Monday, October 26, 2009
Not Backing Down
Thursday, October 22, 2009
A Second Serving
Dan Ramos thinks that voting for ERAP is just plain idiotic and insulting to those who actually serve the country (if they still exist)
Monday, October 19, 2009
Akala Mo Disente yun pala Bastos
The following is a letter to the Editor from an Inquirer reader:
Manny Villar’s latest TV commercial never fails to give me a minor shock every time I hear it due to the word “konyo.” Page 83 of my Larousse Spanish-English dictionary states that it is the vulgar word for “genital.” It can also mean “for f---’s sake” or “f---ing hell.”
No matter if the younger folk nowadays say it is derived from an accepted derogatory description of a braggy, affluent mestizo (konyo boy), I still believe the word is vulgar and quite unpleasant to the ears.
I can only imagine how the Spanish-speaking people in our midst are laughing at us Filipinos for allowing our ad board to approve this TV commercial for airing.
—ERNIE ZARATE,
erniezarate1939@yahoo.com
Zarate posed a very valid point. In our social context, the word "konyo" would refer to the lifestyle of the rich and famous. However, in its real essence, the word is nothing short of vulgar.
As Zarate pointed out, in the Spanish context, the word refers to the genitalia. And knowing our ultra-"conservative" society, someone should've brought this up as soon as the premature campaign started.
So why use such a word on a national campaign? Beats me.
But hey, if it would suit Villar to include human genitalia to his campaign, by all means.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Delayed Announcement
He had promised to officially announce his presidential candidacy on that day, but the day came and went and no announcement. The date for the formal announcement has been postponed to Oct. 12, they said. That day came and still no announcement. The new rumor is that he would do it on Monday.
Why the delay when his rivals are already all over the place campaigning although that is still prohibited at this time by election laws? Has he changed his mind? Was he dismayed by the drop in his ratings in the latest survey when he had been leading in most of the earlier surveys? Has he not yet reached an agreement with Sen. Loren Legarda? Did the latest propaganda ploy of the Lakas-Kampi party with the governors wanting to pirate Legarda of the Nationalist People’s Coalition as the running mate of its Gibo Teodoro have its desired effect on Chiz? Is he now wavering? You can read more here.
What is your take? :)
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The Tycoon's Nephews
BACOLOD CITY, Philippines—Tycoon Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco will not be supporting any of his two nephews eyeing the presidency in 2010 but will instead back the standard-bearer of the party he founded, the Nationalist People's Coalition.
Cojuangco said even if his nephews—Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, standard-bearer of the Lakas-Kampi-Christian Muslim Democrats, and Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, the Liberal Party's presidential candidate— are running for president, as founder of the NPC, he will support his party.
Cojuangco told reporters here Saturday he no longer involved himself in the selection process at NPC but he believed the party was going to field a presidential candidate in May next year.
"The NPC has not put up anybody yet; we will wait. I suppose they will. I am no longer active, it's the younger ones that are deciding for the party," Cojuangco said.
"The NPC is going to field a candidate I think. I think after these calamities they will decide," he added.
He said the last he heard was that the party had left it to Senators Francis Escudero and Loren Legarda to decide who between them should run for president under the NPC.
Asked if he would be in a dilemma if the NPC fielded a candidate while his two nephews ran under different parties, Cojuangco replied, "No. Why should it be a dilemma for me? I'm the founder of the party. I think I have to support my own party that I founded; I think it is but normal."
"Yung isang nephew ko hindi naman namin pinaalis, kami ang iniwan. Eh, ang ibig sabihin wala kaming kwenta sa kanya. Simple lang di ba? (One of my nephews left even if we did not ask him to leave. It only means that we are of no consequence to him.) So why should that be a bother to me?" said Cojuanco, referring to Teodoro, who left the NPC to pursue his candidacy under the administration party.
"The other nephew belongs to another party; I wish him luck," he said, referring to Aquino.
Asked if he and Aquino have talked, Cojuangco said he has not talked to any politician except to members of the NPC.
Aquino said during a visit to Bacolod on Thursday that while he has not had a chance to talk to his uncle, there had been "a few back-door talks" going on between his uncle and some of his backers.
"But at the end of the day I think we have to talk to each other. But I haven't had the opportunity to do so," Aquino said.
Asked if he would ask his uncle for support, Aquino said, "He's my uncle. I would not presume to tell an elder what to do."
Teodoro, on the other hand, said during a visit to Negros Occidental on September 23 that he has neither spoken to his uncle for sometime nor did he know of any discussions of an NPC merger with the administration party.
