and that evidence is often topical- taken from the internet, television or newspapers. Keeping an eye on these things makes you better in-formed about the world so that you can make better decisions.”

    ika nga ni Brian B:to anyone who has not read a book, please raise your hand.

    nalimutan ko ang exact words, pero ang ibig sabihin nya lahat naman tayo nagbabasa ng libro and internet for reference.

  277. leytenian on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 6:37 am 

    Going back to Northrail:
    the deadlock between the Chinese developers and the government might further delay the completion of the project.

    And GMA may face new impeachment raps amid food, fuel crisis…

    http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080721163

    ““This is up to the discretion of the President. It is her judgment call who she wants to work with. So far, there is a growing need for focused governance work and every member of the Cabinet needs to be closely working with her, at pace with her,” Dureza said. ”

    Conflicts of interest are a breeding ground for corruption, and there is growing consensus that detecting and managing conflict of interest are critical to curbing corruption. However, policy frameworks and tools to manage conflicts of interest effectively are still rare. Code of Conduct and its policies maybe worth to revisit.

  278. leytenian on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 6:54 am 

    Our country may benefit from having a performance ratings or satisfaction ratings to all public officials from barangay capitan all the way to the top…
    GMA’s poor governance rating may be the result of conflict of interest, sabotaging, hiring her own team without proper feedback from the whole team.

  279. UP n student on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 6:54 am 

    to leytenian: just remember that evidence taken from the internet can be irrelevant and also suspect.

    A person who postulates that “Majority of the Filipinos from the first-, second- and third-deciles are for condoms and sex-education” CANNOT use as evidence what the majority of the blogposters on ellentordesillas dot-com say about the issue.

  280. leytenian on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 7:14 am 

    UP N..
    are you asking performance ratings? or my previous post?
    for previous post… of course, informations from both local and international makes one better in-formed about the world. I do agree with you with the other local blogsite.

    for performance ratings, i think the questioned should be focused on performance result, budget savings and project implementation timeframe. also to add my favorite question: Did your official buy votes during election? : YES or NO.

  281. leytenian on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 7:39 am 

    KG,
    In the business standpoint, books are no longer convenient. Check out… Data Mining.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_mining

  282. mindanaoan on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 7:55 am 

    search engines are the new bluffers guide series

  283. KG on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 8:08 am 

    Yah, UPN
    I can see that you are like an atheist on your posts but that is not evidence that you are one;but for lack of a better term, we should not treat everything as gospel truth.

    On judging one’s character based from his or her comments may not work for guys like benign0 ,who might be a hell good of a writer to make people believe that he is an A. Hole.

    I remember reading a column of Ambeth Ocampo,where he joined the discussion in one of his student’s blog.
    di kasi sya kilala(online) ,inaway sya,di syempre pinagtulungan sya;kinuwento na lang daw nya sa student ang pangyayari.

  284. KG on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 8:30 am 

    Leyetnian,

    I am old school, I use both no matter how inconvenient.

    Even google books which claims it scans this number of books a minute disapoints; puro kulang kahit matanda na ang libro minsan me copyright issues pa din.

    even authorama,project guttenbeg,and questia which claims that they have captured an entire library or has partners with the most prestigious ones still disappoints me,that is why when I have time and money i go to powerbooks and read.

    wikisource naman sobrang tanda naman before 1923 yata lahat.

    dito sa pilipinas,since data mining is outsourced by others , matagal na data mining dito di nga lang para sa atin. I had a few colegues in the call center industry who came from data mining providers.

    maybe one day you will even blame your kababayans for your FICO scores.

  285. leytenian on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 8:59 am 

    KG,

    “maybe one day you will even blame your kababayans for your FICO scores.”

    why is that?

  286. KG on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 9:34 am 

    Go figure,

    Data mining means gathering information from data, as compared to just simply data gathering .
    all the data can be available from lenders and thus The FICO scoring can easily be outsourced to us by the three providers of fico scores,and we could turn the data provided by the different lenders into a useful information like the fico score.

    clear enough?

    I have been in a call center (credit card)that deals with customers day to day, hearing customers say, that their fico score is wrong,because we have a feature that lets them see their fico score’s although it is quite delayed and our inquiry is only a soft inquiry that is why they can not affect their fico score unless they want to reduce their fico score by going direct to the three providers they make do with a one month delayed info from us.

  287. KG on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 9:38 am 

    Leytenian,
    good for you, never ka yatang nagka problema sa Fico score in your 18 years stay in the states.You must be rich!

  288. hvrds on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 10:46 am 

    Prognosticating about the future based on Malthusian theories died a long time ago.

    The question that no one is asking of our brilliant bunch of lawmakers is this. The intent of Congress is to socialize birth control practices. It wants to have the bureaucracy get involved in the propagation of birth control.

    We have to do it immediately daw before we run out of resources.

    I think Habito wrote about it just recently. Human development is about giving people choices. I assume that would mean rationally thought off choices.

    Socializing the means to life for farmers in the countryside is not thought off as a primordial basis for sustainable development.

    But socializing the loses of the rich is perfectly ok.
    Then they point out that we should sociliaze the means for poor people to fuck without recourse.

    The average yield for corn in the U.S. is 150 bushels per acre. In the emerging economies it is about 30 bushels per acre. The reason for the gap is not simple to explain.

    it was during the 18th century that Adam Smith noticed that food surplus (cheap food) in America then caused the population to double in 25 years. But Europe’s population doubled every 500 years. off course the invention of anti-biotics and modern pharmaceuticals and sanitation also exteded life. We stopped drinking our own shit.

    Most of the Catholic Church still lives behind the curve. The idea of being publicly identified as a

  289. hvrds on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 10:58 am 

    OOOPs sorry……a sinner by the Church should be welcomed.

    Only to bring the debate out in the open and not simply of that stupid idea of Malthus. Life is more complex than that.

    But that would require lawmakers to do something which is entirely alien to them… To think…..

    Once again it is simple to oversimplify with slogans and smart retorts.

    Just like the idea of legislating the work of sex workers. Once again it is a matter of choices. Just think when youlegislate you have to put rules. Can you just imagine the bureaucracy that would need to be created to implement the rules ion this country.

    Sex as recreation is a novel idea but in a country where (according to one lady who sells sex toys) 9 out of 10 women have not experienced orgasm. Naku po. That would mnean 9 out of 10 men are clueless about sex as recreation and lovemaking. You know win win situation. Tantric yoga should be taught as part of sex education.

    We are all hedonists at heart but we have to be carefull of the unintended consequences of our actions.

    I am still personally bothered by a bureaucrat meddling in the private lives of people, most especially those who have little or no choices in life.

  290. leytenian on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 11:28 am 

    population:
    In times of trouble… the church becomes the shock absorber. The church is the shelter and it can provide food when worst comes to worst. One power of the church, it has the capacity to attract its members. This collective efforts can be in the form of help and donation.
    The government has no power in terms of asking for help. It has not build its credibility. Taking away the standard activity of daily living is not fair to those who cannot understand the consequences. That’s all they know and that’s all they have maybe. If they were given a job or have been working, they may be too tired to perform at home. lol.

    I googled search catholic church- It is one of the richest organization in the world. It has the capacity to provide… ( only if we will get to the worst case scenario).

    articles to consider.
    Does “Overpopulation” cause hunger?
    http://www.globalissues.org/EnvIssues/Population/Hunger/FoodFirst/Overpopulation.asp

    Overpopulation – Does Population Growth Follow Food Supply?
    http://www.communicationagents.com/sepp/2005/03/20/overpopulation_does_population_growth_follow_food_supply.htm

  291. DevilsAvdc8 on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 2:25 pm 

    isa lang challenge ko sa Spanish Church natin:

    fine, reject House Bill 812 or the proposed Reproductive Health Care Act. continue to espouse natural family planning methods

    BUT

    DO your own fucking agressive education campaign regarding this natural family planning method you so espouse.

    DO explain to your rabid faithful about the consequences of having too many mouth to feed. last time i heard, you blessed couples with kids of ten and above telling them: anak lang ng anak. biyaya yan ng diyos. tang ina nyo, di na kayo nakakatulong, nakakapalala pa kayo. biyaya nga yan ng diyos, pero mga fathers naman, stop encouraging them pa!

    i actually have no problem with your stand against artificial birth control methods. it’ your fucking allergic reaction to all types of information that infuriates me.

    information does not cause sin or sinful behavior. people CHOOSE to sin or not. it is whether they have the right and complete information that makes the difference of whether they sin knowing they are sinning or not.

    familiar with the story of Job?

    God allowed Satan to tempt Job numerous times. God did not say: let Job be free from temptation. he is not free to choose if he would like to sin or not. since I am God, I decide if I want him to sin or not.

    let your people choose. block not all access to knowldege and information. who are you to take away freedom whence God has given it?

    and for those bishops denying communion to people not in agreement with them…

    PRIDE as always has been the greatest of vices.

    if Christ can say: who among you who has not sinned, cast the first stone; and accept a prostitute begging for mercy and acceptance, why not you?

    not the clergy nor the vatican has the monopoly on truth or righteousness. humanae vitae? not all things are set in stone. as always, it comes back to questions of infallibility. YOU ARE NOT GOD. but merely messengers of God.

    then act not like gods.

  292. hvrds on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 3:23 pm 

    Socialize sexual relaxation through contraception. It is free. True equity for all.

  293. KG on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 4:47 pm 

    Since Devils called it the Spanish Church, let me google
    Birth Control in Spain:

    I don’t usuallly read Yahoo Anwers,nakakatawa kasi minsan mga sagot,but many travelers rely on them.

    From Yahoo Answers:

    Do they have birth control over the counter in spain?

    You will have no problem…Go to any pharmacy they are all marked with a green cross, usually illuminated. Ask for
    PASTILLAS ANTICONCEPTIVAS pronounced past-ee-yuhs ant-ee-con-sep-tee-vas). If you remember the name of your own, or the main active ingredient, it would help you to get the same one (if it exists in Spain) or at least a similar product.

  294. KG on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 5:00 pm 

    Balik Northrail:

    So tinawag pala ni Joker Arroyo na stupid si Lorelai Fajardo for saying that they would have no second thouhgts in invoking Executive Privilege pag dating sa North Rail.

    Joker calls Palace spokesperson stupid

    http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080722-149884/Joker-calls-Palace-spokesperson-stupid

    sabi na nga ba me update agad eh.

    Palace spokesperson: Issue with Sen Arroyo ‘threshed out’

    Statement ‘taken out of context,’ Fajardo claims

    http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080722-149985/Palace-spokesperson-Issue-with-Sen-Arroyo-threshed-out

    Sometimes nga naman the media hypes stuff:

    Remember that Biazon USS reagan issue.
    madami palang misquotations dun,he never mentioned nuclear weapons,well ganyan talaga.

  295. DevilsAdvc8 on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 5:13 pm 

    Socialize sexual relaxation through contraception. It is free. True equity for all.

    and how.

  296. PSI on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 5:28 pm 

    KG,

    Salamat sa pasabi tungkol sa interview ng mag Biazons. Pero, mukhang wala na namang mangyayari sa family planning, most recently ang Reproductive Health Bill.

    Panalo na naman ang mga obispo. Nagsisiguro rin yung ibang congressmen baka ikampanya sila against ng simbahang katolika. Alam mo na, the May 2010 elections is just around the corner. And the signals na ibibigay ng administrasyon tungkol dito hindi rin klaro.

    Maghanda na lang tayong tumulong sa mga mahihirap at kapuspalad. Sandali na lang, mahigit isang daang milyon na ang tao dito sa Pilipinas. Asa pa tayo sa mga obispo.

  297. grd on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 5:48 pm 

    Maghanda na lang tayong tumulong sa mga mahihirap at kapuspalad. Sandali na lang, mahigit isang daang milyon na ang tao dito sa Pilipinas. Asa pa tayo sa mga obispo…

    or let sulpicio lines continue to operate. malaking tulong din sila sa population control ng bansa.

  298. UP n student on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 8:12 pm 

    the “sulpicio model” is bad because it makes family-members suspicious of family-members. If your family-member takes out an insurance-policy on you before putting you on a Pinas inter-island ship, you should be worried. :roll:

  299. supremo on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 11:33 pm 

    Microrail

    http://www.megarail.com/pdf/MCPC-ALT1.pdf

  300. PSI on Tue, 22nd Jul 2008 11:55 pm 

    Its perturbing that after more than a century, Padre Damaso still holds sway in Palacio del Gobernador.

    Rizal must be turning in his grave. And Bonifacio must be saying, ‘all for naught.’

  301. Bencard on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 12:12 am 

    looks like the wise guy is attacking the malthusian theory as “stupid”. he sees nothing wrong with uncontrolled overpopulation. it seems he is being consistent with his libertarian and anarchist advocacies.

    forty years ago when the philipine population was in the the neighborhood of 47 million, there was poverty (mostly in metro manila) but not in the magnitude that it is today, where we have close to 90 million people. hunger, food supply, law and order, health services, public education, housing, were far more manageable. some types of crimes that we have today, e.g., mass murders, drug crimes, petty land-grabbing, akyat-bahay invasions, among other things, were a rarity, if not toally unheard of.

  302. d0d0ng on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 12:47 am 

    Previously linked by PSI.

    http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=125891

    The real power of bishops.
    1. Under the pain of excommunications.
    2. Denial of communion.
    3. Denial of burial mass.

    This is applied to workers who distribute condoms to legislators supporting artificial birth controls.

  303. d0d0ng on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 1:16 am 

    Bishops position against Joson and Lagman’s Bill on Reproductive Health is anchored on:

    1. Population growth rate is only 1.61 percent and not unmanageable.

    2. Violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution when it grants incentives to smaller families.

    3. Restrict religious freedom.

    Despite all the sound bites of Bishops arguments, there is the dark reality that 51 percent of 90 million Filipinos lived on less than 100 pesos per day. It simply drive children to prostitution which the Bishops have no solution but prayers.

  304. PSI on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 1:27 am 

    bencard, we don’t really have to revisit Malthus to see what’s going on. His theory may not have been true in some developed countries, but the Philippine reality is staring at you starkly: Tondo, Baseco, Payatas, and most of the streets of Metro Manila where you see malnourished, homeless street children (getting younger and younger) begging for small change. Some are high with rugby, glue, or cough syrup to stave off hunger, temporarily.

