Before we get to the blast at the Batasan Pambansa, let’s set the scene, as it was, yesterday, prior to the explosion.
The way Amando Doronila sees it, Political scandals undermining the economy, and foreign observers, too, see it the same way, as shown by this snippet:
Frederic Neumann wrote in a commentary: “We view the recent political scandals as severely undermining the President’s ability to persuade the Congress to pass new policy initiatives to advance structural reforms … The scandals will make it harder for the President to advance a new wave of policy reforms, especially relating to improving the underlying public finance sector finances.”
Neumann noted that the government had made a commitment to wipe out its budget deficits and was closing in on its full-year deficit target of P63 billlion, with the help of privatization proceeds, but its fiscal performance was “less impressive,” suggesting that more reforms were needed.
Doronila seems to have a view that’s very different from the triumphalist tones of the President herself, who seems to be crowing that her economic work is done. In Arroyo shifts focus from economic to political reforms, she is quoted as having said,
Now that we have straightened out the economy, it is time to push for political reforms. Let us reduce conflict, fight corruption, and put the welfare of the ordinary Filipino first,” Arroyo said.
But there’s something ironic in a political animal bellowing about being a beast (though a very well-educated ones with academic credentials) if it was funny-ha-ha to have the Speaker thundering on about a “moral revolution,” isn’t it funny-hee-hee, now that Arroyo blames politics for causing suicide, murder:
Arroyo called on her critics anew to focus on promoting development, this time blaming politics for the deaths of Marianette Amper, the 12-year-old girl who committed suicide in Davao due to poverty, and Alioden Dalaig, the poll official gunned down last Saturday.
“Many Filipinos are experiencing poverty since some of the country’s leaders are preoccupied with their self-interests rather than the welfare of the nation.
“On the other hand, there are politicians and groups who have no heart and conscience and are ready to use violence to attain their ambitions,” she said in a speech at the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) meeting yesterday in Malacañang.
“The preoccupation with politics, past and present, does not promote the stability, policy continuity, security and peace and order that we will need to continue to move our country forward.”
But then of course she knows whereof she speaks, so there’s nothing funny about it, at all. Point is, the President was going on the political offensive, on the premise that (unlike the view of the foreign observers mentioned by Doronila) everything economics-wise, was shipshape. While Marvin A. Tort delves into the merits and demerits of the appreciating peso, the President, long a fetishist of the “strong peso equals a Strong Republic” sort, has no choice but to ponder relief to stave off the worst effects of the appreciating peso (the majority of the two articles above, describe the relief efforts the President’s decreed as a kind of series of emergency measures, which will help the poor but leaves exporters vulnerable still).
The best defense being a good offense, the President knew full well that the opposition had left her self-innoculation devoid of oomph. As the Inquirer editorial today puts it, the President’s reliance on a tactical, and not ethical, approach to questions as to her legitimacy or fitness for office, has reached the end of the road:
This has led to the adoption by the administration of a tactical, instead of ethical, approach to the impeachment process. Yet the kind of people involved — politicians — then and now aren’t very different. Quirino faced vicious infighting within his Liberal Party reminiscent of the intramurals between Kampi and Lakas today, with a relatively small opposition hounding both Presidents.
Indeed the only difference we see is that Quirino genuinely believed in his innocence and trusted the process. Quirino knew, as one of the framers of the 1935 Constitution, what impeachment is: a means by which a nation being governed badly can gain relief. As chief executive he asserted that relief was unnecessary; as a lawyer, he knew his salvation lay in confronting his accusers and opening access to information, and presenting evidence.
In contrast, President Macapagal-Arroyo mistrusts the process and the people in it. Her allies and critics in the House have conspired to approve rules that deny impeachable officials proper vindication not only before the House, but in the court of public opinion. And the Supreme Court, too, has handed down decisions that have mutated impeachment into a race to file weak complaints to stave off genuine ones.
In other words, all three branches of government are stuck in a trap, with each blaming the other for tying its hand, resulting in what we have today. Yet among these institutions, it is the House that still has in its hands the means to pass new rules in keeping with those of 1949. But it won’t, because it prefers the Palace cash buffet. Its members worship at the altar of Mammon instead of the altar of public duty.