Asked if he would personally initiate the talks, Teodoro said "I represent the party, I don't represent myself."
Asked if there were reconciliation efforts on a personal level with his uncle amid rumors of a rift, Teodoro said, "There's nothing to reconcile because there's nothing wrong on a personal level."
But he did say he did not expect his uncle's blessings since he belonged to another party.
Danding Cojuangco, while refusing to discuss his personal relationship with Teodoro, is however reportedly backing his brother, Henry, to run against the reelection bid of Teodoro's wife, Representative Monica Louise Prieto-Teodoro, in the first congressional district of Tarlac.
Teodoro has himself said that his wife would still be running for Congress next year, "unless there's some major change" that would stop her from doing so.
Conjuangco was at a United Negros Alliance meeting here Saturday where the candidacies of Sagay Mayor Alfredo Marañon for governor and Representative Genaro Alvarez for vice governor of Negros Occidental in 2010 were announced.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
4 vs 100
According to Escudero, he has not been receiving his pork barrel allocation since 2005 when he led the impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He defines pork barrel as “lump sum allocation sa budget kung saan di na natin alam kung san pupunta o pumupunta, lumalabas na lang at nakikita na lang bigla, minsan hindi pa.”
He proposed institutionalizing line-itemizing of government projects that would state how much money is needed, what it is for and the proposed timeline of the project. Escudero said that this would solve two problems regarding the pork barrel system – corruption and the “absence or lack of focus when it comes to the utilization of government funds."
However, results of an informal survey done among the local officials after the forum showed that they chose Teodoro as their top choice (although some criticized him for being endorsed by the infamous President), then Aquino and Escudero, while putting Villar as their last choice.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Everybody's a Hero?
So we fed a few people. Now what?
It’s Day 6 and Facebook, Twitter, TV, the papers- everything’s still Flooded with news about the Flood (though a little less than before). I even have some friends getting angry when their other friends post “useless” stuff- you know- the kind of stuff we’d normally post if there wasn’t an emergency or disaster. But here’s reality… a few days or weeks from now, things will not-so-slowly start to look normal again. At least for us. Facebook will have less stuff about emergency relief, and more of those quizzes, and games, and scores, and invitations to gigs and parties and whatnot. In a few days, Ondoy will no longer be “the news”. When Ondoy gets old, it will be forgotten. It will be just another problem that we’ve learned to live with. The truth of the matter is this- 95% of the people whom we are helping now- they needed our help BEFORE the typhoon. They were hit hardest because they’re the ones who live in shanties, they’re the ones without medical access, they’re the ones with no jobs and no money, and a lot of them didn’t have water even before the flood. Heck a lot of them needed food before Ondoy. And they existed, while we existed, side by side. We never bothered to help them. And when Ondoy gets old- when it moves from “front and center” to the sidelines of our attention and life goes back to “normal”, these people will still need our help.
They needed our attention BEFORE the typhoon. They will need our attention AFTER the typhoon.
If anything the typhoon opened our eyes to the REAL situation our countrymen were in. This post is just my way of asking everybody to be around for them PERMANENTLY. The great thing about Ondoy is that with everybody helping, we have some sort of momentum going. And when we move from Red Alert to whatever color normal living is, we can still keep that momentum going and never stop helping, and sharing, and giving. What does it take for these people to live better? When the flood goes down, many will need homes again. Then they’ll need jobs. Then they’ll need infrastructure built in their towns. Reliable water supply. Transportation. Schools should be rebuilt. Education should be made accessible. Crime should be controlled. Guys these are OLD problems. We can’t just be heroes when it comes to NEW problems. All old problems were once new, and they stayed there because somewhere along the way, we forgot how to follow through. I remember watching a movie called “Charlie Wilson’s War” which was all about the time when the US helped Afghanistan defend itself against Russia back in the day. The movie ended with a strong quote:
“These things happened. They were glorious and they changed the world… and then we f——d up the endgame.”
Guys, let’s not screw up the end game. If we’re here to help, let’s make sure we follow through. This is where I shut up and let you guys do the talking. Use the comment box below to share your ideas and thoughts on the matter. Before I do shut up let me leave you with one last thought- I truly believe that we have everything it takes to make all the changes we say we want in this country. There’s no resource, talent, skill, or connection that is unavailable to us. The question is this - will we make it available to them?
----
So yeah, would we all still be heroes after all the relief goods are packed and delivered? or do we instantly go back to our daily lives once the flood subsides?