    Well, of course doubters will say its because of government’s inadequacy, corruption; but truth is the Philippines is overpopulated given given its resources, straining not only the food supply but the other important resource: land.

    Did you know that by 2025, the Philippines would have the same number of people as Russia but the latter has all the land, oil, gas, timber, mineral resources, it could utilize to care for its people.

    How about the Philippines? Well, free wheeling, unabated pro-creation. Need we doubt the bishops?

  305. d0d0ng on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 1:29 am 

    You know how it feels to be a Filipino when a retired American serviceman brags of regularly visiting Philippines every year for very cheap Filipinas and they are getting younger and younger.

    It greatly disturbed me and it is something that the Bishops should help answer dire economic realities facing the Church.

  306. supremo on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 1:44 am 

    The Catholic Church should at least address the overcrowding in church during Sunday mass. Everyone should be able to seat down and relax while hearing mass.

  307. supremo on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 1:46 am 

    ‘very cheap Filipinas and they are getting younger and younger.’

    Ilan kaya sa kanila ang anak ng pari?

  308. Bencard on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 3:18 am 

    psi, another reality, i would say, is that most, if not all prosperous countries have small populations in relation to their land area and gdp. e.u., usa, australia, canada, and new zealand are among them. china and india, despite their growing economy, hardly make a dent on their countries’ poor population, evidently because of its sheer size.

    could it be that the church is well aware of the correlation between overpopulation and poverty but encourages both because “blessed are the poor for their’s is the kingdom of heaven”?

  309. d0d0ng on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 5:26 am 

    “blessed are the poor for their’s is the kingdom of heaven”.

    On the other end, it is said it is harder for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle. The message is clear and direct – give up your wealth in exchange of heaven.

    Other than the wealth and fortunes in the hands of the elite families, the Roman Catholic in the Philippines is not a pauper by any stretch.

    1. The Catholic church is the biggest landowner of the Republic of the Philippines which houses the church, school, convents, seminaries, etc.

    2. It owns prestigious schools like Ateneo, DLSU, San Juan De Letran, San Beda, San Sebastian, Don Bosco, St Paul, Maryknoll, St Theresa, and others.

    3. It owns big hospitals like San Juan, Cardinal Santos, Perpetual, St Luke and others.

    4. It owns the Monte de Piedad Bank.

    5. Unlike big corporations and businesses paid income tax, the church is exempt and kept its wealth.

    6. It is the biggest corporation the Philippines with branch in every locations and neighborhood with dues paying members including the poor.

    7. It also receive donations from international donors like Caritas, and from North America and Europe.

    8. It also receive donations from the government through PAGCOR (skipping on separation of church and state) gambling money. It is the primary moral voice against jueteng and other illegal gamblings directly competing with PAGCOR operations.

  310. leytenian on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 5:55 am 

    HUNGER, THE SILENT TSUNAMI
    Rice, the main food for nearly half of the world’s population, costs twice as much as in December. The economic policy of the World Bank forced on countries on account of neocolonial trade relations is responsible for the unproductivity, not only the traditional small farmer system.
    http://miami.indymedia.org/news/2008/07/11406.php

    Cebu Opinion: “OVERPOPULATION IS A MYTH, but politicians can see a great political platform when they see one, especially when food and fuel prices are soaring and the possibility of mass unrest casts a dark shadow on the horizon”
    “Mosher foresees that the situation would ultimately lead to the collapse of the public health sector.”
    http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/opinion/view/20080721-149793/Propagating-a-myth

  311. leytenian on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 6:16 am 

    in 2007
    “Hunger on this scale cannot be addressed by handouts. What is wanted is a growing economy that benefits the people. ”

    “The hunger is made worse when the poor can’t grow food because most of the millions of hectares of land are left unused by the rich or turned into housing estates to avoid land reform.”

    http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/apr/01/yehey/opinion/20070401opi4.html

    Bu why ? the Elites- The influential Makati Business Club (MBC) has also called on Arroyo to drop the idea. ( chacha). The group, whose actions helped swing business leaders against both Estrada in 2001 and Marcos in 1986, carries considerable influence with the nation’s elite. …

    just think about it…

  312. UP n student on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 9:13 am 

    leytenian: here is a worse problem —- public-school tuition is free for elementary- and secondary-school education, yet a huge percentage of Pinas schoolkids are not enrolled. Primary/secondary school education to me is of the “… teach a man how to fish and… “.

  313. vic on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 9:33 am 

    The Catholic Church will be a Great Contributor to the country’s development and provider of quality Education if the Church Officials get off their old tired horses and co-operate with Government…

    About 35% of Ontario Students attend Catholic Schools up to Grade 12 and get their Religious Education on Top of Standard Curriculum prescribed by the Ministry of Education..Majority of Pilipino Children go to Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools…(Also Publicly Funded, including Bus service)

    Of course the Catholic Board will always assert the Church Teachings, like refusing to have their “girl” students getting Vaccine for Cervical cancer as they insists it will encourage Pre-Marital sex, but the parents still have a choice to have their Children get them from Public Health or their Family Doctors. But wonder of wonder, how can they allow the girls to wear short, short uniforms, which some of them intentionally hike a little bit more outside the school and pull it down back as soon as they enter their school Campuses??

    They are not good yet in this regards. This past year the Ministry threatened to take over the Board if they still can’t balance their Budget after the Greater Toronto Catholic Board of Trustee(trustees are politicians and are elected by the Parents of supporter of Catholic Schools) were alleged to spend the Board Money for themselves on Vacations, Weddings and sumptuous meals on the Board Credit Cards against the legal advice of their lawyers.

    But they are learning and learning Fast, otherwise the Government might withdraw the full funding or take over the Board and they don’t like it…sometimes you get to bring out the stick to put them in line…

  314. leytenian on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 10:04 am 

    Our country continue to be under major stress. Prospects for Political Reform and Charter Change are not well delivered by parties. The process of implementation is what really scares people. As a practical matter, incremental measures of political reform, rather than a wholesale shift to parliamentarism or federalism seem to hold greater promise for success at least in my opinion.
    1. Victoria gardens and its concept– magtanim nang kamote, encourage planting organic vegetables and many more.. Department of Agri and Dept of Education must team up to educate…
    2. Donating to the school rather than church…
    “blessed are the poor for their’s is the kingdom of heaven”. Life is about giving. Giving can be to anybody.
    3. My favorite performance ratings to all officials from top to bottom- an independent non profit organization can implement this at low costs by starting a website. The media can collect the data.. then attack. lol
    4. Land Reform to continue
    5. Silent population control… don’t tell the church, ooppss.

    Another well-targeted reform, more relevant to process than to outcomes, relates to electoral administration. COMELEC should be restructured from top to bottom—from its central office in Manila to its extensive nationwide field structure, in order to develop the capacity to maintain accurate lists of voters and execute an accurate and expeditious vote count. Allegations of election fraud involving politicians and COMELEC officials need to be investigated by INDEPENDENT prosecutors willing and able to press charges for wrongdoing… It’s website must say .. Disqualify Buying of Votes…
    sino ba ang in charge nang comelec? dito nag take advantage ang mga elites..

  315. hvrds on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 10:13 am 

    If anyone does not agree with the teachings of the Catholic Church change faiths. The bogey man will not get you. Lightining will not strike you. Politicos in the Phils depend on command votes which they support.

    That keeps the electoral autocracy going.

    Please note that the ffg. portions on an articel from the Inquirer. Salceda said that the carrying capacity of the earth has been reached. No more people allowed.

    But what is ironinc is that the people who are doing the most consuming are the rich countries and the rich in the poor countries. Taken together the consumption of the poor will not come close to the total use of resources on this planet by the rich and middle class. In fact the banker David Ricardo who was a good buddy to Malthus observed that it was necessary then to keep people at least at the subsistence level to guarantee surplus labor to insure costs of labor be kept down. His ideas on marginal rent became the basis for a minimum incomes to keep families growing. More hands more land to till.

    That would mean he is saying that the carrying capacity of Philippine resources has been reached?????? But who cut down most of the trees??? Who is still granting timber licenses in virgin forrests ion the Phils???? Who is granting mining rights to foreigners to finish up and extract what is left of precious and basic minerals? Who is allowing foreign vessels to bring their factory ships to local waters to harvest the fish????All this to affect water tables going forward and the supply that will affect local fisherman???? Then when they use dynamite, cyanide and muro ami we complain!!!!!Who is rapidly using up the carrying capacity????

    “A census conducted in August 2007 showed that there were 88.6 million Filipinos, with an annual population growth rate of 2.04 percent since 2000.”

    “Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, one of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s key economic advisers, said that the growth rate “put 2.6 million babies at risk in view of the evolving and intensifying food crisis.”

    “The country’s population is projected to reach 90 million this year, 102 million in 2015, and 110 million in 2020.”

    “Besides the risks that babies face, Salceda said that the high growth rate also affected efforts to reduce poverty incidence since the increase tends to be more rapid in the poor families.”

    “Salceda also said that a bigger population meant a tremendous impact on the environment which had “reached its carrying capacity.”

  316. hvrds on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 10:22 am 

    OOOOps forgot to mention for those still groping…. The brain is our sexual organ. The limbic acting with our higher consciousness. A lot of people stop at the limbic region….

  317. KG on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 11:26 am 

    Leytenian,

    with all due respect for your five points.I won’t shoot it down, but it is Victory Gardens.
    Di na uso yung go home and plant kamote, at hampas lupa;sinong pag asa ngayon di yung nagtatanim mg kamote at humahampas ng lupa.

    donating to the school is nice ,pero sa colleges and universities;na welll off na ito nagyayari eh, like you may have a gokongwei building,yuchenco building,etc.
    the catholic church fund raising mahinery is still better than even campaign fund raising activities of politicos; ilan ba represenative ng pinas sa world youth day.

    performance ratings are done thru surveys like sws,etc.
    already many anti corruption ngos than your number of fingers.

    land reform,no comment ; kahit yung mga party list di magkasundo.

    Silent population control: teen age abortions,Walang umaamin kahit artista, is that silent enough.

  318. The Equalizer on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 12:47 pm 

    Gloria’s 5 Fatal Mistakes

    1) Announcing her decision not to run in the elections of 2004.

    2) Reversing her decision not to run in the elections of 2004

    3)Calling an election official during the canvassing of votes of the 2004 Presidential elections.

    4) Her hasty pardon of ex-President Joseph Estrada who was convicted of plunder.

    5) Her order to Romulo Neri to invoke “Executive Privilege”during the Senate investigations on the ZTE deal.

    What will be Gloria Arroyo’s sixth and most fatal mistake?

  319. Rego on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 4:58 pm 

    How it could be fatal when her presidency is still alive and well in malacanang?

    Come to think of it, what about her best moves?
    Oh I know people like you will easily reply she has done nothing better.

  320. The Ca t on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 5:30 pm 

    You know how it feels to be a Filipino when a retired American serviceman brags of regularly visiting Philippines every year for very cheap Filipinas and they are getting younger and younger.

    Sometimes we do not know that there are syndicates which pimp these young people.

    And how do you think these people are lured to come to the Philippines… porn sites which can be accessed all over the world except the Philippines. So there is no way by which the authorities in the Philippines would know.

    A friend in the US intimated to me how was able to access some of these websites. He said that the young girls are victims of human trafficking, paid only as much as 2 dollars, pimped to the foreigners for a few pesos and the rest goes to the syndicates.

  321. The Ca t on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 5:41 pm 

    Di na uso yung go home and plant kamote, at hampas lupa;sinong pag asa ngayon di yung nagtatanim mg kamote at humahampas ng lupa.

    donating to the school is nice ,pero sa colleges and universities;na welll off na ito nagyayari eh, like you may have a gokongwei building,yuchenco building,etc.

    O di va kung gaano ka moronic ang kaniyang mga suggestion showing she’s out of touch of reality.

    donating in schools..sus, private universities are earning much from the high tuition fees.

    donations in universities come in the form of professorial chair, grants not for students but for professors who wish to continue their post graduate studies but who do not have the means.

    And all of this in exchange for doctorate in honoris causa for the donor. Doctorate in Humanities anyone?

    The assistance of the private people to financially challenged students is in the form of scholarships. There are a lot of these which can be availed by families who cannot afford to send their bright students to universitis.

    Leytenian thought that it is just simple to give the money to the school and make a difference. For public schools, that will not be spent without going to this accounting processes again.

    So you understand me why I hate stupid analyses? Because the suggestions are also moronic.

  322. The Ca t on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 5:41 pm 

    Di na uso yung go home and plant kamote, at hampas lupa;sinong pag asa ngayon di yung nagtatanim mg kamote at humahampas ng lupa.

    donating to the school is nice ,pero sa colleges and universities;na welll off na ito nagyayari eh, like you may have a gokongwei building,yuchenco building,etc.

    O di va kung gaano ka moronic ang kaniyang mga suggestion showing she’s out of touch of reality.

    donating in schools..sus, private universities are earning much from the high tuition fees.

    donations in universities come in the form of professorial chair, grants not for students but for professors who wish to continue their post graduate studies but who do not have the means.

    And all of this in exchange for doctorate in honoris causa for the donor. Doctorate in Humanities anyone?

    The assistance of the private people to financially challenged students is in the form of scholarships. There are a lot of these which can be availed by families who cannot afford to send their bright students to universities.

    Leytenian thought that it is just simple to give the money to the school and make a difference. For public schools, that will not be spent without going to this accounting processes again.

    So you understand me why I hate stupid analyses? Because the suggestions are also moronic.

  323. KG on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 7:28 pm 

    Ok The Cat,
    matagal na kitang naintindihan tungkol ke leytenian.
    Wala akong kinakampihan. pag malabo naman sya, humihingi naman kami ng clarification, pero minsan wala talaga eh.

    matagal ko na kayo pinapanood, kaya I know what you are talking about,nakinig din naman sya kahit papano,she editorializes na,ewan ko lang kung clinick ko yung link kung excerpt pa din. pero some are her own words.

    at alam mo naman na madalas ko sya mapansin,kaya lang lumamalabas na para sya lang ang kaya ko eh,so i just leave it to you.
    pero, what for,masisira lang beauty mo,The Cat.