Everything else, House-wise, on the part of the majority is bravado on the part of those left holding the bag: House majority rebuffs minority boycott of impeach hearings.
And also, because the best defense is a good offense, this took place: Panlilio, 8 more charged with bribery over Palace handouts. This was something people saw coming: Ateneo official rallies support for embattled Panlilio.
And also, because the best defense is a good offense, just as whistle blowers get the book thrown at them, anyone showing any kind of independence within the ruling coalition gets the Palace pit bills unleashed on them. Manuel Buencamino pens an open letter not for the faint of heart to Juan Ponce Enrile, senior Palace pit bull.
And so, having set the scene, let’s move on to the Batasan blast. I’d just emerged from a dinner conversation with a foreign businessman who was quite worried over the effect the appreciating peso was having on ordinary people and, of course, on the bigger Filipino exporters and other businessmen with whom he did business, and who now had to put plans for expanding or upgrading their equipment on hold (for my part, I traded notes on the true extent of smuggling which is also devastating legitimate businesses). The businessman was particularly puzzled by how the appreciating peso was resulting in an increase in the cost of basic commodities, which then led to a discussion on rice and sugar smuggling, etc.
Ironically, the businessman began our conversation by telling me how he’d first arrived in the Philippines on August 21, 1983, and the pandemonium that had ensued at the Manila International Airport as he arrived shortly before Ninoy Aquino’s flight. Anyway, as I left the meeting, I received a text asking for confirmation of the blast, and so contacted colleagues in the Inquirer who confirmed it; and so it went until midnight, when the President made a brief statement. What struck me most was the quavery voice of Rep. Darlene Custodio.
The initial responses on the blogosphere run the gamut of points of view, and helps provide an insight into the public’s reaction to the news. Whether its Shasha says or Andre’s Journal! a common reaction, on one part, is to be stupefied-and-angry (or relieved to be headed abroad, like Badfish) or simply astounded, like spiderye, or being held hostage by a creeping feeling that there’s an unfolding plot, and of God-knows-what to come, as blue law by anna writes:
Holy shit. They are NOT stopping. People kasi were criticizing them before, eh why the common tao your targeting, during the Glorietta bombing, so now I guess they’re trying to prove a point, that even law-makers, wala, nothing fazes or scares us, we WILL get our point across. What point ba???!!! What do they want? My god, when the Glorietta bombing went off, I felt really bad and angry, but I didn’t feel scared pa rin. I mean, I wasn’t afraid to go malling still or go around public places. But with this Batasan bombing, I’m like, oh my god, I got a really really bad feeling in my stomach, like, of things to come, this is probably not the end of it. Punyeta silang lahat. Nakaraos na yung bayan from our history of violence and unrest tapos ngayon binabalik balik nila.
Or simply being ticked off, as OLSEN 3 was, of people immediately cracking jokes. Outside Manila, in Antique, Antikenyo says people shrugged it off.
Inner Sanctum runs through all the conspiracy theories, and correctly points out,
While there’s nothing new about politicians getting murdered, it’s the audacity of the attack that sends jitters to most people, including myself. I don’t recall lawmakers’ domains (in this case, the Batasang Pambansa) ever getting bombed. If I’m not mistaken, this is the first time that an attack happened right inside the compound that houses congress.
Piercing Pens tackles other possibilities. Though New Philippine Revolution, a few days back, insisted a pattern of resistance is emerging, I’m still skeptical -coordination has not been a characteristic of the groups opposed to the administration, who more often than not, can barely manage to talk civilly to each other.
As it stands, the initial details are fully covered by the papers, see Bomb rocks Congress; solon among 3 killed and Police recover mobile phone at Congress blast site. And Arroyo creates task force vs political violence.
Even as Akbar dies, Teves in critical condition, and media attention therefore focuses on ‘Akbar, wives controlled Basilan’ (going back even further, see Ellen Tordesillas’ Akbar and the ghost of the Lamitan siege and this profile in the San Francisco Chronicle) that old reliable had to shoot his mouth off yet again: Gonzales: ‘We got the warning two weeks ago’.
