Of Banner Photos

The photo above is the Philippine Star's banner photo for today. Shot by Jun Medoza, it had this caption: "Sen. Mar Roxas is welcomed by STAR employees while riding with children on a pedicab during a visit to The Philippine STAR office in Manila yesterday."

Really now??

The accompanying story isn't even remotely related to the photo! (Read article here.)

That guy carrying a kid, a pedicab beside him, and all these blind people rejoicing around him. Looks familiar? Oh. Isn't this his political ad? Then what is it doing as a banner photo in one of the country's major broadsheets? (Oh by the way, because of this publicity stunt which you allowed to happen on your pages, I believe a lot of people's respect for you made an abysmal plunge.)

I do not believe that this is a legitimate story to merit such an amount of publicity. Oh wait, this is a form of publicity for him! So there's Wowowee, his P.I carnage at a Makati rally, his attempts at being makatao by voluntarily drenching himself under the rain, his supposed love with that broadcaster, that hideously fugly padyak ad, denggit.. the list just goes on and on and on.

But wait, has the campaign period started?

Fighting Back

Kung palabas lang ang tira ko kay Pangulong Arroyo, eh bakit napipikon sa mga banat ko?

The Senators are fighting back.

During her "performance," PGMA told Presidential aspirants not to speak bad words in public - a clear reference to Mar Roxas' P.I. carnage at a Makati rally recently.

"To those who want to be President, this advice: If you really want something done, just do it. Do it hard, do it well. Don’t pussyfoot. Don’t pander. And don’t say bad words in public."

And so, since Twitter is the best thing, Roxas' tweeted this back: MARoxas "Gloria, I have to say bad words in public because of bad deeds done in secret."

Then, in an Inquirer article, Presidential son/sucky actor Mikey Arroyo is said to be "mad" at the opposition for being such actors in the arena of Philippine politics. He points out how Sen. Francis Escudero clandestinely asked for the President's blessing and endorsement for next year's Presidential elections. An accusation that Escudero denies.

In a statement released today by Escudero that I've posted below, he vehemently denied all allegations that he asked for support from the President.

"I have not sought, nor will I seek, the endorsement of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Nor have I authorized anyone to do so.

Let Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando or Vice President Noli de Castro, or anyone else who might want her blessings, get that endorsement which they have been seeking from day one for all I care.

I have not even declared yet. And if I do, I will seek only the endorsement of the Filipino people and will run as Opposition simply because I have been consistently against and questioned the mandate of this administration from the very start.

I supported and was spokesperson of the late Fernando Poe, Jr. in the 2004 presidential elections; I led impeachment complaints against Arroyo in the House; voted consistently against the administration on major policy positions, i.e., the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), EVAT, and the Human Security Act.

To get back at me, this vengeful administration has withheld the release of my Countryside Development Fund (CDF) since 2005. And now, its proxies have taken the debate over its performance in the past nine years down to the gutter by spreading intrigues against my person."

I smell trouble brewing. Don't you?

What is our Real State?

"To those who want to be President, this advice: If you really want something done, just do it. Do it hard, do it well. Don’t pussyfoot. Don’t pander. And don’t say bad words in public."

Yesterday's State of the Nation Address (SONA) was nothing short of a show - a clapping audience and a woman in front putting on a show. Trying to convince everyone - including herself - that what she's saying actually made a difference.

54 minutes - that could have been cut to 30 if she did not stop just so people would clap 126 times - of speech that meant nothing to those who are drenched in the rain, tirelessly screaming along the police-ridden Commonwealth Ave. And during these 54 minutes, she bragged about the improvement of our economy, the half-priced drugs we're selling and the infrastructure (fine Mom, she did something grand but it stops at SCTEX) that she was able to build.

She said that our economy has improved, "we have a strong economy and a strong fiscal position to withstand global shocks," but UP School of Economics professor Dr. Benjamin Diokno revealed the real deal with our economy in an article posted on PCIJ's website.

She was so proud that she's the first SouthEast Asian President that was invited by the White House to meet the Pres. Obama. The Washington Times think that this was a bad move for the American President. And I quote, "The choice of Mrs. Arroyo for this honor was a mistake because Mr. Obama is being used to give political cover for the Philippine president's trouble back home." And they end their Editorial with this, "but the nation should be differentiate from its lame-duck leader. Welcoming Mrs. Arroyo to the White House only validates her troubled rule." Very well said, I must say. Read full article here.

Finally, after 54 minutes, the torture/stupidity/embarrassment/show that is SONA was over.

Fine, let's give it to her that she actually did some good job, but what has she actually done to alleviate the plight of the poorest of the poor Filipinos? During her past 10 years in office, her SONAs have promised a lot of things, and she hasn't been able to deliver most of them. And I wonder what has happened to those boys with paper boats.

"At the end of this speech I shall step down from this stage, but not from the Presidency. My term does not end until next year. Until then, I will fight for the ordinary Filipino. The nation comes first. There is much to do as head of state – to the very last day."

Question is, when is the "very last day?"

And I see thought bubbles above heads where she trips while stepping down the stage.

It Ain't So Wow(owee)

I HATE WOWOWEE. It commodifies poverty. I think it's one of the suckiest shows on local telly ever. (Besides those starred by Richard and Gerald that are beyond idiotic.)

Three months ago, the country witnessed the awesome pretentiouness that was the "proposal" of Mar to Korina on the aforementioned show. We all know how the thinking people reacted to that and how "simpletons" (Villarica, 2009) thought that it was the most romantic thing they've seen.