    You have made your point,and point taken.

    kaya natuwa ako na nagkaayos na kayo dati,dahil nga nagcomply na sya sa requirement mo na wag iplagiarize ang quoatation nya,kaya nga ang daming nga syang inacknowledge na “from cut and paste”(ngyeh)

    cheers,please!

  324. leytenian on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 7:35 pm 

    KAMOTE as an alternative..

    iloilo: “Then yesterday after lunch while reading newspapers, I saw one columnist William M. Esposo of Philippine Star writing “The underrated kamote can save our country.” Kamote or purple sweet potato has medicinal value also.”
    http://www.iloiloviews.com/lowly-kamote-can-save-us.html
    CEBU:

    The fertile soil of Majayjay provided the solution. In hills and plains, in backyard lots to plant boxes, we planted all the eatables that we could. Camote (sweet potato), in red and yellow varieties, gabi (taro root), and kamoteng kahoy (cassava) grew aplenty with the minimum of tending. Loaded with carbohydrates (which give extra energy needed for hard, physical work), these amazing root crops were great substitutes for rice.

    http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20080705-146689/Whos_afraid_of_a_food_crisis

    http://pia.gov.ph/?m=12&sec=reader&rp=4&fi=p070411.htm&no=37&date=

    “There is also a focused effort to fast-track commercialization of cheaper alternative raw materials such as cocoflour, camote or cassava as a substitute for wheat flour”
    http://www.news.ops.gov.ph/sec_remonde.htm

    For American Tradition: “Although sweet potatoes may be part of the Thanksgiving tradition, be sure to add these wonderful naturally sweet vegetables to your meals throughout the year; they are some of the most nutritious vegetables around” Health benefits of sweet potato

    http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=64

    Some folks are not familiar of organic foods.. Health is your only wealth…

  325. leytenian on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 7:43 pm 

    it’s not fair for the country to do performance ratings/satisfaction rating just for Gloria. Everybody must be rated…

    for school donation: it works in my town and many more… Google search “Philippine school Donation”… if one doesn’t like to donate to their universities then one did not get my point… i’m talking about the poor… think the kamote also as for the poor. donation for education is not for the the universities… OFW borthers and sisters will do that… think of the poor and imagine plans that will help the poor. do not misunderstand me because according to KG i might be rich… ( smiling)

  326. leytenian on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 7:52 pm 

    google google search my friends.. read current events, try being independent. short cut your point by providing a link ….. when you read a book… there’s always references… it’s like cut and paste.. words are just not the same… there’s no pliagirism here.. it’s about sharing what you have read…. most articles are considered not copied/ pliagiarized if the whole link is provided…. all are free in the blogosphere.. if you use your own words and practice cannot support it, and you don’t provide support to your statement, you will fail in american universities…

  327. mindanaoan on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 8:32 pm 

    leytenian,

    references make arguments more convincing only if you have clear arguments in the first place. your comments, sorry to say, seem like a mishmash of random thoughts. maybe you can confine a single comment to a single point to make it clear what you really want to say.

  328. PSI on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 9:29 pm 

    “…Cabral continued to lobby for a “stronger and more decisive” population management policy to control a swelling population that government experts say is threatening development.

    In an earlier interview, Cabral said Arroyo should realize there are other, more effective methods of family planning.”

    http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080723-150258/Ermita-Cabinet-should-toe-Arroyo-family-planning-line

    As Secretary of Social Welfare and Development, Dr. Cabral knows how poverty is deeply exacerbated by overpopulation.

    Government should take heed. Its probably what frustrates her everyday.

  329. nash on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 12:50 am 

    The catholic church calls it ‘natural’ family planning.

    What is ‘natural’ about observing your vaginal mucus so you can have sex for pleasure when you are not fertile?

    Ek-ek chu-chu topak talaga logic our beloved Catholic church..

  330. KG on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 12:57 am 

    you are on your own, you loose cannon.
    continue with your laundry lists .just look at the other comments, they put quotation marks,and they say something.

    I wonder how you passed with the American University you are boasting about, kung ang thesis mo puro references,and laudrylists siguro ang thesis mo how to stuff the most garbage in a garbage compactor, or how to stuff the most laundry in a washing machine.

    Cummon we were not born yesterday, Ikaw siguro.
    It is your turn to do the underestimating, and you will burn!

  331. d0d0ng on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 12:59 am 

    The Cat on, “Sometimes we do not know that there are syndicates which pimp these young people.”

    In the country where 51% of the 90 million Filipinos are living below 100 pesos a day, the parents are pimping their own children. According to Fr Cullen of rehabilitation center PREDA, “children have become involved in the sex trade with their parents’ approval and use the money to help their families”.

    According to Philippine Information Agency, parents in the Bicol region encourage children to work at very young age because of poverty and give them up to traffickers for money which send them to Luzon mainly for prostitution and labor.

    There was story of a 12 yr old boy who refused to go with a foreigner pedophile and was told “walang mawawala sa iyo at malaking pera na yan”.

  332. d0d0ng on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 1:28 am 

    The Cat on, “Leytenian thought that it is just simple to give the money to the school and make a difference. So you understand me why I hate stupid analyses? Because the suggestions are also moronic.”

    Donation to private school with specific goal is a special donation and dispose according to such purpose. For proper accounting, you can ask the school for statement of uses of funds for that purpose with the intended recipients if it was scholarship. I have done that. In a larger donations through grants, audited statements are required.

    You see Leytenian idea is not that bad. It is your condescending attitude of shooting down ideas of other Filipinos that bring up Filipino crab mentality.

  333. leytenian on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 4:51 am 

    dodong,
    i am sensing insecurity , pride and immaturity of hearts. This is common among our politicians. They only think about themselves.

    PSI… nice comment… yes, there are lots of alternative methods of family planning. thanks for the link..

  334. d0d0ng on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 7:14 am 

    PSI link.
    http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080723-150258/Ermita-Cabinet-should-toe-Arroyo-family-planning-line.

    President Arroyo position on birth control is not flexible. It is part of her commitment (along the abolition of death penalty) when she met the Pope personally to rein the bishops.

    General Ermita like a good old soldier is opening the salvo for her commander in chief as warning to Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral. If you don’t toe the line you might get replaced.

    Just recently loyalist Romulo Neri replaced SSS chief Corazon dela Paz for resisting Palace attempts of using the SSS members funds on so called pro-poor programs.

    There is not a short list of loyalists who can replace those who dare the President. To-date loyalists who were defeated the last senate election were put or in process for various government positions.

    1. Sen Ralph Recto as NEDA chief.
    2. Sen Vicente Sotto as Dangerous Drug Board head.
    3. Michael Defensor oversees NAIA Terminal 3.
    4. Teresita Aquino Oreta as Education Secretary.
    5. Prospero Pichay Jr to head Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

  335. Bencard on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 7:48 am 

    mlq3, going back to the subject of trains, i just read your pdi column about the manila – bicol line that was inaugurated in 1938. i didn’t know the last spike that completed the project was embedded right in del gallego, c.s. where i was born 2 years thereafter. i hope to revisit the place which we left after my father died at the hands of the japs.

    thanks for your nice historical account. the memories of the old manila railroad trains are very dear to my heart.

  336. KG on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 8:05 am 

    Talk about insecurity,pride and maturity.
    mali na pinaglalaban pa din.

    If you can tell me now that you were allowed to go beyond paraphrasing references or even quoting in your paper ;and it is a norm in the U. S., then I thank you for letting me know that Philippine standards are better.

    Glad you were not here when The Devil’s advocate was stict about pretentious commenters.If you were here,then you would know what i mean.

    about present company D0d0ng three years ko na kasama dito yan kaya mas kilala ko sya sa yo, and he is an ofw I salute; pero ikaw nabawasan ang natitirang sympathy,empathy at patience ko sa iyo.

  337. TonGuE-tWisTeD on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 9:41 am 

    KG,
    Puso mo, baka naka-paste lang.

    Meron akong ISANG bagay na laging kino-quote kay Rod Navarro. “Bakit mo hinahanapan ng tamis, alam mo namang kalamansi?” Hehehe.

  338. hvrds on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 10:30 am 

    As a general rule we should not take ourselves too seriously. Most especially in a country where superstition and mysticism prevail.

    The most profitable enterpise in the country has been political entrepreneurship. Big Mike and GMA have rewritten the book on this most insidious practice. All Presidents since Quezon have been indulging in it and have systematized it.

    The Catholic Church has been, as all evolving cultures have been, a most willing enabler to this system.

    You can see the prevalence of that mindset embedded in most of the pundits to this blog.

    Talking about a most private act between two consenting adults (straight or gay)should be kept private. It is MLQ3 most private right to engage in fellatio or anal sex for his and his partners pleasure. That is their personal choice.

    Men and women are free to choose too. But both also should realize that pleasure has its responsibilities and that matter is matter for schooling, training and experience that should be the basis of education.

    We still have a fairly large number of clergy of the fire and brimstone type. They continue to be the best enablers to the whole system.

    GMA is one sharp political entrepreneur. Her whole life experience is living in that world of political entreprenuership.

    Right now she is effectively and astutely isolating her most feared sector that can galvanize opposition to her politically. (The Catholic Church)

    That opposition mainly coming from the so called educated classes. Forget about the other politicos as they are part of the political entreprenurial system.

    The government announced that cash handouts to poor families will be limited to a set number of kids only. That means those families with more kids will not get full support for all their kids schooling. Support will be given for up to two or three only.

    A retroactive punishment for those with many kids.

    On the business side and this is simply a personal suggestion. Short the dollar now and if you can afford it invest in the yen and borrow against it to lend to Big Mike and GMA. Interest rates will have to rise big time to strengthen the peso to soften prices a bit.

    The U.S. government has sent out the implicit message that they will strenghten their dollar through the de facto nationalizing of the investment banking business and the mortgage business in America. Prior to this investment banking was not covered by the authority of the Federal Reserve. The Fed to prevent a systemic breakdown in the finacial markets has effectively legislated by itself new parameters of the term “banks” to include non – deposit taking institutions involved in the financial markets who were creating their own credit.

    The New New Deal.

    The U.S. government has taken a page from that “commie” President FDR.

    W. Bush described Wall Street as a bunch who got drunk and are now suffering from a hangover. John Q. Public to the rescue.

    Unfortunately the guys who got drunk live to get drunk for another day…

    Kinda reminds one of the Phils…

    “Education: the inculcation of the incomprehensible into the indifferent by the incompetent.” JM Keynes

  339. The Equalizer on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 10:55 am 

    We were already cheated in 2004.

    Are we going to allow Gloria to get away with Cha Cha and extend her reign indefinitely?

    Always Remember the Palace Spin Doctors’ Motto:

    FOOL YOU ONCE SHAME ON ME, FOOL YOU TWICE SHAME ON YOU!

  340. KG on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 4:18 pm 

    Thanks Tongue,

    OK na ako,nalala ko yung sinabi ko ke Cat,masisira lang beauty nya. Thanks for the BrodCaster navarro’s one liner…

    dati si Equalizer umaawat sa akin,uy equalizer kamusta na?

  341. TonGuE-tWisTeD on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 7:31 pm 

    hvrds,
    Paulson finally realizes an old ambition, to rule the whole investment AND retail banking system, an ambition he failed to accomplish as Goldman Sachs chair. The Glass-Steagall Act prevented it.

    In contrast to predecessor John Snow who was obssessed with China’s “unfixing” it’s currency, to the point of announcing such event when there was none, (I remember in 2005 the dollar then rose sharply within minutes of his interview only to fall back the moment he recalled the statement.) Henry or “Hank” Paulson was more accommodating with the chinks, after all, they were his major clients in the previous job, he was so close to them Beijing was second home. Bush probably considers him the goldmine from Goldman. How much does the US owe China nowadays?

    Even now that he’s running the whole show with the aid of his Republican friends, no one in Manhattan is surprised. As they say in Wall Street, “Oh, that’s very Goldman”.

  342. The Ca t on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 8:03 pm 

    You see Leytenian idea is not that bad. It is your condescending attitude of shooting down ideas of other Filipinos that bring up Filipino crab mentality.

    did you read my comment, how donations are made? yours is in agreement with mine.

    it is not in the form of donations that leytenian was thinking.

    by the way, i do not feel insecure. why should I?

    it is not the crab mentality to criticise out of this world recommendations , it is the cluelessness that i do not like.

    sheesh

  343. The Equalizer on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 9:45 pm 

    ASSUMING there will be 2010 elections,who is your favorite “Presidentiable” candidate?

  344. frombelow on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 10:43 pm 

    “ASSUMING there will be 2010 elections,who is your favorite “Presidentiable” candidate?”

    GMA, of course.

  345. frombelow on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 10:44 pm 

    Or Noli, or Bayani. Perhaps Prospero Nograles.

  346. frombelow on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 10:46 pm 

    Only fitting for this masochist society.

  347. PSI on Thu, 24th Jul 2008 11:40 pm 

    mlq3,

    This topic/thread is getting overpopulated (at almost 350 comments), pardon the simile to the current raging debate.

    But unless our gracious host opens a new thread topic, we will be impoverished from coming out with fresh ideas and quarrel in the process, just like in the real-life competition for limited resources.

    Cheers!

  348. nash on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 12:42 am 

    Signs that you’ve lost the argument

    1. Godwin’s Law

    2. Bring up that term ‘crab mentality’

    3. Bring up nationality

  349. PSI on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 12:46 am 

    The Equalizer,

    I think the ’sipag at tiyaga’ guy will be the next president:

    V – Victory
    I – Is
    L – Likely
    L – Lakas
    A – And
    R – Ramos

    Need you doubt?

  350. Bencard on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 1:02 am 

    psi, good observation. but i think leytenean will never ran out of links (regardless of relevance) or “profound” truisms that most everybody (who wasn’t born yesterday) knows already (funnyface).

  351. PSI on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 1:07 am 

    Thanks, Bencard.