You know, Gonzales didn’t help matters during the Glorietta blast, and he isn’t helping matters now. Just as one question -who was the target?- is only beginning to be resolved, Gonzales helps raise even more questions -if the target was Akbar, and government knew, why then, did the assassination (if that’s what it was) take place? The government will announce its suspects soon enough, but that, too, will raise more questions, I’m sure.
Anyway, if Akbar was the target, then it’s no different from the assassinations of other congressmen in Metro Manila right before the May elections. It shows that congressmen aren’t beyond vendetta killings formerly restricted to their home provinces -and a general deterioration in the ability of the authorities to maintain law and order.
The collateral damage, if that’s all it was, right at the House of Representatives, also sends a message that I suspect was the cause of Darlene Custodio’s quavery voice, as she described the scene at the time. They are all in it together, and in the end, enemies of the representatives aren’t interested in separating the sheep from the goats.
for me, what is significant is that it’s unclear who, precisely, dismissed the House security detail in the wake of the bombing. If it was the Speaker, then that’s fine; if it was the Secretary of the Interior, that’s an infringement on the independence of the House. This is no trivial matter, even if justified by the authorities as a question of security. If the Palace, in charge of the police power, cocoons representatives and senators in security, the legislators shouldn’t forget that it was an imposition. So far, that hasn’t happened; the Secretary of the Interior has merely offered additional security to legislators if and when they request it, which is the absolutely right way to approach security concerns.
More on Rep. Akbar in reason is the reason:
The lowdown the wife and I got from Dr. J, who was working at the FEU Hospital near the Batasang Pambansa Complex, was that the bomb had been intended for Congressman Wahab Akbar, the Distinguished Gentleman from Basilan.
An interview I heard on the radio later confirmed that the blast had likely come from a remote-controlled IED, detonated by someone within visual range of Akbar.
Akbar had unfortunately developed a routine that his enemies were quick to use to their advantage — he would have his driver pick him up at the same exit, so conveniently close to the motorcycle parking area where a bomb could easily be transported and hidden.
A quick Google search seems to indicate that Akbar had had it coming. He was alleged to have been in cahoots with the Abu Sayyaf commanders holed up in the Lamitan siege: “a group of army officers, ASG members and local governor Wahab Akbar split ransom money that they received for the ‘escape’ of three hostages in the early stages of the episode.”
In a controversial privilege speech, Akbar also claimed that 80% of Filipino Muslims were sympathetic to the Abu Sayyaf. In the same speech, Akbar made the bold claim “I am Basilan” — which wouldn’t be far from the truth, considering that two of his wives have won the top elective positions in the island province.
There’s a moral to be found here, where a man can claim to personify a violent, backward province one day — and end up riddled with shrapnel the next.
That, indeed, may be all there is to it. Live by the sword, die by the sword. If this is what happened, then the question is, just how firmly the government can clamp down if the suspects prove to be from the military, whether in the service, or AWOL.
As Ricky Carandang points out, it’s business as usual:
What happens next is anyone’s guess, but the House leadership has said that the incident will not prevent them from fulfilling their duty of killing the latest impeachment complaint against President Arroyo.
And indeed, mission accomplished: House committee rejects new impeach rap vs Arroyo.
Technorati Tags: Blogging, economy, history, House of Representatives, impeachment, media, military, mindanao, philippines, politics, society
Tsinoy:
yÇ’u kÃ…Âng ér cháng lái aï¼Â
One has to consider China’s hostory to decipher what really went on in TianAnMen Square. What you have always heard is what the Western Democracies want you to hear…..read up on CHina’s history through China’s eyes, then you’ll understand why what happened in TianAnMen happened.
The CHinese mind is very different from the Western mind…democracy in the form presented by the Westerners is a very alien concept to the CHinese.
Equalizer, you still don’t get it….what i said was, if I start to believe everything media has to say, then you would rather leave the country….
Obviously I don’t…which is why I am still here…:=)
I have Chinese blood just like you(and most Filipinos) BUT I am 100% Filipino in empathy with the poor.
Do you what PAGPAG means?(It’s recycled garbage food that the poor in Payatas are eating.)
That’s the REALITY.
bù yuǎn sòng le.
