Lie to Me

When I was in grade 4, my mom caught me lying about a school project.

During my juvenile years, I would lie to save myself from trouble.

"No, I wasn't the one who broke the glass."

"I wasn't the one who started the fight."

"I swear I didn't know it was yours."

Lies. Lies. Lies.

And now that I'm 21 (and yes, I'm old since I will be turning 22 in three months time) such lies are just plain ridiculous. Oftentimes, telling the truth would keep you out of trouble more than lying. And I learned that the hard way. Ask my parents how.

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Our generation is very familiar with a lot prominent people both here and overseas who have lied in more ways than one.

Who can forget Sen. Miriam Santiago's infamous admission of lying combined with her laughter during the Erap years?

US Pres. Bill Clinton and the whole Monica Lewinsky brouhaha. "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

And then there's Erap and GMA. 'nuff said.

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One of the shows that I am currently obsessed with watching is Lie to Me. And this show is just made of awesome. Its premise is that, even if people desperately try to hide emotions, their micro-expressions (errr facial and gestural and even tone of voice) can give them away.

Dr. Cal Lightman (played Tim Roth) is the world's leading deception expert who studies facial expressions and involuntary body language to discover not only if someone is lying, but why. When someone shrugs one shoulder, rotates a hand or raises the lower lip, Lightman knows he's lying. Based on the real-life scientific discoveries of Paul Ekman, the series follows Lightman and his team of deception experts as they assist law enforcement and government agencies to expose the truth behind the lies.

Watch it!!! Errr, well download it first haha :p

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I wonder, would the embarrassment that is Mikey lie the way he did, if it was Dr. Lightman in front of him?

Gratitude for Sale

For the whole image, click here: GMANews.tv

I have a plan, I will visit Baguio. Maybe, just maybe, I'd find tarpaulins all over the city thanking me that I visited the city. But then again, I do not have the funds to pay for those tarpaulins. Unlike our dear President.

GMANews.TV reports in an article entitled "Arroyo government sponsors thank you's to itself" published today, that Philippine Information Agency (PIA) chief Secretary Conrado Limcaoco Jr., received a memo from PIA Cordillera Director Helen Tibaldo with the subject “Tarps for Presidential Visit.” Notice that PIA is under the Office of the President.

The memo is thanking PIA for their preparations for GMA’s visit from August 28 -29. At the third paragraph of the memo, it states “For our part, we would like to request for the printing of the tarps along the route with the following suggested messages.” It then lists down at least five messages that the tarps would contain. All of them, expressing thanks to our dear President for her work and dedication from different sectors of the Cordillera community. But something’s fishy about these sectoral groups. They are groups that are “amorphous” in nature. Go figure.

Both parties have confirmed that a memo was sent but both did not comment on the contents of the said memo.

And I wonder, did she have to buy all these tarps just so she can assure herself that she is actually doing something for the country? What’s your take?

The Tip-ping Point

I hate giving tips. Especially to waiters/waitresses who are of the Slowpoke kind. Or whenever I see the service person's face that s/he seems to hate what they're doing. Such people do not deserve an extra bill in their pocket. I bet they cheated on the "Pleasing Personality" test. So when I read on GMANews.TV that the infamous President spent P6 million on tips during her US visit, my first thought was "dengggg, those service guys are lucky! The President gave them 6million in total when she can't do the same thing for her countrymen."

Albeit the controversial meals of Gloria, the woman and her entourage still had the guts to spend P6million - SIX-FREAKIN-MILLION-PESOS - on tips for those who served them during the 6-day US trip. This is according to a breakdown of expenses provided to GMANews.TV by the Palace's deputy executive secretary for administration and finance, Susanna Vargas.

They spent $66,000 = P3,300,000 in Washington DC and $59,000 = P2,950,000 in New York. ($1 = P50)

WHERE THE HECK DID THEY GET ALL THAT MONEY?!?!?!??!

Maybe they'd use another scapegoat Congressman to claim that they paid all that. Or maybe Mikey Arroyo would say that there is more "dignity" in tipping that much than eating in turo-turos or McDo.

Quick question: IS THIS TAX-PAYERS' MONEY?

And I close my ears, so as not to hear the truth or lies that they would answer.

Jetlag

She cancelled the jet that she ordered. If she pushed through with it, our country could have lost P1.2billion.

After receiving much flack for eating and drinking expensive things in New York and Washington D.C., while the rest of the country die of hunger, the decision to cancel the jet was a wise one. Cause if she didn't, ewan ko na lang talaga.

According to minion Press Sec. Cerge Remonde, the President will postpone catering to her "needs" even if the next President would actually be the one benefiting from it. The jet was supposed to be used for her travels around the world.

Arroyo has been receiving much criticism from sectors of the society for her alleged extravagant lifestyle of overseas trips and luxury dinners. If I were a hungry kid along Katipunan and I hear that the President is out of the country eating caviar and drinking champagne, I'd be angry too. And then you hear that she plans to buy a billion-peso jet while you can't even afford to build your own kariton is just adding insult to the industry.

Honestly, how can she take doing all those things when she know that majority of her country is living in despair?

Spending 2.78 billion pesos just for her foreign trips in just five years, 2003-2008? And we tell our people, that our country is in great debt and our economy is in bad shape? That we do not have enough money to provide proper care, health and education to majority of our people?

Heartless.

Good thing, she was wise enough not to purchase that jet. Cause if she did, she'll never hear the end of it.

"Tonight We Dine in Bobby Van's Steakhouse!"