Saturday, June 25, 2009 - I woke by by 2pm. Mom instantly called me to watch what was going on. This huge Orange shirt donning guy was on Wowowee. (Sidenote: you should know that our cable connection got cut since we haven't paid for that particuar bill and we're not bothering to get connected again since no one's barely at home so having cable is pretty useless)

The guy, apparently, was Sen. Manny Villar (CUE IN: Trippy Akala Mo song.) and so I didn't bother watching. Mom later tells me that, the Senator gave away house and lots to OFW's who are guests on the show. Surprised? Not really.

I think guesting on a show such as Wowowee to further expand one's political aspirations is just plain - DESPERATE. And I'd leave you to think why this is so. :)

Being Left is a Right

Fil-Am activist and Bayan member Melissa Roxas, 31, finally names the AFP personnel she is accusing of torturing her for six days last May, during a public trial with the Commission on Human Rights, Thursday July 25, 2009. (Journ friends, I know that that is such a weak lead. don't judge me, it's a blog after all :p wahaha)

According to Roxas, her torturers' names are "RC" "Rose" "Dex" "James" and a boss they aptly call as "Boss," along with a detailed account of how she was abused and tortured by the aforementioned people. But we do know that they're just pseudonyms.

Coming from a University where wearing a Red shirt is a statement and screaming at CASAA is an exercise of one's rights, I've had my share of stories from people on that side of the fence.

Stories of abuse, trial and triumph.

In our society, being Red is instantly as rebels, communists as others would call.

Here's what I don't understand, is it a crime to subscribe to a political belief that is not the norm?

This regime government thinks it is. Case in point: Roxas.

What do you think?

A Public Declaration

from PGMA, is what Opposition senator Francis Escudero wants.

Escudero asked PGMA to order her House allies to stop all efforts on Con-Ass during her delivery of her last State of the Nation Address (SONA) to fully stop all suspicions that her administration is still hungry to stay in power.

"Unless there is a public declaration by the President herself, addressed to her partymates in the House, the suspicions about this administration's dark intentions will remain in the minds of the people," Escudero said. "As president of the biggest coalition in the House, Lakas-Kampi, she can make the order."

The Senator said that if changes are to be made with the Constitution, it should not be during PGMA's term. And if it does push through at the Lower House, he'd do everything in his power to stop it at the Senate level, especially since he heads the Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes and Laws.

PGMA will deliver her last SONA at the Batasan this 27th of July, 2009.

Taken

"I don't know who you are, but if you don't let my daughter go, I will find you. I will kill you."

Liam Neeson's film about his character's daughter being kidnapped and drugged seemed all too familiar this weekend when a government agent's daughter relived the same fate. No, she was not kidnapped in Paris by a group of money-hungry pervs, she was kidnapped here in our shores and was later found drugged and sexually abused. The daughter, who is still a minor, is currently confined in an unnamed hospital. The government agent is an employee of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

The Administration has since declared an all-out war against illegal drugs and drug syndicates. (Wow, it took a kidnapping for them to realize this? Hmmm maybe a son or daughter of another government agent should be kidnapped by corrupt people, for the Admin to wage war against it!)

Drugs and kidnapping seem to be a mutual relationship. They're like a couple walking hand-in-hand along the Academic Oval. Films like Taken and Man on Fire portray how this relationship preys on people. (how are we supposed to know that such scripts can actually play out in real life?)

The government says that they are now making every effort to wage war against this drug-ridden society. I hope they're making efforts to fight poverty, graft and corruption, poor education and other cancers of society as well. May not be through this government, perhaps through the next one?

Guns Blazing

am-nes-ty [am-nuh-stee] noun, plural -ties, verb -tied, -ty-ing.

-noun

1. a general pardon for offenses, esp. political offenses, against a government, often granted before any trial or conviction.

2. Law. an act of forgiveness for past offenses, esp. to a class of persons as a whole.

3. a forgetting or overlooking of any past offense.

-verb (used with subject)

4. to grant amnesty to; pardon.

Credits: Dictionary.com

After freeing Italian Red Cross volunteer Eugenio Vagni from six months of captivity, Sunday - the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) is now the government's hot topic.

Defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro announced that they will wage an all-out war against the ASG.

Sen. Richard Gordon then proposed that amnesty be given to the insurgency group.

Giving the ASG, amnesty would be saying that all criminal acts they did prior are not crimes anymore. That all the families they destroyed, lives they have taken and communities they tormented are nothing. And that would be the biggest slap on their faces.

To give amnesty is to overlook past offenses, so what do we tell those that they have offended?

"Hey, the ASG are forgiven. We're sorry if they destroyed your family. But that's all in the past now."

If granting amnesty would ensure perennial peace for the war-torn island of Mindanao, I say why not? But would a group such as the ASG be willing to stop things that they've been doing for the past decade or so? I highly doubt that.

Isurgency in Mindanao has always been one of every Philippine president's headaches. And as administrations change next year, all eyes would be on the next administration on how it will address this particular problem.

Pfizer made it!

The Legislative body is accusing multi-national pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer of attempting to bribe the Philippine President with five million discount cards that would be distributed to needy patients across the country.

According to lawmakers, this was a move to prevent the President from signing a law that would cut drug prices in half.

But executive director of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) Reiner Gloor defends Pfizer, saying that it was not a bribe.

The Department of Health (DOH) also got the same offer from the company.

Both the President and DOH did not accept Pfizer's offer. (Aforementioned information are from this article from Inquirer.net)

Affordable and accessible health programs have always been an issue here on our shores.

When my dad got hospitalized last year, we had to pay a whopping amount for his month long stay. And that was the PGH, a government-owned hospital.

Clusivol's ads keep repeating that in this day and age, getting sick is not affordable. How true.

I never quite understood why drugs that are meant to save lives are very expensive.

If indeed it's true that the government did not accept the bribe and that they'll be cutting drug costs in half, then kudos to them.

But health is not just about drug costs, I wonder what the next government will do regarding hospital bills.