Funny you should say that….Going to China is not exactly a bad thing. I was in CHina recently and hey, it’s not a bad place to live in…..so I guess if your subliminal racism cannot accept that a Filipino of Chinese descent can discuss the welfare of the Philippines, then so be it….
Tsinoy:I worked in China for 5 years as a GM in a large multinational.
yÄ« lù pÃÂng ÄÂn ï¼Â
OK, Tsinoy, you have our attention. What really happened in Tiananmen Square that merited the massacre of hundreds of protesters?
That’s exactly the point….we should stop whining and start trying to fix the problem in our own small ways and not wait for government and the regime to fix the problem.
Tony Meloto had the right idea with GK and I admire him for that. We have to teach the poor and the downtrodden to help THEMSELVES.
I probably have as much Chinese blood as you.Proud of my Chinese roots. BUT PROUDER about my land of birth.
That’s why I give a damn!Actually,it’s easier to remain quiet.
bù yuǎn sòng le.
EXACTLY! And that is why I support her ouster–for the good of the Philippines!
The Massacre was truly unfortunate. I am not saying it did not happen. What the problem was that in China’s history, quite a number of foreign powers have taken advantage of China and in fact, have tried to divide it amongst themselves. From the Chinese mind, the democratic movement was an attempt to take China apart and was not a democratic movement.
I know this is quite a simplistic explanation but there are books available that will give you the alternative explanation. I am NOT saying it’s entirely correct. I AM saying that it must be considered.
HOnestly, I don;t even know why this discussion came about. All I am saying is that we should be careful in discerning the news you hear from media as things tend to get exaggerated…
Which is why the issue of Gloria Arroyo’s cheating is not important to you. If democracy is not for us anyway, then what’s the fuss? That’s one of the pillars of the elitist mindset.
“Mountains are being made out of mole hills.”
Whose mole?The one with mole is the PROBLEM
yi lu ping an too….equalizer….
So the Imperial Court never really went away?
Mike
In a sense, it never did….:-)
“I have always said before, our country is NOT ready for democracy. Di nga lang katanggap tanggap sa mga sumusulat sa forum na ito yung idea na yan.”
Maybe you are referring to your motherland
bencard,
excuse me but i’m a newbie to this forum exchange — but hmmm, i have feeling that your charming naivete regarding the state of the country is because you’re not here in Pinas? are you? sounds more like you’re down with Alice in Wonderland…you know Alice really when she was there — she acted like a little tyrant and an imperialist. go read the book… it’s for adults really. peace brother
Equalizer
Please stop playing the racist card in this discussion. Jeez.
MLQ3, is this a forum only for people with ONE point of view alone???? If that is the case, I will then just keep my mouth shut.
As i mentioned in my blog entry, a large proportion of Filipinos (around 33%) have Chinese blood (Y-DNA M122 Haplogroup). Studies have shown that our population is most closely related to the Amis of Taiwan and the Southern Chinese. It’s just that the Binondo types and the recent immigrants from the mainland somehow want to separate themselves from the rest of the population. Must be the ‘Chinese’ mind.
Mike, i think PTBT has been drinking from Lee Kuan Yew’s kool-aid.
It’s just that the Binondo types and the recent immigrants from the mainland somehow want to separate themselves from the rest of the population. Must be the ‘Chinese’ mind.
CVJ:You are absolutely right.I don’t think Rizal ( and my own 100% Chinese grandfather) ever had to make a distinction and call themselves “Tsinoy” to differentiate themselves.
We are ALL PINOYS who give a damn about our LAND OF BIRTH.
WOW, I never realized so called democrats can really be tyrants, what with the kind of comments I see, just because someone has an alternative point of view.
I never even realized until now that TSINOY pala is SUCH a derogatory term for the people in this forum. the fact that it just means Tsinong PINOY…with emphasis on PINOY I guess doesn’t really mean anything…I guess we 3rd generation chinese filipino don’t really have a right to an opinion..
“Senate President Manuel Villar and Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr, asked the police to dig deeper, pointing out that other personalities, aside from Akbar, were killed in the blast.
“I think the blast was not particularly directed to a particular person. It was meant to sow fear and chaos in Congress and society,” Villar said.