    I think its also the reason why you’re hanging out at FV more often. LOL

  352. KG on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 7:56 am 

    Truism in its highest form:

    A fashion and car show called SONA.

    joking aside,it is not practical to be invited there if you have no new barong/saya and no car.
    my dad was verbally asked ang sagot nya wala syang barong na bago at wala syang kotse. Kung meron man pag dating nya dun,pawis na pawis na sya dahil sa dinami dami ng kotse dun,dagdag mo pa traffic at rally, sigurado kahit mag taxi sya one kilometer or more ang lalakarin nya.Baka mag rally pa sya(joke)

  353. d0d0ng on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 8:25 am 

    “it is not the crab mentality to criticise out of this world recommendations , it is the cluelessness that i do not like.”

    CatCat – So it is just the old habit of having a short fuse as once a Dean that spell life and death to students. Criticism is one thing, calling stupid and moron is another. And not everybody will be able to understand you, Madam.

  354. vic on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 8:31 am 

    PSI saidBut unless our gracious host opens a new thread topic, we will be impoverished from coming out with fresh ideas and quarrel in the process, just like in the real-life competition for limited resources…

    After a lot of quarrels between the Federal and the Province and just about time when our Premier is also running out of Ideas of what to do with our slowly but surely nosediving economy, the good news came in Today.

    Our Province who may lost the Status of Haves to Haves-not, because of losses of Jobs from the Big Three Auto makers, and also reeling from high energy cost, just get what the Doctor Prescribed, a $6.2 billions download from Federal Government for Infrastructure and that will create lot of jobs, jobs the Province badly needed at this time. That will hasten extension of Subway System and fixing all the crumbling bridges and highways.

    Federal representatives say the big investment will help cushion Ontario’s economic woes, and that the new cash will mean construction projects and more jobs for the struggling province.

    “At a time of economic challenge, at a time when the auto industry is problematic in Ontario … can you imagine what $7 billion will do? Seven billion (dollars) will create jobs, create projects, hire people to do these projects,” a senior federal official said yesterday.
    “It’s a major shot in the arm for Ontario,” the official said. “This government is investing what it takes.”

    Comment to above statement: Ontario is still behind $20 billions annually of what it gives than what it takes…Now if the politicians over there wanted to switch to Federalism, can one progressive Region or Province in Good times subsidize the Haves-Not, year after year after year?? This Province is just getting what its rightfully due especially at this bad economic time..It’s about time Alberta take the Lead Role, she is doing alright with all her oil sands…

    http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/466404

  355. leytenian on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 11:31 am 

    mabuti pa sa canada, always prepared.

    in my local city: a non profit economic development group are enhancing business opportunities and marketing central florida to the world to increase local employment.
    http://www.orlandoedc.com/About%20the%20EDC/index.shtml
    central florida’s industry strength:
    http://www.orlandoedc.com/Industry%20Strengths/index.shtml

    in our beloved Philippines: we have NEDA and PECD . NEDA site is down and PECD is?
    what business are we in? in our national economy and for global economy?

  356. The Equalizer on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 12:21 pm 

    (99% Based on Actual Quotes of Gloria’s Speeches)

    GLORIA’S SONA(STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS)…HOPEFULLY

    ON MAY 1 2001, THE POOR RAISED THEIR VOICES IN ANGER AND THEIR FISTS IN FURY. IMPRISONED IN POVERTY, SHACKLED TO SHAME, DENIED JUSTICE IN SOCIETY, THEY PERSONALLY DELIVERED THE MESSAGE THAT, 100 YEARS AFTER THEY REVOLTED TO ESTABLISH THIS NATION, THEY HAD YET TO PARTAKE OF THE NATIONAL DREAM.

    DINIG NA DINIG KO ANG PAHAYAG NILA, AT NAPAKUMBABA AKO. HINDI BA’T NASA BALIKAT KO ANG TUNGKULING MAMUNO SA PAKIKIBAKA LABAN SA SALOT NG KAHIRAPAN? AKO NA SIYANG ANAK NG TINAWAG NA “POOR BOY FROM LUBAO”?

    WE HAVE FAILED OUR PEOPLE!

    WHEN WE PUT OURSELVES ABOVE COUNTRY AND PROFIT ABOVE FAIRNESS;

    WHEN WE THINK THE WORST OF THOSE WITH WHOM WE SHOULD BE WORKING FOR THE COMMON GOOD.

    INDEED, WHEN WE MAKE POLITICS REPLACE PATRIOTISM IN OUR COUNTRY’S HOUR OF NEED.

    THAT SAID ,LET ME TELL YOU HOW I PERSONALLY FEEL.

    I RECOGNIZED MY LAPSES IN JUDGMENT ALL THESE SEVEN YEARS.

    I AM SORRY.

    I ALSO REGRET TAKING SO LONG TO SPEAK BEFORE YOU ON THIS MATTER.

    I TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY ACTIONS AND TO YOU AND TO ALL THOSE GOOD CITIZENS WHO MAY HAVE HAD THEIR FAITH SHAKEN BY MY ACTIONS.

    I WANT TO ASSURE YOU THAT I HAVE REDOUBLE MY EFFORTS TO SERVE THE NATION AND REGAIN YOUR TRUST AGAIN.

    MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS!

  357. UP n student on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 12:49 pm 

    President Barack Obama has started presenting victory-speeches in Europe. Maybe he will drop by Manila when President Obama makes a victory speech in Japan (either Hiroshima or Nagasaki).

  358. marichu on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 4:10 pm 

    Hey. I like what you’ve done to the place. You’ve been redesigning. Original….minimalist in color; I like the header, the caricature/ editorial cartoon. That’s your dad, right? Who are the rest of those characters, members of his cabinet? ( i don’t like the ads in the bottom half of the page though, sorry i couldnt help it haha) I visited your flickr photos; i suppose they’re a narrative of your city trips; we’ll just tell people they’re in the genre of “social realism” to explain the composition. I like the widgets of your wishlist of books; very….novel (my pun, effortful, haha) -hugsfromme, marichu

  359. marichu on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 4:25 pm 

    Ooops, not your dad; your Lolo i mean. (i added a generation to your age haha sorry) – marichu

  360. cvj on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 5:50 pm 

    I also like the redesign, it does look Quezonian.

  361. Bert on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 6:06 pm 

    overwhelming favorite si obama sa europe at mid east, sa pinas din siguro, pero hindi naman sila mga american voters. sa america llamado lang ng kunti si obama sa ngayon.

    ako, lalagay ako kay mccain, makikita ang tunay na llamado sa america pagkatapos ng september conventions, at hindi si obama iyon. palagay ko landslide ang win.

  362. leytenian on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 7:23 pm 

    love the new look of the site…

  363. The Ca t on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 8:07 pm 

    CatCat – So it is just the old habit of having a short fuse as once a Dean that spell life and death to students. Criticism is one thing, calling stupid and moron is another. And not everybody will be able to understand you, Madam.

    I have only a short fuse for people-pretending-to-know-all-by-plagiarizing-other-people’s opinion-to-hide-that-there-is-really-no-substance-in-their-brains.

    otherwise, i do not “spam’ this comment box as many times in a day refuting every opinion that is not to my liking.

    And as a dean, i had the responsibility to check whether my faculty were experts in the subjects as they claimed in their resume.

    the same is true in this comment box. As a contributor in this website for a long time now, the only thing that you could fault me is when i question the validity or reliability of statements and where the opinions are coming from.

    otherwise, i respect other people’s own opinion.

    Besides, this is not a social networking website where we are bound to be friendly and sociable,.

    i’ve been called names in the past. Did you ever raise your voice to defend a lady commenter or is it just because i am not in your GMA hater club?

    Did you ever comment when leytenian commented that i am out of her league the first few hours that she was commenting here.

    gosh. i know and i smell the all-for-one-one-for-all-just-because-we-all-hate-gloria defense for a fellow commenter.

    SHEESH.

  364. The Ca t on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 8:34 pm 

    CatCat – So it is just the old habit of having a short fuse as once a Dean that spell life and death to students. Criticism is one thing, calling stupid and moron is another.

    i do not call my students stupid or moron. Before they were admitted in the university, they have to pass a college entrance exam where only the best survive. They have to maintain their grades too or else they will be kicked out . It is the taxes of the people which pay their tution fees. No place for stupidity or no place for morons. no opportunity to use the words.

    when i wrote about force of habit of challenging the students to defend themselves, i did not say that i call them stupid. I just do not let them sit down not until they are ble to express themselves. Where did you get that idea? from leytenian? because she is really stupid. She posts out of this world recommendation. Wen criticized, instead of defending or elaborating, she resorts to ” she-is-just-insecure-so-she-shoots-my-ideas excuses.

    if it is not moronic for you, what is?

    Is this not supposed to be a venue to exchange ideas? or are we here just to shoot GMA?

  365. supremo on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 8:39 pm 

    mlq3,

    This is the reason why you don’t have a blog entry this week. Good job! I like the color scheme and the flickr site on the side. It’s also a lot more organize.

  366. frombelow on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 8:47 pm 

    “ako, lalagay ako kay mccain, makikita ang tunay na llamado sa america pagkatapos ng september conventions, at hindi si obama iyon. palagay ko landslide ang win.”- Bert

    agree. rece will count in that election. it’s a secret voting, anyway. all racial prejudices will come into play without being branded as racist. i believe that racial discrimination is alive and kicking in the us of a.

  367. UP n student on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 8:54 pm 

    The Philippines will probably complain

    The Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday that it will no longer allow residue of the toxic pesticide carbofuran on domestic or imported food . The chemical residue poses an <i.unacceptable safety risk to toddlers.

    Carbofuran is used more heavily in developing countries on crops including rice, bananas, coffee and sugar cane. The EPA had indicated earlier this year that it would not apply the ban to imported food, but yesterday it said it will.

    It’s one of the most widely used pesticides in the world.

    The Conservancy and the Natural Resources Defense Council, another environmental group, had petitioned the agency to ban carbofuran residue on food on the grounds that the neurotoxin threatens animals as well as humans. Over the past four decades, the chemical has killed millions of wild birds, including golden and bald eagles, red-tailed hawks and migratory songbirds, the groups said.

  368. The Ca t on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 10:30 pm 

    in my local city: a non profit economic development group are enhancing business opportunities and marketing central florida to the world to increase local employment.

    http://www.orlandoedc.com/About%20the%20EDC/index.shtml

    Another stupid perception and inability to distinguish what is press release and what is not. Time to introduce to another type of promotion—praise release.
    sheesh

  369. PSI on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 10:37 pm 

    Aide: Arroyo to highlight natural family planning in SONA – INQUIRER.net

    “Unmoved by calls to review her population policy, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will highlight her preference for natural family planning in her State of the Nation Address (SONA),”

    http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080725-150719/Aide-Arroyo-to-highlight-natural-family-planning-in-SONA

    Going into the last two years of her presidency, PGMA has a golden opportunity in this population management issue. That is, to take bold leadership of the country instead of simply managing the government.

    I know she’s a devout Catholic, but the economist in her should tell her of the dire consequences of overpopulation.

    This is a redeeming chance.

  370. The Equalizer on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 10:50 pm 

    Five Questions for Gloria regarding her 2008 SONA

    Answer please,President Gloria Arroyo:

    1)Better Philippines: You say that you want to leave a “better Philippines” as your legacy to the Filipino people and to your successor.Is the Philippines any better now than 7 years ago when you assumed power? What can you do in the remaining two years of your term?

    2) 2010 Plans:Your palace apologists claim that you will definitely bow out of office by 2010.Why are you rushing the merger of the Lakas and Kampi parties into a “Super Party”? Why are there hasty preparations for another Charter Change Move? Do you plan a “repeat” of your past move when you reneged on your Rizal Day promise not to run in the 2004 elections?

    3)RICE: In your first SONA speech in 2001,you promised to attain rice sufficiency via the modernization of rice production in the country. Why is the Philippines now the world’s largest rice importer despite being the home to the IRRI?

    4)Abu Sayaf:In your 2002 SONA,you proudly proclaimed “I led our soldiers in defeating the Abu Sayaf!” Compared with when you assumed office, are we more safe or less safe in Mindanao? What was the group that recently kidnapped Ces Drilon and her ABS-CBN news team?

    5) Corruption:In 2004 you declared that your administration was at war with corruption and you have made lifestyle checks a lethal weapon,and adopted procurement reforms to take the fight forward.If so,why was the ZTE-NBN deal approved without any bidding at all?What lessons do you draw from the botched ZTE deal?

  371. Bert on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 11:14 pm 

    frombelow said:

    “agree. rece will count in that election. it’s a secret voting, anyway. all racial prejudices will come into play without being branded as racist. i believe that racial discrimination is alive and kicking in the us of a.”

    true. aside from that, obama’s early life religious affiliation and activities (documented or not), which his campaign team denied, will come to fore in the heat of the homestretch campaigning, and that’s his achilles’ heel.

  372. UP n student on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 11:52 pm 

    a friend (he is black — a Vice President of a telecom company) mentions that obama’s achilles heel — Obama is a snotty snobbish preachy elitist who sees ho contradiction that while he and his household do not know Spanish, he preaches that Americans should learn Spanish (not for the Hispanics to learn English). Obama is from the ‘…you all should do what I say you should do:” school…

  373. d0d0ng on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 12:25 am 

    Madam CatCat – you were on this planet a long time before I do so you don’t need anybody least me. That also tell how opinionated and fixed minded you are as an old single lonely lady. This is not your academe anymore to call Leytenian stupid so you deserve her response. People don’t live by your rules that had aggravated you and added too many wrinkles to your face. Not to mention doing job in SF a fall from once the almighty Dean at PLM made you very irritable. Good luck to your rules if you insist.

  374. supremo on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 12:33 am 

    Obama has a chance to win but not by a landslide. Whites I know are still not sure about him. It would have been more interesting if McCain is not too old or Romney is the Republican presidential candidate.

  375. d0d0ng on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 12:41 am 

    “Did you ever raise your voice …?”
    “Did you ever comment….?”
    “Where did you get that idea?”
    “If it is not moronic for you, what is?”
    “Is this not supposed to be a venue to exchange ideas?”

    Until you call a person moron or stupid. You ask too many questions in which you can find the answer if you have patience to check your own perceptions.

  376. WAN tester on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 12:42 am 

    d0d0ng: you are now in USA…. you really should learn to write syntactically-correct Engllish.

  377. WAN tester on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 12:43 am 

    Your English, doood0ng, has a lot to be desired.