Three days before the infamous Le Cirque, the same band of bandits politicians led by PGMA ate in another restaurant, as reported by the Washington Post. But this time they spent less since their tab only reached $15,000. That would be P720,899.00 in our currency. The dinner that took place in Washington's Bobby Van's Steakhouse was attended by PGMA and about 65 other people. According the Washington Post's column entitled Heartburn Over Two Big Meals written by The Reliable Source, "the group took over one of the restaurant's private rooms and dined on lobster, steak and fine wines; at the conclusion of the meal, an unidentified woman opened a handbag stuffed with cash, counted out bills and paid the $15,000 tab -- which included a generous tip."

The administration has already received much criticism for their lavish spending of a million pesos in a posh restaurant in New York, and now it will receive more since this story is now fast-circulating online.

Critics say that, PGMA should be investigated by the Ombudsman for supposedly violating R.A. 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. Section 4 states that "Public officials and employees and their families shall lead modest lives appropriate to their positions and income. They shall not indulge in extravagant or ostentatious display of wealth in any form."

What do you think? Is it okay for you that PGMA and her entourage ate such "extravagant" meals?

Wine and other Expensive Things

Picture this: a girl drenched under the rain. Rummaging through a black plastic bag, hoping to find a half-eaten chicken leg. Finding none, she seeks shelter under a closed bank's roof. Then multiply that by the number of bank roofs, garbage bags and street children that the metro has. Now, imagine the President in a posh restaurant overseas with her entourage of 20+ followers. And their tab hits close to a million pesos.

In her recent visit to the United States to meet Pre. Obama, PGMA and her minions went to Le Cirque, a class-A, French restaurant in New York.

And yes, the image above is a detailed account of what they ordered and how much they spent for it.

$19,866.00 = P993,300.00 ($1 = P50)

And guess why the bill bloated to that amount? Oh hello there bottles and bottles of champagne! ($5,610.00 = P280,500.00)

A million pesos that could have been spent for education.

A million pesos that could have helped rebuild typhoon-destroyed barangays.

A million pesos that could have cured sick children.

A million pesos that could have been allocated for food for our hungry countrymen.

A million pesos that were spent despite children who are not able to go to school.

A million pesos that were spent lavishly while the whole country is trying its best to stay afloat.

A million pesos that were spent while parents are not able to provide proper health for their children.

A million pesos that were spent without regard for their hungry countrymen back home.

Oh, the audacity.

And, by the way, the country paid for that bill. Yet, the country's still hungry.

The Traffic that was Worth It

As I've blogged earlier, some friends and I had an awesome roadtrip to Alabang last Wednesday. I texted Minneli that I think we should leave Ortigas really early since we might encounter SLEX traffic due to Pres. Aquino's burial. So we agreed to meet up by 7am at GCF. But we all know what happens if things are planned at such an ungodly hour. :) Regardless, we left GCF at 7:45am. Lo and behold, there was no traffic, so we arrived at Alabang really early. After the whole day rest, we headed for home.

And the traffic that we tried to avoid earlier that day, materialized that very afternoon. It was just really bad. It was moving but on such a turtle speed. Right after the Sucat exit was this:

And this went one til forever. The fence separating the express way and the service road was filled with supporters, by-standers and merely curious people, all waiting to see the arrival of Pres. Aquino's coffin. People even climbed roofs and billboards just to be able to catch a glimpse of the President before she was laid to rest at the Manila Memorial.

All these, to have a last look at the former President who was a vital instrument in restoring democracy for the Filipino people. And despite the traffic, no temper rose, because we all understood that what was going on was historic. What was before us was once in a lifetime. This was traffic that I didn't loathe to experience.

This was a President that the Filipino people loves because of her dedication. This was a President who fought despite threats for her life. This was a President who proved that "the Filipino is worth dying for." This was a President who had the people's interest at top most priority. No, she isn't perfect but she does deserve credit.

And in all honesty I ask, is the current President capable of such things? Would Mikee and Luli feel the same support the Filipino gave Noynoy and Kris, if it were them at the same circumstance.

I highly doubt that.

The first three photos are my shots using RJ's camera except the last photo which he shot. :)

On the former President's Death

In 1983, EDSA was filled with Filipinos who are mourning the death of the late Sen. Ninoy Aquino. 26 years later, the streets are once again filled as people mourn the death of his wife, former President Corazon Aquino. Both the Senator and former President are icons of democracy as both fought to restore the freedom that we lost for 20 years under the Marcos regime.

The mood yesterday here in Makati was weird. Hundreds of eople flocked the streets. Some people mourned while others seem to have forgotten why they were there in the first place. A group of students from some computer college kept screaming whenever anything passes by. Such a mockery to the solemnity of the event. A politician was successful in campaigning for himself as people rushed by his side to have their photos taken with him (HINT: he's running for a coveted position next year and his home base is where our office is)

We waited for two hours, just to witness the passing of the late President's coffin in front of us.

The feeling felt surreal.

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Carlos Celdran's Tweet regarding the Philippines was spot on: "carlosceldran is wondering why someone always has to die in order for The Philippines to galvanize. We're really morbid like that."

And that got me wondering. Are we so desensitized by our country's problems and issues that it took us Aquino's death to realize that we have to wake up and do something about it?

I hope not. I still believe that the democracy that the Aquinos fought for, gave Filipinos a voice, and would include the civil responsibility of being vigilant in protecting our rights as a country.

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In my discussion earlier with office mates, we agreed that Pres. Aquino is probably the most famous contemporary Philippine president post-Marcos era. No she ain't perfect, but at least she isn't as notorious as the last two that were in position.

I wonder, would people fill the streets and mourn the same way if it were PGMA?

Personally, I wouldn't.

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.

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.

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.