The Senate chief also said the timing of the blast raised suspicion that the incident was meant to again divert the nation’s attention from scandals hounding the Arroyo administration.”GMA NEWS
That’s also my view.See “Connect the dots”
One thing i noticed is that those who advocate dictatorship are the most sensitive to having their opinions challenged. Must be why they instinctively prefer a dictatorship, so no one can challenge them.
“I guess we 3rd generation chinese filipino don’t really have a right to an opinion..”
Nobody can tell you to shut up because this is still a democracy!
That’s what we are fighting for!
mlq3, i was referring to the seeming tendency of philippine media, in general, of repetitiously highlighting unproven “scandals” as “facts” rather than bare allegations that they are. the usually politically-motivated accuser’s, e.g. lacson, et al., and the disgruntled “businessman’s”, e.g. jdv3, gossip-mongering can be taken with a grain of salt by a discerning public, but journalist’s spin a/k/a “educated opinion” usually acquires a life of its own through constant repetition. an irresponsible press is as dangerous to freedom as a despotic government. it doesn’t destroy democracy in one fell swoop but gradually like termites on hardwood. to me, one who repeats a canard, without qualification, is as guilty as its originator.
“I have always said before, our country is NOT ready for democracy.” – Proud to be Tsinoy
Question: Which country are you referring to? China or the Philippines
dodong, this “entity†who calls himself jao (i’m not sure if he is a male/female person or whatever) is doing a watchful eye- to whom i expressed disgust for making a “hypothetical†involving a close family member of mine in a gruesome criminal attack – Bencard
Oh boy, it’s just a hypothetical, not even an allegation, and whiny benny is expressing disgust about “the seeming tendency of philippine media, in general, of repetitiously highlighting unproven “scandals†as “facts†rather than bare allegations that they are.â€Â
Was it an “unproven hypothetical†that was repetitiously highlighted as “facts†rather than bare allegations?
is this the mind of a gm? jees
chinoy, patience is a virtue.
madonna, you can review the past threads that i have participated in to see where i stand and why. yes, i live in the u.s. east coast and have done so for the last 47 years, but i have often visited “my” motherland where i still have many close relatives, fond memories, and which i consider “my” home for all time.
when i left the philippines in 1970, the population was at approximately 45 million. there were already numerous pockets of poverty then. on a personal note, i experienced selling bottles of drinking water, and shining shoes, at train stations in bicol during my pre-teen years. i had a full-time job at the defunct phhc in quezon city at age 16, moving on to a clerical position at central post office while pursuing a diploma in journalism and law. you can just imagine the “privations” of a young working student earning 4 pesos a day for self-support (my mother was sole breadwinner, and i was fatherless since age 3).
now the population is over 80 million in a heavily indebted country ravaged by unrelenting chain of disasters and years of government plunder and corruption. vultures in and out of the government are vying against one another in rapacity and viciousness. cynics and hypocrites, capitalizing on the atmosphere of utter hopelessness, feed on the desperation of their countrymen, not for the latter’s benefit but for their own.
contrary to your perception, i am not exactly in “wonderland” although, compared to philippines it could be, especially politically and economically speaking. i think the average american really cares for his/her country, not just for him/herself and his/her close relatives.
cvj on, “One thing i noticed is that those who advocate dictatorship are the most sensitive to having their opinions challenged. Must be why they instinctively prefer a dictatorship, so no one can challenge them.”
This is leading out of context on Tsinoy’s comment on democracy as alien in China. China’s experience with huge tract of lands and vast resources has been subjugated by foreign powers. Foreign powers wanted to divide China for its resources. Japan entered 2nd world war to make its claim. Russia overran Manchuria. US found ingenious way of supporting the unpopular Nationalist to retain access to resources. If democracy was allowed to work in China, China would have been forever broken into pieces. The popular commnist China which is proven correct after all the years of foreign intervention is resistant to any democratic attempts in Tibet, Hongkong or any of its territory.
cvj on, “Mike, i think PTBT has been drinking from Lee Kuan Yew’s kool-aid.”
More appropriate for people who benefited from Singapore.
tsinoy on, “Eh wala nga eh…every man for himself ang nasa damdamin ng bawa’t pinoy.”
This is understood from the view of limited resources to rapid population growth.