  378. The Ca t on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 1:35 am 

    you were on this planet a long time before I do so you don’t need anybody least me.

    if you can not understand what i am saying then i can include you in my list where leytenian is number one. Shall i put you in number two?

    ,

    you are as an old single lonely lady.

    Now getting personal. Hail, a knight in a shining armour defending the distressed lady who does not know the difference between a blog and a comment box.

    And the knight does not want me to correct the mistake because the lady in distress accuses me of being insecure. bwahaha

    This is not your academe anymore to call Leytenian stupid so you deserve her response.

    You are not going to like this response but an academician is always an academician. The title DEAN is lifetime privilege and the professor (who is not an instructor) is a prestigious title that even if you are no longer in the academe, you earned to be called prof and dean.

    So you attack me personally,do you now deserved to be called stupid?

    People don’t live by your rules that had aggravated you and added too many wrinkles to your face. Not to mention doing job in SF a fall from
    . Good luck to your rules if you insist.

    So you are shutting me up for disputing what i think is wrong?
    .
    let’s make this comment box a social network then. say helloo, say hi to everyone and don’t you ever comment that would make one appear like a moron.

    BTW, a deanship is not a candidacy for sainthood that one cannot bitch.

    And one does not have to be old in order to be a dean. do you know that? as long as you have the brain.

  379. The Ca t on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 1:59 am 

    or school donation: it works in my town and many more… Google search “Philippine school Donation”… if one doesn’t like to donate to their universities then one did not get my point… i’m talking about the poor… think the kamote also as for the poor. donation for education is not for the the universities… ( smiling)

    yes only the clueless would believe that you can just go to the poor schools and give your donation the way you give to your church.

    the donations are coursed thru organizations. schools, private and public can not receive direct donations for their operation. It has to be for special project. Philippine science high school set up the PSHS foundation to be able to receive donations.

    now this clueless lady suggests not donate your 20 or 30 pesos to the church but she is urging you to google how donations reach the schools. Same, same, religious or civic organizations manage the donations received.

    The same clueless lady should be informed that the non-profit organizations subsist on donations that for every dollar or peso you donate, only 30 to 40 goes to the intended recipients.

    Sheesh

  380. The Ca t on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 2:04 am 

    For American Tradition: “Although sweet potatoes may be part of the Thanksgiving tradition, be sure to add these wonderful naturally sweet vegetables to your meals throughout the year; they are some of the most nutritious vegetables around” Health benefits of sweet potato

    http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=64

    Click the link and you will see that they are copied verbatim. nilagay pa ang link. Dati hindi nilalagay ang link para masabing kanya. mwehehe.

    some folks are not familiar of organic foods.. </blockquote.

    Did someone tell you that may be you who do not know?

    Health is your only wealth

  381. Bert on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 2:07 am 

    tempers are getting hotter each day this thread goes on and on and on, i can almost imagine the smile on mlq3’s face.

  382. The Ca t on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 2:07 am 

    For American Tradition: “Although sweet potatoes may be part of the Thanksgiving tradition, be sure to add these wonderful naturally sweet vegetables to your meals throughout the year; they are some of the most nutritious vegetables around” Health benefits of sweet potato

    http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=64

    Click the link and you will see that they are copied verbatim. nilagay pa ang link. Dati hindi nilalagay ang link para masabing kanya. mwehehe.

    some folks are not familiar of organic foods.. </blockquote.

    Did someone tell you that may be it is you who do not know?

    Health is your only wealth,

    does someone in this forum not aware of this yet?

    okay folks eat camote for your good health.

  383. d0d0ng on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 2:37 am 

    Madam CatCat – There is nothing personal once you provided the information.

    I am sorry to blow your BP. It is not much to ask you to stop moron and stupid. It kills ideas.

    From my experience, there are no stupid ideas or original ideas when we are now 2008 AD, only failed ones when can no longer be applied.

  384. mindanaoan on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 3:15 am 

    the price of oil must really be so high there’s no more fuel for quality debates

  385. The Ca t on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 3:21 am 

    From my experience, there are no stupid ideas or original ideas when we are now 2008 AD, only failed ones when can no longer be applied.

    okay so shall we call it idiotic?

    If there are no morons and stupids, the words would have not been invented.

    yes there are no stupid ideas, we just call them not doable, not feasible and not viable.

    waste of time and waste of energy if we will still implement them and wait for them to fail.

    And if we are going to believe what someone writes which she copies from a publicity generated material or concepts that she googles and she barely understand sherself , what’s the use of our common sense?

    Or you do not notice at all?

  386. The Ca t on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 3:24 am 

    Dodong,

    don’t you ever read how other commenters write?

    don’t you ever wonder why I do not criticize them?

    Because my boy, it is their opinion, not some googled opinions or statements of other people.

  387. Bencard on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 3:52 am 

    mindanoan, the price of oil in the international market has droped dramatically to $128.89 and pump prices could drop to less that $4/gallon by thansgiving day. it’s now $4 average. as demand weakens, supply increases, and the price decreases. it’s not about regulations or e-vat or “corruption”.as those pathetic demonstrators are crowing about.

  388. grd on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 4:07 am 

    bencard, i think mindanoan is referring to mlq3’s blog. it’s been 10 days and no new entry yet.

    meantime, i’m entertained by the knight trying to fight the queen… no doubt about the outcome. :)

  389. leytenian on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 4:36 am 

    Obama…
    History shows that the Ku Klux Klan was the terrorist arm of the Democrat Party. Some books also demonstrated that KKK may have founded the democratic party…

    I know some few black professionals who will not be voting for Obama. These few have sensed conspiracy…. It’s interesting.

  390. WAN tester on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 5:56 am 

    Obama’s prayer:

    “Lord — Protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will,” reads the note published in Maariv.

    No prayer for world peace and brotherhood among men of different religion (including atheists)?

  391. d0d0ng on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 5:59 am 

    “If there are no morons and stupids, the words would have not been invented.”

    In the same way that old, lonely, single, opinionated, fixed minded and irritable would serve the same purpose and how you feel about those words. You can’t be throwing scathing comments and expect yourself not subjected in similar fashion no matter how high you regard yourself.

    “And if we are going to believe what someone writes which she copies from a publicity generated material or concepts that she googles and she barely understand herself , what’s the use of our common sense?”

    That is exactly where common sense applies – I don’t have to believe on anything written or said regardless the source. Refute if you must without the arrogance.

    “don’t you ever wonder why I do not criticize them?
    Because my boy, it is their opinion, not some googled opinions or statements of other people.”

    You have fixations on opinions. We are generation apart. I welcome information regardless the format as in business, opinions are not always that important.

  392. WAN tester on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 6:25 am 

    d00d0ng: Aba, you are anti-old pala. Siguro, anti-gay ka din.

  393. The Ca t on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 7:04 am 

    You have fixations on opinions.

    hindi mo rin naiintindihan ang sinasabi ko. wala akong pakialam sa opinion ng ibang tao, ang pinakikialaman ko ay yong mga opinion na kunwari kanila pero hindi naman.

    Pag hindi mo pa rin hindi naintindihan. number one ka na sa listahan ko.

    Ayaw ko ng paulit-ulit na sasabihin ko.

    Kung gusto ang tag team, sige ubusin mo ang oras mo nnag kadedepensa a kaibigan. birds of the same feather are the same birds.

    ako opinion lang ang binira ko, ikaw personal na. Sinong pikon?

    gusto mong pahiramin kita ng kaunting utak para maintihan mo ang sinasabi ko?

    I bet hindi nagkakalayo ang IQ ninyo ni L.
    bwahaha .

  394. wan tester on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 7:28 am 

    you need some wild sex the cat. swallow IT and admit your mistakes.

  395. The Ca t on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 7:42 am 

    d00d0ng: Aba, you are anti-old pala. Siguro, anti-gay ka din.

    i do not know what have age and status to do when engaging in a debate. i could have used that and say, papunta pa lang kayo, pauwi na ako, hindi lang tayo nagkasalubong kasi ako sa daan ako lumakad, kayo sa kanal o kaya marami pa kayong kakaining bigas kaya lang mahal na bigas ngayon kaya malayo pa kayong nakahabol sa experience ko. bohooohohoo. .

    sadly, instead of responding to my criticisms in order to disprove that my observation is correct, the two opted to attack me personally.

    Ako single? hahaha

  396. d0d0ng on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 7:44 am 

    Madam CatCat –
    pakilagay na lang po sa uno at low IQ…
    cige na po, masama po sa alta presyon niyo. :)

  397. WAN tester on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 9:21 am 

    d00d0ng: Kailangang mag-ingles ka pa para makapag-practice. Kapos na kapos ang ingles mo, mahihirapan kang umasenso.

    Pero huwag ako ang paniwalaan mo, itanong mo sa boss mo whether or not you have deficiencies with the English language.

  398. KG on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 9:23 am 

    For someone with experience in debating with the Cat at napagsabihan pa ng pataasan ng ihi ni TDC, taga de cebu or tag akotta de cebu or his current alias since starting to blog, the equalizer.

    Yung nga matino pa yung usapan namin nun nasabihan na kami ng pataasan ng ihi eh and that is proof that it is not a gma anti gma thing,but something else.

    let us look at the nashman’s enumeration:
    What was that Godwyn’s law?

    short of mentioning nazi or hitler or comparing apples and oranges I don’t know what the hell that means

    crab mentality and nationalism: how can we do that.,sino ba ang nasa taas na gusto nating hilain pababa, bakit me nasa baba o taas ba?
    panaty pantay tayo dito.
    pag nagresign ka sa isang kumpanya,you call your boss by their first name lalo na pag mas bata sa iyo di ba?

    pag nag aral ka me kakalse ka na ceo at medyo sikat,sa simula maintimidate ka,but when you get the hang of it,kakausapin mo sya na parang kapitbahay mo lang.

    so kahit totoong pangalan makita natin tulad ng Ruffy biazon o Manolo Quezon, pag dating dito pantay pantay tayo.
    just look at my narrative above about ambeth ocampo.
    nalimutan ng isang student nya na binigay nya ang url ng blog nya sa professor nya way back,kaya ng dinalaw nya yung blog,di clear kung ginamit nya tooong pangalan o alias nya, pero di ko alm kung me deathwish yung student,kung totoong pangalan ang ginamit,because they ganged up on him. dahil sa opinion ko instinct natin pantay pantay tayo dito sa blogosphere.

    I reiterate my point to the Cat; that my opinion is you have made your point,kung wala makakuha sa point mo, that is no longer your problem.

  399. KG on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 9:49 am 

    narratives based on memory may lead to distortion of information..

    so here is the URL of Ambeth Ocampo’s Blog Expereience.

    medyo mali ang ibang naalala ko.

    http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=88019

  400. WAN tester on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 10:07 am 

    d00d0ng: But if you are hesitant to ask your boss for feedback, another quick test is to watch your officemates when you are chatting with them or when you are making presentations. If they kind of look down as you speak, that’s probably a sign you’ve made a grammatical error they’d rather not comment on.

    Or, as your wife. The female usually has the better gift-of-tongue.

  401. KG on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 10:12 am 

    Speaking of memory.

    based on past comments I believe Cat is no longer on the west Coast,because on direct conversations with .her she made mention of the East Coast when talking of such a trivial topic as tingi tingi and buy supersize;kung winter nga naman di epektib yung tingi tingi.

    When we were talking about call centers again, the configuration of her home sa east coast was made mention ;that the garage is far from the house,kaya the troubleshooting probing questions of the csr is way of the mark.

    and on one thing that is personal, but she made mention of it as well,on her travels to mindanao(artifacts yata ang topic nun) she said that she was with her mother in law, so in defense of the cat she is not single.

    and PLM is off themark as well,because she made mention na it is outside metro manila.

    wala lang.

  402. hvrds on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 10:52 am 

    One of the most shocking and distressing things I have noticed about the debate on managing population is the utter manipulation of the news media on the issue.

    They have been playing up the issue of scarcity and the direct effect of population on scarcity.

    The whole debate missed out on the most important irreconcilable contradiction between The Church’s view of the human person and the utter confusion of the supposed faithful in this country.

    The entire argument of the Chruch is based on the ideal and principle that the urge to have sex must be controlled as this must be done with one end in mind and not trivialized as simply a recreational activity. However the Church has evovled as to the issue of having sexual pleasure between married couples as part of the expressions of sharing love with both partners willingly and freely acting.

    Issues of women having the right to say no to their husband are issues relating to politics, economics and societal norms. Marital rape is common. .

    I disagree with the Chruch’s stand on gay partnerships as two people can willingly decide to spend their lives together sharing themselves if that is their inclination and choice. But the same rule applies to their private sex lives.

    If they want to triviliaze their bodies then they are free to do so but it would probably demean their person.

    As to the issue of planning for kids, the Church will never agree to artifical means as these means tend to trivilize the very act that the Church has raised to a level of marital love. An act of total giving of oneself to each other.

    The natural method has its detractors and supporters in the scientific community. However in open competition in the market place there are no vested interests in peddling the natural method. It is also unfortunate that media plays up the more strident shallow voices on both sides as it helps sell the news.

    Pharmaceutical companies have large budgets to sustain marketing techniques to dwarf any attempt by anyone to push the natural methods. Halos libre kasi after simple visists to one’s gynecologists who can teach this method to both partners as both have to be involved.

    If one were to browse amongst columnists and editorials in papers one can see the almost universal condemnation of the Chruch’s position most especially based on Pop Paul’s VI encyclical, “Human Vitae.”

    The papers should have published the entire English version of that Encyclical. It is compelling and clearly lays out the Chruch’s moral position.

    That issue on a moral basis should be addressed to our lawmakers. Cultural norms evovle. But the ideals of the views of the human person must be grounded on very deep foundations.

    If we would want to trivialize and dehumanize sexual activity then we can start to talk about sexual activities just like we talk about sports and other recreational activities.

    Then we can ask the sponsors of the bills on population management through contraception to legalize sexual activities for hire and commoditize it and let free markets operate. Legalize pornography as it can very well create new revenue streams for the state.

    Even in more advanced societies where all sorts of contraceptives are available abortions are rampant.

    It is like simply going to the beauty parlor.

    When Martin Luther King went to Tennessee to support the striking garbage men where he was shot, the slogan on the signs of the strikers was simple. “We are human beings” The reminders of slavery all to well embeded in the black man’s struggle for freedom.