“Proud to be Tsinoy :
When I was living abroad, I always hear bad news about our country from the foreign publications. Then, when I find out what’s really going on, I realize it’s not as bad as it is made to believe by the media.
This is exactly the point Bencard and I are trying to make. Mountains are being made out of mole hills.”
Let’s say I’m reading a newspaper (Filipino Reporter) with news that says ‘Garbage all over Metro Manila”, I would be a little bit skeptical and check its accuracy by calling my brother in Manila.
supremo: Marami daw basurang nakakalat diyan?
kapatid: Hindi naman. Doon sa kanto maraming basura na hindi nakolekta noong isang linggo pa. Pero dito sa looban wala naman basura
Basura everywhere is relative. To those living in the main street garbage is everywhere.
supremo on, “Basura everywhere is relative. To those living in the main street garbage is everywhere.”
You can insist that way based on hypothetical. But if we apply factual event, let us pick up a neutral recent event say Glorietta BOMBING. It turned out it was explosion. But conspiracy theories abounds until facts were sorted out. That is the point of Tsinoy, to be discerning of facts.
hey, bencard, is tsinoy is talking to you? better tell him then how soon you used the escape chute upon the declaration of m.l. in pursuit of the greener pasture.
dOdOng,
Garbage is as neutral as you can get. Glorietta bombing is not a neutral event. Itigil mo na ang pagiging pilosopo mo.
Bencard calls Doronila the male cassandra but he’s forgetting that Doronila used to be one of the most trusted pressmen of Gloria — he supported her through thick and thin before, during and after the Erap impeachment until after the coup d’état in 2001. She made a semblance of rewarding him with any of the juicy ambassadorial post that Doronila wanted.
First there was Rome, then Paris, and later on, Brussels — Doronila was waiting for the final appointment but it never came — becasue someone else (another pressman) beat Doronila to the punch every time. Gloria finally dropped Doronila and the promise of the ambassadorial post ‘for a job well done’ vanished.
After that, Doronila became bitter so he turned around and began hitting her.
So, Bencard, if Doronila, once Gloria’s loyal dog in the press is muck raking today, blame Gloria for it, not Manolo here! Heh!
tsinoy: let a thousand flowers bloom, a hundred thoughts contend, etc.
tsinoy’s comments re: media are interesting. it’s a phenomenon i’ve noticed, too, but mainly in that nothing ever seems capable of resolution. if you leave the country and return a month later, you can pick up the paper and it would seem you’d left only yesterday. and i have had discussions with many people (foreigners) who have a grim impression of the country only to find it a delightful place (within limits).
re: tiananmen square, it was a question of order for the politburo, and part of the dynamics that were still trying to resolve the party leadership after the twin failed experiments of the great leap forward and the cultural revolution. online, this makes for interesting reading:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB16/documents/index.html
you will always have different mentalities at play in a government in times of disorder. the chinese communist party after all is a dictatorship, its utmost interest the preservation of the party’s monopoly on power. add to that the reflowering of confucian values (respect for elders, for hierarchy, etc.) and how the students challenged this, and the trauma from the cultural revolution and you can see why the students were slaughtered. in exchange, most biographies of the leading figures of the time point out the move to modernize china gained apace, which has paid off in the coastal areas. but as is given tacit recognition by the chinese communist party from time to time, conditions in the interior, including periodic protests, have created new tension.
cjv, the “binondo” mindset is not as monolithic as some imagine and we have the best-integrated chinese population in our region, though it’s facing its own challenges today:
http://www.pcij.org/i-report/2007/chinese.html
supremo on, “Garbage is as neutral as you can get. Glorietta bombing is not a neutral event. Itigil mo na ang pagiging pilosopo mo.”
Again, it is explosion. There was no bomb per foreign bomb experts.
dOdOng, Bencard, Tsinoy: exaggeration of news, conspiracy theorists, anti-govt media – these are not limited to the Philippines alone. every functioning democracy has this. it is the flagship of liberty. the freedom to say what you want even if other people don’t like it (so long as it does not trample on the rights of others or threaten their safety)
don’t like to hear bad news? tune in to govt media stations, all you’ll hear are good news. your wish to censor speech is a desire only dictators harbor. look, a good govt will be able to turn untrue bad news and biased doomsayers into good news and believers if it just does its job and perform well. what’s the antidote to criticism? prove them wrong is all.
when you’re standing on truth, it’s not very hard to defend your position. when you govern right, no amount of bad publicity will make people believe you’re mismanaging the country. you know why? bec your efforts will speak for itself! and you don’t even need to hire publicists and spin doctors to do the PR job for you!
a bad product needs a good advertisement of lying to sell, while a good product needs only for people to try it out once for it to keep selling.
and Bencard, since you’re in the US, you should know American media is worst than its Philippine counterpart.
i am reminded of a recent pathetic effort by this admin to advertise that its trickle-up economics is bettering Filipino lives. maybe you’ve seen the TV ad i call: Damang-dama ko ang pagsisinungaling nyo!
The ad starts with a cook talking abt her economic liberation at the hands of this admin, followed by an entreprenuer telling the viewers that business is picking up, then a med transcriptionist proclaiming his life is now easier; all of them ending their testimonials with the phrase: damang-dama ko ang pag-asenso!
nang una kong mapanood ang ad na to, natawa lang ako. sinong bobong copywriter ang nagsulat ng ad na yan? it is so crude and so unbelieveable that the ad serves the opposite effect of what the client wants.
my initial reaction was: pucha, damang-dama ko ang bullshit nyo.
the ad tempts me so much to make an ad in retort to it and spoof this ad to laughable ignominy.
i’ll start with a montage of shots of Philippine squalor, then go around Metro Manila and ask local residents there if they feel their lives are easier under the GMA admin. then end the ad with the phrase: sila na ang nagsabi, damang-dama rin nila – ang paghihirap!
lols.
devils,
i’ll await your finish product in youtube.
dOdOng,
Again, itigil mo na ang pamimilosopo mo. Korni na, OA pa.
AT least somebody got my point. I was not trying to muzzle the press. All I am saying is that I agree with Bencard that media should not be making assertions without facts to back it up. Media should also not exaggerate the facts just to sell their papers.
Again, it’s all about being responsible. I also believe in democracy and freedom, but if there is no discipline and responsibility, then we have what we have right now. We get the kind of leadership we have been getting over the last 50 years (from FM to GMA) and we have the kind of country we now presently have….still the same feudalistic datus ruling over their natives with the occasional piece of meat thrown in to placate them. And that is what I meant when I said that people in our country are not yet ready for democracy.
In this context, I appreciate mlq3 reaction. He made his point by discussing my idea and even directing me to a web page. Unlike some other guys who’s knee jerk reaction is just to tell me to go back to the motherland.
nakit-protesta lang, terrorista na. for our enlightenment, will jihad obsessed djb explain why our anti-terrorist law not likely to fall into the same political contraption to clamp down well-meaning opposition?
our people very much understand the concept of democracy. they participate in elections, and put their preferred leaders to power. you may not appreciate their choice, but hey this is how democracy works.
what is demo-crazy is when elected leaders suddenly get amnesia and forget what they are there for: to serve the people and not their own interests. or when you have the elite few who tramples on democratic processes and decide who determines who get to sit in power, dismissing the choice of the majority. the problem therefore is not that we have a democratic system working in place but a set of people who do not know how to abide by how this system should work.
our people not yet ready for democracy? or is it our leaders having no regard for what it means?
Tsinoy,
“still the same feudalistic datus ruling over their natives with the occasional piece of meat thrown in to placate them. And that is what I meant when I said that people in our country are not yet ready for democracy.”
Assuming your description is correct, then it seems that both sides can live with the arrangement. That, in its own way, is a demovratic arramgement.
There is a Malay legend about this – a people were saved by a warrior. They made him king and they swore loyalty, obedience etc. but on one condition… their contract would end once he became unjust.
Moral of the story: The essence of democracy is jusice.
So when you say a people is not ready for democracy, you are in effect saying that people don’t know what and when they are not being governed justly.
I think people know. I think people will not tolerate injustice. The idea that people will go along as long as they have a full stomach is a lie against humanity because it degrades us to the level of animals. It is an idea propagated by tyrants and would be tyrants.
If injustice persists and pervades in our society, it’s not for lack of wanting to right the situation. It’s something else.