    If we want to make secularism a way of life or prefer to become disciples of agnosticism like all the almost all so called equilbirium scientists who drum up studies to prove that the numbers of human lives must be controlled while the means to life should not be managed for the common good but left to natural selection then that is another matter altogether.

    Porn on the internet is freely available in the Phils. As the head of the MTCRB goes after the more visible medium the wide open web is available to everyone at any age level.

  403. WAN tester on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 11:21 am 

    As hvrds says, porn on the internet is freely available in the Philippines. GMA can quite easily implement a security envelope around the Internet that Pinas citizens see using 3 routers and special-purpose programs and tables. She can also then direct that these programs be used to monitor for anti-GMA blogtalk.

  404. mindanaoan on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 12:48 pm 

    you need 3 routers and special-purpose programs and tables to monitor blogtalk?

  405. KG on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 1:15 pm 

    http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.htm

    Humanae Vitaein english.
    maikli lng naman eh, compared sa centissimus annus ni Pope John Paul II.
    pwede itong magkasya sa isang column sa newspaper,or one page ad.

  406. KG on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 1:24 pm 

    chineck ko kulang ng l sa dulo ang url; it should be html instead of htm.

    and medyo di magkakasya sa isang column pala pero one page ad pwede,if gagastusan.

  407. hvrds on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 1:46 pm 

    I wonder why those neo-cutltists at the Opus Dei do not put their money where their mouth is and defend the position of the Chruch in all forms of media and take on the vested interests that are pushing the commercial aspects of the sex as recreation idea and the womens rights groups who are demanding equal rights for women in unequal rights marriages.

    Look at that prayer rally asking God to enlighten people.

    People react only to pain and not to light and that is why they will look for scapegoats when crisis time comes.

  408. KG on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 1:49 pm 

    And so if she monitors,if you mean send iSAFP to your door steps,I stilll remember what they did to my cousin ok lang pinakawalan naman nila eh.

    ISAFP monitor this.
    check on the feud of Jes Dureza and Dirty Harry in Davao,and find out how secrets are already open and you are the last to know.

  409. PSI on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 4:12 pm 

    In the ‘pro-life’ rally held in UST, boxing-champ Manny Pacquiao obliged his bodyguard Lito Atienza by shouting “kung nag-kontrol ang manga magulang ko, wala sanang Manny Pacquio” to the great delight of the crowd.

    Yes. But for one-in-a-million, outstandingly-talented Pacquiao, there will be tens of millions forever who will be forever marginalized and mired in poverty, because society failed to ensure that there will enough of the ‘other’ basics of food, clothing, shelter beyond the ‘most’ basic of pro-creation.

    Freud once stated “Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness.” No work, no love.

    I said earlier, truth must be subjected to a reality check.

  410. anthony scalia on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 4:45 pm 

    “Signs that you’ve lost the argument

    1. Godwin’s Law

    2. Bring up that term ‘crab mentality’

    3. Bring up nationality”

    yehey i haven’t lost an argument yet!

  411. KG on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 5:00 pm 

    Wan Tester is a joker.

    we still live in a hush hush world,no matter how many newspapers ,tabloids,blogs,websites there will be.

    i can name just a few whatever you call them; security lapses intentional or not.

    Ka Roger Rosal attending a funeral wake inside a military camp.
    Gringo Honasan at the height of his being a fugitive ,attending a wedding also in a militray camp.
    The Ram meeting a few steps away from the quarters of the AFP chief of staff.

    If you are a netwrok administrator from of of the isps or telecoms,I suggest you visit ping lacson’s blog and apply as a witness for the ZTE Broadband hearing,kaya lang malapit na matapos committee report,sa ibang hearing na lang.
    .
    I guess you arenot, because the specs you gave us is only good for the use of a single company, with knowing how messy our government network and procurement system is,good luck to that project.
    .
    You are reading to many Ludlum novels.

  412. Pumpy on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 7:15 pm 

    Given the possibility of peak oil, railway systems will be critical.

    To know more about peak oil, watch this documentary:

    http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/special_eds/20060710/

    Read this primer:

    http://energybulletin.net/primer.php

    And try this latest article about the issue:

    http://www.aspo-usa.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=415&Itemid=91

  413. Pumpy on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 7:20 pm 

    Also, it’s possible that other products will peak. For one interesting lecture about this issue, view:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5iFESMAU58

    or

    http://www.guba.com/watch/3000053112

    Also, try

    http://globalpublicmedia.com/dr_albert_bartlett_arithmetic_population_and_energy

  414. WAN tester on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 7:21 pm 

    ay, nako, nabisto ako ni KG!!!

  415. PSI on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 7:27 pm 

    The bishops and politicans are taking a lackadaisical stand on this population control issue. I can understand why: their whole relevance to Filipino society is at stake. Survival instincts, naturally.

    But we, the middle classes who stayed behind should stand up. After all we will be paying, through our tax pesos, most of the subsidies and support for the programs to mitigate the effects of overpopulation.

    Not the Philippine catholic church and the overseas foreign workers (who are not taxed) nor the B.S. politicans (who are used to squandering our tax money anyway).

    As what the child in a famous fairy tale did, we should say if the empress, the holy men, and the solons ‘have no clothes.’

    Please don’t have doubts on this.

  416. WAN tester on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 7:31 pm 

    ang monitor nga pala : a student appointed to assist a teacher

  417. nash on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 8:00 pm 

    How Ironic naman that an economist like C at is so dismissive of nursery analysis.

    Economics after all is an exact and accurate science and economists are always correct 98.7% of the time.

    meow…

  418. UP n student on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 9:29 pm 

    to PSI: One of the reasons that the Vatican and the CBCP strongly resist calls for church acceptance of sex education (and condoms/others for HIV/AIDS and parents’ spacing the children)– bunker-mentality. The issue energizes the diehards (both young and old). The sex-Ed/birth-control issue strengthens the solidarity among the anti-birth-control proponents and deepen their commitment to their religion. So the diehards preach — “Do not tell me what I should do!!! Do not tell me what I should believe about my religion!!!” — while they tell the rest of the population what they should do and how they should behave.

    And what does the Vatican feel about the rest of their flock? The Vatican already knows that parents (who can afford it, i.e. USA, Europe, Australia, the middle-class and richer) are taking action alrleady (pills, condoms, IUD’s) but they — these Catholic parents — still go to church and do their regular tithing. The loss to the Vatican — not much.

    The poor… they still go to church, too.

  419. The Ca t on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 9:35 pm 

    kg,
    thanks.
    though the information about me are not exactly accurate, i would not bother correcting them. Personal data such as age, status, social life, lifestyle, gender orientation are not relevant in a forum discussion.

  420. UP n student on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 9:39 pm 

    The key to bringing better — better information to the poor, better services (on how to space the children; on how to prevent the spread HIV/AIDS) — will be our lawmakers.

    And for such educated-kuno and thinking-of-the-greater-good-of-the-citizens-kuno, Pinas lawmakers are spineless scared stooopid. I guess it is because in the privacy of their bedrooms, they are okay.

  421. UP n student on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 9:41 pm 

    to the Ca t: d00d0ng (three kids) and you should be within 6 years plus-or-minus in age….. that’s my guess.

  422. The Ca t on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 9:53 pm 

    How Ironic naman that an economist like C at is so dismissive of nursery analysis.

    some of her analyses are not about economics. errmm correction…
    except for recommendations about planting camote and the coordination of Dept. of agri with Dept. of edu (maybe to incorporate planting camotes in the curricular programs) to improve the nation’s economy.

    Oh and she reminded that health is wealth and camote or sweet potato is good for one’s health. bwahaha.

    her nursery analysis of absence of management in the Philippines just because i mentioned of dearth of indigenous materials on management cases in the grad school is classic

    The Management Association of the Philippines may like to invite this clueless woman as their special guest for their dart practice.

  423. leytenian on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 10:22 pm 

    ” But we, the middle classes who stayed behind should stand up”
    unfortunately, the middle class is a minority in numbers.

    good news : LGu’s are encouraged to enforce its local agricultural zoning or if none , to create their own for food security…
    http://www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4375&Itemid=105

    the demand of rice and it’s high prices can be supplemented by eating kamote. saksak is back for the hungry unemployed filipino.

  424. leytenian on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 10:56 pm 

    Republic Act 8435 is a complete failure under Arroyo’s government policy even in the field of stabilizing prices in the market.
    Scientist say, it will take 3 years for our country to attain self sufficiency…. The short cut to 3 years is kamote, saksak and other alternatives… and my favorite-victoria gardens.

    The promotion of hybrid rice has largely been hampered by the absence of training and know-how supports to farmers and inefficient distribution policies. ( lacking skills and management experience)…

  425. PSI on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 11:00 pm 

    The Opus Dei couldn’t care less in the birth control debate. They practice truly spartan lives including real abstinence from sex, which is to be desired from the priests.

    But the neo-cult which has been profiting from the misery of the poor is the El Shaddai. This guy Velarde is even worse than bishops. He combines Bible readings with voodoo to hoodwink the Les Miserables.

  426. cvj on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 11:15 pm 

    PSI, the Opus Dei who are married have lots of children, but they tend to be richer.

  427. leytenian on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 11:24 pm 

    I did take sex education class in my highschool ( private school ) The church did not intervene to stop it. During PTA/Teachers meeting, sex education was also addressed.

    In public schools?
    “The council was created on April 30, 2004, by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo under Executive Order No. 314.”

    hanggang ngayon wala pa ba ma implement? http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080331-127531/DepEd-set-to-launch-sex-education-in-public-schools

    our population problem is already in existence. sex education classes is an alternative long term solution. if the 2004 program was implemented sooner without delay, it will matter. the consequence of hunger is our current problem now.

  428. PSI on Sat, 26th Jul 2008 11:44 pm 

    Leytenian, I remember one practical gem while I was in the United States. Public high schools in New York city have this to say:

    “if you can’t be good, at least be careful.”

    Condoms and birth control pills are tthen made available.

    You see, whatever one says, the young and the restless must be taught sex education. These are different times calling for different approaches.

    How often do the youth get to listen to a priest., if at all. Maybe once a week, during Sunday mass. Meanwhile, they are on the internet 24/7/365 and God knows what evil they see, hear, and speak of.

    That is not encouraging promiscuity. That is preventing unintended consequences.

  429. leytenian on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 12:10 am 

    i think the process of careful implementation and timing is crucial. I am trained to implement within 6 months not years… backward pa rin ang pinas…

    When I was in elementary school, we have planted repolyo, petchay , kamatis, talong at iba pang gulay sa school garden namin. outside the school, small vendors are selling kamote cue, banana cue and coco juice or mango ice candy…

    the training and learning the habit of doing was the best education…
    that skills can be applied daily and is transferable to any other problem-solving scenario.

    I went home last year, I asked my mother if we can have kamote cue or banana cue for snacks. She said,,, sa goldilocks na lang daw kasi masarap doon…geeh.. I don’t like high calory food from goldilocks . So i was forced to go to the palengke… to my surprise.. konti lang ang kamote- mahal pa… ang saging…ganun rin… worst is the fish… mas mahal pa sa maynila… what’s wrong with my congressman… lol

  430. leytenian on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 12:19 am 

    another story: my ex highschool BF always asked me about my monthly period… i said.. it’s coming.. lol

    the total hours of sex education class was 2-3 hours during my third year. It was taught at the beginning of the school year. it’s not like an everyday thing for highschool students.

    PSI , sorry to say.. I hate condoms… lol .

  431. PSI on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 12:24 am 

    Sex education for the Filipino youth is especially important in the light of the pervading dysfunctional OFW family, where at least one parent is away as worker-migrant.

    The teens will need guidance in this critical stage of their lives.

  432. leytenian on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 12:30 am 

    in the US.. small franchise business such as chik-fil-a, burger king, and macdonalds .. etc provide coupons to students. Some small town in florida.. offers one dollar for a burger every wednesday. My point: the collective efforts in times of crisis has been implemented.

    recently, a friend bought a new home with 1 year supply of gas. other auto dealers are marketing the same just to move their inventories…. these business people will not wait for things to happen. putting this concept to Philippines national economy…. it will help. it’s the small ripple effect that will matter.

  433. magdiwang on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 12:56 am 

    I just had a glimpse of Mr Quezon in his TV program the explainer about railroads and trains. It is refreshing to see people talking about infrastucture in nation building without politics involve.

    There are a lot of individuals in our country who just want to move on the right direction come hell or high water. They probably came to the conclusion that these projects are so vital to our country that derailing them will come at a steep price in our development. The goals of the apolitical rail enthusiasist is to let the system do the due dilligence with regards to alleged corruption but not lose sight of the more pressing need for these important infrastuctures.

    Thanks Manolo for giving voice to the less known groups who work hard in the background giving time and much effort for a better Philippines.

  434. Bencard on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 2:17 am 

    magdiwang, i saw part of it too and i was inspired. i think i’m going to join the group and see what i can do to contribute.

    i couldn’t agree with you more about our need to move on the right direction, and discard that brand of politics that sets as back to the proverbial end of the food chain.

    a case in point is one korina sanchez of abs-cbn in another show called “harapan”. i understand the woman is a first lady wannabee for mar roxas. i’m not sure if she was just playing the devils advocate but her presccription is to gut the whole northrail project altogether on the simplistic reason that we are paying 1 million pesos a day (roughly $20,000) interest on the amount that was borrowed. for heaven sake, we are talking about a project that would benefit an entire nation of 90,000 million people. what does she want? interest-free loan? what vacuity! even an average homeowner has to pay mortgage on her home, some in amounts that is already a fortune to the average joe blow. she should be thankful that anyone would lend us the needed funding despite ourselves.

  435. Bencard on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 2:45 am 

    the cat, talking about “nursery analysis”, i must compliment the lady for dogged persistence. it seems she’s impervious to derisions. i don’t know if she’s doing it deliberately to rile the rest of us.

    she reminds me of a classmate in first year high school who keeps raising her hand whenever the teacher asked a question. her answer was almost always off-the mark but she persisted anyway. i heard she managed to become a small-town politico – a councilor or something.

  436. magdiwang on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 3:00 am 

    Our politicians has the propensity to move ideas that will serve them on election time. I find it self serving to the detriment of the nation.

    The government single minded political will to go ahead despite protestations with regards to SCTEX, NAIA T3, North-SouthRail, nautical highway, STAR tollway, C-5 extension, NLEX, SLEX, nationwide airport upgrading , MRT, Cavite coastal extension, DMIA, Pasig River ferry will eventually make a big difference to the lives of many people.

    Do you go ahead or axe all these worthwhile projects because of the fear of corruption? The filipino nation eventually will be the only one who can decide as corruption is endemic and systemwide with no easy solutions.

  437. cvj on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 3:20 am 

    Magdiwang (at 3:00 am), if you don’t mind breaking world records in building the most expensive infrastructure in terms of unit costs, then your recommendation is ok. But how sustainable is completing one infrastructure project for the price of two (or more)?

  438. magdiwang on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 3:59 am 

    cvj, fair enough……but why dont they present a credible proof on their accusations. the critics are good at the art of muddling the issues but when confronted with judicous scrutiny they back out claiming that the process is unfair. they should either put up ot shut up, they cant have it both ways. dont you agree?

  439. leytenian on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 4:19 am 

    and the time of implementation is very slow. interest payment is not OK unless there were obvious implementation such as for example: clearing the way for constructions and prevention of thief to “rails”
    Since contract inception, I believe the Northrail project has no full support in terms of gathering the data on the first place. It was planned by very few people without proer advice from the experts.

    I do want this project to continue, there’s lots of advantages for our national economy if done right. The delay has made the public vulnerable to question credibility, quality , time and price. I believe all of GMA’s agenda delay and failure… will become the basis of moving forward to proper implementation of plan and may not be started under her administration. Some will use this project to win the election and some will use it for profit.

  440. UP n student on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 4:28 am 

    magdiwang, surely you know you have already lost the argument. Seven or ten more sentences, then you will hear this one:

    how can you defend this administration which, we all know, is defined by one and only one thing —- GMA and “garci”?

  441. leytenian on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 4:28 am 

    the proof is on the paper trail… the interest payment of $ 400,000 /month for the past 3 years. this is what happen if we do business with companies with no solid presentation of plan from the very beginning. Follow up of the project was never done… This is a big project that requires phone calls daily on “what’s up” when are you going to start? what do we need to do to prevent delay? can we do this together? wat happen in between 2004 up to the present. Nothing has been done in terms of cost savings.

    “This project is a burden to the people. The $400,000 monthly interest that the government is now compelled to pay can be used for subsidies and other projects for the poor and marginalized. Terminate this project now so we can be spared from the burden of paying for the kickbacks and anomalies that have long surrounded this project.” said Maza.”

    http://gabrielanews.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/northrail-project-is-a-burden-to-the-people-maza/

  442. nash on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 5:18 am 

    “Oh and she reminded that health is wealth and camote or sweet potato is good for one’s health. bwahaha.”

    Oh, ano naman ang mali at nakakatawa doon? Kaya naman siguro there is no Nobel prize given for economics.

  443. magdiwang on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 5:21 am 

    UP n, ha ha ha….at least you pre-empted them. There are very crucial issues confronting our country and they are much bigger than GMA and Garci. Our homeland is too precious to be held hostage by a single contentious issue.

    If we dont do our act together we will be surely lose our momentum economically. The current administration have made economic gains no matter how you spin it to the contrary. This can be use to propel us to the next level. It does not mean that we have to look the other way on the shenanigans. We should do responsible due diligence by advocating change but without rocking the boat too much where everyone drowns with no winners.

  444. nash on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 5:31 am 

    @ PSI

    “this guy Velarde is even worse than bishops. He combines Bible readings with voodoo to hoodwink the Les Miserables”

    At least naman si Mang Velarde does not claim to have healing powers unlike that charlatan Fr. Suarez who explicitly claims he has supernatural curing powers.

  445. KG on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 7:05 am 

    You are welcome, the Cat !

  446. UP n student on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 7:58 am 

    magdiwang: another very important issue — separatism in Mindanao (and maybe to include Palawan????) — is being ignored by supposedly nationalist Filipinos, again because of this “… but GMA is an illegitimate President”.

    Or maybe some use that — GMA illegitimate — as their cover because they favor Muslim separatists.

  447. UP n student on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 8:03 am 

    A few Filipinos exaggerate the military strength of the MILF (and exaggerate the weaknesses of the Philippine military command/control abilities and the fighting abilities of Filipino army/marines) and I think a reason is to give this aura of inevitability to negotiations with the MILF thugs.

    In contrast, China reportedly exaggerates the strength of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (an underground separatist organization in western China) so that China can maintain tighter control (news blackouts/other censorship, curfews, etc) in the area.

  448. UP n student on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 8:10 am 

    And I repeat…. I am utterly disappointed that the Inquirer and other newspapers do not cite acts of heroism and bravery by Filipino soldiers who have died against the MILF and the NPA. I do not buy the argument that all Filipino soldiers are cowardly or incompetent or are good only to be mercenaries for the United nations.

  449. KG on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 8:24 am 

    WanTester,

    tinetesting ko lang kung ano ba talaga ang tinatawag nilang godwyn’s law.
    sigurado ako di ako sablay sa pag ka joker mo,nakakatuwa ka nga eh.

    ilang bit error rate na ang lumalabas sa wantester mo.

    yung tukayo mo na si tester mali ang obserbasyon ke benigs,taga new zealand daw;taga australia sya eh.

    hanggang sa muli.

    but the godwyn’s law is supposed to be the show stopper
    or the conversation stopper,we have not reached that yet.
    hanggang di pa pudpod mga daliri natin, the godwyn’s law does not apply.

  450. KG on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 8:41 am 

    UPN,

    being a milittary brat with friends who died in mindanao, I am with you on that.

    Dati nga itong si moin tulfo pagtapos pagsasabihing tanga yung mga pinugutang marinesnuong 1993 tinawagan ko eh. it was not aired pero sinabihan ko gago ka pala eh,sinabihan lang ako na naintindihan kita anak din ako ng nasa serbisyo,e kung ganyan ka sinong maniniwala sa iyo sabi ko.

    itong si korina sanchez naman,me binasang report sa kapwa ko military brat na babae na naaksidente ,siguradong pang ratings din ang report,tinawagan din namin kung anu ano kasi ang pinagsasabi,all we got was I’m sorry.,no wonder she got suspended when lambasting a pnp chief on air .

  451. UP n student on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 10:42 am 

    KG: siguro nga, pang ratings. Pero wala ba silang respeto sa sarili nila? Many in the media are the worst practitioners of this thing we call “crab mentality”, and the cancer they spread is lack of respect for the Filipino. Iyong ikinuwento mo tungkol kay Tulfo. Without any facts, without any witnesses to his claim, itinuloy pa rin niya na insultuhin at sirain iyong repyutasyon ng mga marines. Hindi iyan marines ng singapore; hindi iyan marines ng Zimbabwe. Ang ininsulto niya, Pilipino.

  452. cvj on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 11:14 am 

    Magdiwang, your statement….

    It does not mean that we have to look the other way on the shenanigans. – magdiwang July 27th, 2008 at 5:21 am

    …is a case of doublespeak given your previous statement….

    …Do you go ahead or axe all these worthwhile projects because of the fear of corruption? The filipino nation eventually will be the only one who can decide as corruption is endemic and systemwide with no easy solutions. – magdiwang July 27th, 2008 at 3:00 am

    In effect, you are asking us to ignore the signs of endemic corruption in these infrastructure projects in favor of some future benefit to the public. How can what you say be interpreted otherwise?

    This approach of allowing anomalous infrastructure projects to proceed is the reason why we have accumulated a large foreign debt burden with no corresponding gains to the show for it. That’s the price of expediency. As to your fear of the consequences of rocking the boat, remember that the passengers of Sulpicio did not rock the boat, but it capsized anyway.

  453. mindanaoan on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 11:23 am 

    when reporting about the moro conflict, reporters still equivocate, using mindanao to mean the conflict areas and a while later, the island itself. can’t they really get it straight?

  454. vic on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 12:14 pm 

    Upn, I have the greatest respect for the Philippines Marine as symbolize by my best friend, Tom.

    Tom immigrated in l990 with his parents after serving the Marines for 7 years, mostly slogging it in Basilan and Sulu. He’s Big, and strong and steadfast…during one summer years ago, I noticed a tattoo in his forearms that State: God save me or something to that effect and I asked him what’s the Marine Slogan, he told me “First to Fight”, but he said he believes, only devine intervention saved his life when during one of his patrols leading the squad, a grenade launced by enemy fire landed just a very short distance in front of him, he alone took the shrapnels…he lost one testicle, most of his large intestine and the next time he found himself in hospital after few days coming out of coma. He was hospitalized for so long that he had a baby boy with his nurse, but fate didn’t work out for them, they are both happilly married to different individuals..He earned a Purple Heart for that heroism and still doing lot of heroics here, that even without a degree or college education, he has attained a mid-level management position in his work. His eldest daughter is my Goddaughter… The Marines have many Unsung Heroes, fighting battles after battles with valour and bravery that are never appreciated by many..

  455. UP n student on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 12:42 pm 

    cvj: many countries (to include all the countries you hold in high esteem like South Korea, Taiwan, Mao’s China, Venezuela) let projects to proceed even if there is suspicion of embedded corruption. There is a very simple reason why this is so.

  456. cvj on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 1:00 pm 

    UPn, i’m sure that even with maximum public vigilance, we cannot totally eliminate corruption. However, think of it as a tug of war where public vigilance is needed to keep matters from completely deteriorating where most of the foreign loan proceeds get stashed away in foreign banks.

    Even in South Korea, once found out, the culprits have enough sense of self-respect to jump off buildings. Even in China, from time to time, they shoot corrupt officials in the back of the head. We similarly have to do our part to keep the corrupt on their toes. We wouldn’t want to make it too easy for them or they might get bored and look for other bigger scams to pull off, do we?

  457. KG on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 6:13 pm 

    Pwede kaya mangyari in the future Sonas: na dito napunta ang budget na nakalaan para sa edukasyon,blah,blah,blah
    dito napunta ang porkbarrrel na nakaallocate kay congressman or senator ganito.

    I think it was Nash who asked about a yearend report aboit the budget,kundi year end mid year report dahil mid year ang sona.

    siguro fair enough ito hingin sa future presidents o kahit sa president ngayonj

  458. KG on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 6:26 pm 

    What I mean is figures,exact figures.pwede kaya ito?
    Pati na din yung sinasabi ni cvj na foreign loan; we all know figures are boring, pero naghahanap din naman tayo ng transparency di ba?so instead of saying na di totoo yan niloloko nyo lang kami,pakita sila ng figures at pictures, we are not asking them to show us all their bank books or passbooks, just a transparent show and tell.

    di yung babanggitin yung bayan ni ganito, nasaan sya (congressman)palakpakan naman natin.

  459. leytenian on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 7:44 pm 

    “Clearly, this is Mrs. Arroyo’s own FrancSwiss scam. While we are fixated with apprehending those responsible for the FrancSwiss swindle, We, particularly, the new Congress must also put a stop to the pyramiding scam that is the Arroyo government’s flawed debt management strategy which continues to deceive the Filipino people,” Nemenzo said. ”

    http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/07/362528.shtml

  460. PSI on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 9:01 pm 

    KG,

    During her penultimate SONA, President Arroyo would receive a good round of applause if she makes a statement to the effect that she would ensure a smooth transition of power in 2010.

    The demonstrators and rallyists outside Batasan might also be pacified. Also happy will be presidential wannabes who will wear their nice barongs and big smiles.

    Of course with such a statement, there would be winners and whiners.

    Sad will be cabinet members (especially in franchise-granting and money machine departments like DOTC, NTC, BOC, PAGCOR), governors, and last-termer congressmen desiring of a constitutional change so that they could be in positions of power longer.

    These people would sigh ‘wala namang iwanan.’

    Then you would have a good conspiracy plot for cha-cha, martial law, ‘coup me’, etc. Oh well.

  461. UP n student on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 9:12 pm 

    leytenian: from the accounting/finance classes you’ve attended, would you label “.. a pyramiding scam” the debt-management techniques applied by Malacanang?

  462. anthony scalia on Sun, 27th Jul 2008 11:12 pm 

    nash, there is a Nobel prize for economics

  463. The Ca t on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 1:07 am 

    What I mean is figures,exact figures.pwede kaya ito?

    it is possible that they can publish the total project cost or the statement of cost and expenses of a department.

    It is the verification whether the total amount that goes to the different accounts is not bloated or windowdressed.

    Volumes of documents are used to support each transaction. Can the layperson who peruses the statements ask for these documents?

    And if they can, which documents are they going to ask.
    Auditors merely used sampling to be able to certify or express an opinion about the financial condition of an organization or an agency.

    And if there is overpricing, well they have the time and resources to canvas other suppliers to compare the prices and dig deeper why the bid was approved?

    Who is going to conduct the investigation. Congress? Senate? All investigations so far are merely for grandstanding of these elective officials. Papogi.

  464. The Ca t on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 1:15 am 

    leytenian: from the accounting/finance classes you’ve attended, would you label “.. a pyramiding scam” the debt-management techniques applied by Malacanang?

    Upn, maybe what you should ask if she understands what a pyramid scam is. I believe that her iq level is only up to camote garden.

    She even said that the McDonalds franchise is small-time. A franchise which has a university of its own and several thousand franchiseholders worldwide.

  465. mang_kiko on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 2:03 am 

    Ang pagka intiende ko ang ibig sabihin ni Leytenian na small franchises, yong malili-it na McDonalds restaurants sa loob nang manga mililiit na Malls at manga isolated na highways stops..ang dami nyan sa North America..

  466. leytenian on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 3:52 am 

    No matter how one look at it, our society is one big pyramid scheme serving the elite and enslaving masses. And like with every other pyramid scheme, there are a whole bunch of losers at the bottom- the majority.

  467. leytenian on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 4:45 am 

    So meaning to say Gloria Arroyo, Senator Richard Gordon and Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia have low IQs for supporting my favorite kamote garden?

    It is one of the many solutions to feed the very poor.

    “Senator Richard Gordon supported Cebu governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s local food program promoting “saksak” as one solution to the current rice price crisis.
    “Saksak” is a Cebuano term for a mixture of rice and camote that Governor Gwendolyn Garcia of Cebu pushed as a substitute for the rice staple which is now in short supply and subject to rising prices.”
    http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2008/0430_gordon1.asp

    “The President was made aware of the “SakSak” program and she was very, very excited and supportive about it,” Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia told a press conference yesterday”
    http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2008/04/30/news/president.arroyo.praises.capitol.on.saksak.project.html

    The pride of unexperience high IQ (kono) has no solution or support to help our people. … For me, that’s the real LOW IQ and low emotional IQ . Good luck with attitude…

  468. leytenian on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 4:56 am 

    with the saksak program , cebu and the rest of the visayan islands may not need to ask for more rice subsidies and become an on going burden to the overall economy. It will help reduce rice importation and dependency, at least… think about it.

    Cebu normally buys rice from Leyte. If Cebu has not come up with “sak sak’ program, the people of Leyte will suffer from over pricing of rice… an additional burden to our national economy. thanks GOD..my kamote garden is an alternative… i also love Manolo’s Victoria Garden. I think, it is very helpful…

  469. UP n student on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 5:03 am 

    Victoria Victory garden…

  470. KG on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 6:36 am 

    Cathy, I read you loud and clear.

    Then Cat then what ever the next best thing is other than general promises like patubig,pagkain,megainfrstructures
    would be feasible .or maybe a succeeding president could also talk about projects of the president na nauna sa kanya kahit di nya ito nakasundo.

    You have attended many powerpoint presentations of 5 years worth of research,I suppose or I am sure..
    You have prepared budgets then you can tell me what the next best thing is.sabagay it is always unpredictable what a president will say during her sona kala lang natin (or should I speak for myself instead)alam na natin sasabihin nya and I hope she does not disappoint.

    for the sake of discussion na lang ,sayang naman itong comment thread.

    Is it always tabula rasa,budgets can be for projects na minana lang nya ;an update would do.
    like for example malay ba naman natin na me global maritime positioning equipment na pinurchase nung panahon ni Ramos na di pinatuloy ni erap dahil anomalous daw..Given there is always overpricing and it could be untraceable and walang nangyayari kung puro investigation,any suggestions?
    me nakita ako sa taas na ituloy nalang ang project kahit na me nagsabi o nag expose na overpriced ito (di ganun ang sinabi pero ganun na din yun) dahil lahat ng bansa na progresibo, ganito nagyayari to avoid stalemates,binaggit din ito ni benign0 by using the word trust; and this is also what supremo calls na just do it approach,Do you subscribe to that?

    many thanks,with or without reply.

  471. KG on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 7:11 am 

    In fairness to the sweet potato suggestion,Supremo already suggested na masanay tayo with rice substitutes.ang sinabi ko naman na ang ddating sinasabihan na hammpas lupa umuwi ka na at magtanim ng kamote ay di ibig sabihin na sa tingin ko matapobre si leytenian.

    ganun yata ang lumabas eh,pabayaan ko na sana pero buhay pa itong comment thread na ito kaya a little explanation would do.some does not think that agriculture has a place in this country but I say otherwise. ang mga humahampas ng lupa para magtanim ng kamote o ano pa man ay ang pag asa natin,granted na madami ang di alam kung pano gawing produktibo ang maliit na bahagi ng lupa ay di ibig sabihin na pababayaan na lang silang magusap at sabay na ibenta na lang ito sa mga gumagawa ng mall dahil ang nagyari pinautang nga sila me pinadala na silang mga taga uplb para turuan ang nagyari ay lubog pa din sila sa utang.

    The system can not always be blamed.another apples and oranges watching house; he is a diagnosticisian but somehow he pinpoints the exact problem of course by ordering lab tests and the works; BUT add to that common sense and keen observation.

    I don’t want to be called an armchair analyst because parang ganun ako pero audience ko lang isa tatay ko.pero sometimes simple ideas get presented to a lot of people,sabihin ko kaya kinuha ko lang ke supremo yun o kay cat o kay leytenian ,ke cvj o sa inyo kung pwede lang sana ihalo kayo sa acknowledgements.kaya lang I have to look for other sources para mag mukhang academic.

  472. leytenian on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 8:31 am 

    Long term Peace solution to Mindanao conflict has been implemented.

    Davao Catholic school: “If we really want peace, we must involve our young people who will someday become future leaders of our country and city,”
    http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=12208&geo=5&theme=8&size=A

    Under Arroyo Administration: Peace education to be included in public school curriculum
    http://www.gov.ph/news/?i=21625

    Good news for me and for everyone. MABUHAY.

  473. leytenian on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 8:48 am 

    back to Northrail: Supremo also shared this link..

    http://www.quezon.ph/1911/planes-trains-and-automobiles/#comment-880884

    let’s understand common causes of project failure… and why performance rating/satisfaction is important to all public officials. Para walang mag tulog tulugan…let’s assess the whole team . To shortcut my explanation, here’s the link..

    http://www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/cp0015.pdf

  474. KG on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 9:34 am 

    In my research about our procurement system eto totoong buhay to ha,things like that are very important.(supremo’s link)

    ayaw ko maging pessimistic and defeatist pano mo babaguhin ang international financial institution dictated procurement,imagine gagawa nga tayo ng batas pero ang batas ay ang World bank at iba pa,dyan tayo nate temp kumita. The government estimate of the project cost is the lender estimate so many things can happen in between.
    we allow it ,ang tanong me magagwa ba tayo,meron kung ano, alam na nila yun. so kung puro papogi o porma lang di tanggalan ng media access ang congresso,aangal naman ang mag nagdedemand ng transparency.

    Cathy,
    Alam ko you challenge people to think,pero wala na akong maisip baka ikaw meron instead of being a devil’sadvocate can you suggest something..

  475. leytenian on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 10:10 am 

    Most of our big projects from the past not Gloria’s term were ODIOUS DEBTS.
    “If a despotic power incurs a debt not for the needs or in the interest of the State, but to strengthen its despotic regime, to repress the population that fights against it, etc., this debt is odious for the population of all the State.
    “This debt is not an obligation for the nation; it is a regime’s debt, a personal debt of the power that has incurred it.

    http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/opinion/view/20080616-143004/Moratorium-on-odious-debts

  476. vic on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 10:11 am 

    Leytenian, your Idea of “kamote garden” is for today’s food crisis, but this Planet Earth is expected to Host 9 Billions souls by 2050 and the best Farmlands in most countries will be covered by Pavements by then(too many of them already are) as the Housing and Business needs of these Billions are to be met. Today in the Idea Section of the Star some scientists and an architect came up with this one; how to meet the food requirements of these Billions..

    It may sound like a flight of fancy, but highrise farming is drawing increased attention amid mounting worries about our food supply. Is a proposal for downtown Toronto a thrilling leap or ‘wacko science’?

    The idea of skyscraping food-production isn’t new, though embracing it in earnest might be. In 2001, MVRDV, a Dutch architecture firm, proposed a series of towers along the country’s coastline. Inside, muddy cubicles with automated feeding and watering stations saw to the comforts of thousands of pigs–a convenient, space-saving scheme for harvesting tonnes of pork-chops-in-waiting.
    Aptly dubbed Pig City, the intent was ironic – tongue firmly in cheek, MVRDV was taking a jab at an over-consuming society with little sense of how to support its voracious habits. But seven years on, such notions are starting to look less cheeky. By Graff’s calculations, Skyfarm would generate gross revenues of $52 million a year -a small fraction, perhaps, of what a 59-story condo might net a developer.

    But remember, Skyfarm is perpetual income,” he says. “It’s absolutely insufficient to think of this as some kind of government initiative. The system has to be profitable to work.”
    Nothing like a crisis to provide economic stimulus: For perhaps the first time ever, after decades on the edge of financial disaster, agriculture is a hot property. Prices for staples such as beans, corn and wheat have been rising steadily on international commodity exchanges in recent years – so much so that hedge funds in North America are now quietly investing in farmland not as development property, but as a potential high-yield industry with room to grow.

    To check how skyfarm would work, how it will supply its own lighting, an estimated 82 millions kWh annually and the hydroponics thirst for Water..check this one Architect’s Idea….
    http://www.thestar.com/News/Ideas/article/468023

  477. leytenian on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 10:46 am 

    i will support that too. na suggest na yan ni KG or CVJ, pero iba ang name…Vertical Gardens.
    Tips for Vertical Garden:
    http://ezinearticles.com/?Tips-for-Growing-Vegetables-in-a-Vertical-Garden&id=1168052

    I hope the government will implement an awareness program. Like what Cebu is doing for saksak, they are giving incentives by having a contest. Education is the key. Role model must be used to encourage everybody. Meron bang artista sa atin na may vertical gardens? Mas masaya din ito. lahat ma-involve. Pa uso lang naman ang kailangan sa atin.. The media can play a great role.

  478. cvj on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 10:49 am 

    Vic, looking ahead, i read somewhere that the Carrying Capacity of the Earth is for 8 billion people, and in some Climate Change scenarios, the carrying capacity might even go down to 2 billion people.

    http://www.cvjugo.blogspot.com/2007/08/climate-change-and-salt.html

    If that were to happen, some hard decisions would have to be made and mankind might have to reconsider its taboo on cannibalism. The process might be made cleaner by turning humans into Skyflakes crackers as was shown in the movie Soylent Green.

  479. KG on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 11:54 am 

    If the sea needs salt dahil natutunaw na ang polar caps, then lahat tayo sabay sabay umihi sa dagat.

    salt works on dirty icecream carts kahit mag benta ang iceream man sa init ng araw, baka makatulong sa earth.
    but has that study thought of this;all our urine ends up in the sea to begin with. pwera na lang ang umiihi sa lupa,sa sahig at sa pader,so let us do it directly by pissing at the beach.

    so it’s simple,really?

  480. rego on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 11:56 am 

    omigosh, this leytenian is flooding this thread so much… mukhang 50 % yata ng comments sa therad na eto sa kanya.! Yet you dont get that much from her comments!

  481. vic on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 12:14 pm 

    Going though the feedback (comments) of the Article I posted above, the Skyfarm, I encountered this interesting comment from the reader who claimed to be Architect Gordon’s Masteral thesis supervisor.

    Gordon Graff’s project is his thesis at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture.
    Gordon’s much discussed Toronto urban farm project is not a design which he did with Despommier at Columbia University. Gordon is a Masters student at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture and the building design is part of an ongoing thesis design work. Despommier is not an architect and only used Graff’s image on his more scientifically-based web site.

    The New York Times just made an attribution error with sloppy research for its article. I need to correct this since I am Gordon’s thesis supervisor and feel that a Canadian university should get more credit for raising such issues of urban ecology in its curriculum. As Gordon implies, there is probably as much irony in his Toronto skyscraper farm as in the MVRDV work on Pig City, but it’s important to remember that the architecture of the future has always seemed a little “wacko” twenty or so years before it actually gets built.

  482. The Ca t on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 6:12 pm 

    i

    ke for example malay ba naman natin na me global maritime positioning equipment na pinurchase nung panahon ni Ramos na di pinatuloy ni erap dahil anomalous daw..Given there is always overpricing and it could be untraceable and walang nangyayari kung puro investigation,any suggestions?

    Minsan hindi naman talaga anomalous. gusto lang nila ang mga suppliers nila ang kanilang kunan para naman sila ang kumita ng kickback.

    kagaya sa DepEd noon. maraming libro ang binili bago si Erap, umupo. pero hindi rin pinagamit dahil yong pinsan niya ay may dalang book publisher na sarili na ang comission dinala pa sa malacanan.

    karamihang projects of previous administrations were declared anomalous, overpriced or were bloated but there never were hard documents to prove it. result, the projects were cancelled and we continue to pay the loans because
    we have already committments to pay.

    I go for the suggestion to continue with the project. anyway, with or without the project, we are going to pay the interest and the principal over time.

    The FOlk Arts Theatre and other edifices built by Imelda were criticized to have been highly overpriced but still we ‘re using them. Cory’s Administration finished with so many buildings and projects unifinished because shewas afraid to be accused of corruption. Wala namang progress.

    I am not saying that we condone corruption. Yong mga itinayo ang magiging ebidensiya para habulin ang mga sabing corrupt.

    PRoblem with the people accusing is that they fail to prove the corruption. siguro dahil nakakausap sila o kaya ay
    nabibigyan sila ng kanilang share.

    Sa US, FBI ang nag-iimbestiga. Sa atin, mga congressmen at senador na marunong lang humarapsa camera.

    Tama ang sabi mo walang access sa media, walang transparency.

    Pero sana, imbestigasyon na at wala munang media bago all out media coverage pag kumpleto na ang mga ebidensiyang kailangan. SA atin satsat muna bago ang imbestigasyon.

  483. The Ca t on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 6:25 pm 

    Cathy,
    Alam ko you challenge people to think,pero wala na akong maisip baka ikaw meron instead of being a devil’sadvocate can you suggest something..

    There are always conditions given by the lending institutions ; among which are materials sources and technology transfer.

    The purposes of the conditions are to ensure quality materials and high end technology for the projects that require such.

    The JApanese ODA requires more stringent condition…to hire their Japanese consultants in the implementation… to use their Japanese technology in exchange for their low-interest loans.

    We got to admit those, whoever have the money dictates.

    The government can choose whether to avail the loan or just scout for another lender. Pareho rin kasi lenders will always protect their “investments”.

    PEro merong mga expenses diyan na may discretionary power ang borrower. Doon sila pumapasok ng kanilang overpricing.

  484. The Ca t on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 6:33 pm 

    omigosh, this leytenian is flooding this thread so much

    akala niya siguro blog niya ito. bwahahaha. sabi nga niya iniimprove niya ang website na ito. hekhekhek

  485. Bert on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 9:35 pm 

    haaaay, salamat may bagong thread. para na tayong mga aso’t pusa (pun intended) sa awayan sa thread na ito.

    baguhin na nyo mga ugali nyo sa kabila, hane?

  486. KG on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 9:45 pm 

    Sorry for the late reply… Cathy, Many Thanks!

  487. ling on Thu, 31st Jul 2008 3:21 pm 

    IMO, the PNR should be completely rehabilitated considering it’s one of the oldest train system in Asia. The rehabilitation should be spearheaded by someone with political will.

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