So what if Piolo Pascual is gay (not that there's anything wrong with that)?

For the most part of its history up to the present, the Roman Catholic Church and many other organised religions refused to recognise that gay people are human beings with feelings, dreams, and aspirations. Despite wide acceptance today that sexuality and sexual orientation are complex attributes of the human experience that cannot be summarily classified or labelled, Philippine society continues to take its cue from its role models in spirituality and society -- from (1) the Church's adamant stand that being a homosexual dooms one to a life of irredeemable sin and from (2) its celebrities who make their millions from ridiculing and parodying the nuances and behaviours of homosexuals.

Yet, gay people have contributed significantly to human civilisation, culture, and science. The father of modern computing, for example, was a homosexual. Alan Turing, the man who proved (what we take for granted today) that machines can, in theory, perform any kind of mathematical calculation using just a handful of binary logical operations committed suicide at a young age after he was persecuted by the British government for his sexual orientation. Despite serving his country as British Intelligence's chief code cracker during World War II, Turing ultimately could not be accepted for who he was by his own government.

On that note, we might ask, so what if Piolo Pascual is gay (allegedly)? Oh, I forgot. The influential child of a megastar has something to say about that.

Anecdotes from the Wilderness

Last weekend, while on a photoshoot, a fellow ran into me who thought I looked like a prime target for trickery. Upon noticing his game, I played along and gave him the answers he was looking for, dodging a few pertinent questions here and there. When he thought he had me eating out of the palm of his hand, I told him I was with a group and backed away ever so cautiously. He didn't blink and kept trying to pull me into his web so he could get some profit. I reiterated and he caved in, wearing a slightly bummed expression as he disappeared into the crowd. I couldn't help thinking, "What if pinoys used their syosal mentality for the permanent greater good rather than temporary personal gain.. how much better off would this country be?"

This is the basis for these GRP articles, the FB fanpage and the anathema behind a steadily growing crowd of disenchanted but not hopeless individuals. We discuss the events of the day but also the classic underlying symptomatic issues plaguing our society; in this discussion, we do not always find pleasant answers. But such is the nature of such conversations and their context. Philosophers, political or otherwise, must take an epistemological approach to debating i.e. What is knowledge? How is knowledge acquired? How do we know what we know?

The answers, if any, are garnered through group participation and honest, intellectual reasoning solidified by research and restraint from emotional arguments and childish retorts. I'd like to share one of these comical refutations from an insurgent into the GRP ranks trying to label me a communist simply because I espoused ideas contrary to his. Notice the obvious, yet overlooked, irony in his comment, "we are not here to debate, and commies were allergic to debate too." My point is this: If Filipinos continue on the path to individual economic wealth at the expense of others, intellectual superiority to boost their fragile egos, and don't keep their tempers in check when someone trumps them at their own foolish games, we will never progress as a society no matter how much we converse or act "syosal". It will be a dead end with rotting means. Sayang!

...we are not here to debate. Of all people you should be able to appreciate this idea. After all, we're not your fellow communists Stalin, Lenin, Fidel Castro, Dear Leader (Kim Jong Il) and that hydrophobic dirt bag Che Guevara all allergic to debates.

President Aquino's anti-corruption campaign may be distracting him from economic growth challenges

The core of Philippine President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III (PNoy) continues to resonate among his fans today -- Kung walang kurap, walang mahirap. ("No corruption means no poverty"). That is the President's hypothetical solution to reducing poverty in the Philippines.

But has this hypothesis stood up to the empirical evidence so far observed?

It's a bit iffy according to Wallace Business Forum consultancy president Peter Wallace...

The drive to root out corruption has led to much lower-than-expected government spending and delays in putting infrastructure projects out for tender as deals are reviewed and the government sets to build watertight contracts.

Wallace said had spending been as planned in the first half of the year, annual growth would have been 6.3 percent - more than 50 percent stronger than actual growth of 4 percent.

The payoff of hitting graft would be a cleaner and more open system in future, which should lead to better growth and more investment, but that is not a guaranteed outcome.

"He's moving more or less in the right direction, he's just got to move more quickly," said Wallace.

This apparently leads the Reuters author of the article from which the above excerpt was taken to title his piece "Is PNoy's anti-corruption campaign distracting from the economy he wants to save?"

What should be examined in the coming months is the question around the nature of the causal relationship between corruption and poverty. Does corruption, indeed, play that big a factor in the continued impoverishment of the Philippines?

Clash of the puppets: Aquino COMELEC battles with Arroyo Supreme Court

Clash of the Titans? Or clash of the puppets? The whole brouhaha around the request of former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to seek medical treatment abroad which was blocked by a travel ban issued by Leila De Lima which was then suspended by an order from the Supreme Court (SC) which in turn was defied by De Lima has become a grand show of political puppetry...

Within one day [of De Lima's defiance of the SC order], the charge was produced by a joint panel of the Department of Justice and the Commission on Elections [(COMELEC)], an arrangement that raised questions about why the Comelec was working hand in glove with the administration when it is supposed to be an independent institution, not the government’s prosecution arm. This irregular arrangement immediately cast doubt on the independence of the Comelec and the credibility and fairness of the process of putting Arroyo on trial.

From Titans to mere puppets. Consistent with the renowned Heritage of Smallness of Philippine society, this is also becoming a show of the Incredible Shrinking players. Both camps have achieved nothing other than diminish both themselves and the entire society they presume to lead.

But that's the Philippines -- a country of people who deserve their leaders.

Conrado 'Noynoy-is-Aragorn' de Quiros continues to insist that criminal prosecution is a popularity contest @sagadasun

True to form, Inquirer.net "columnist" Conrado "Noynoy-is-Aragorn" de Quiros is at it again building an entire emo plea on the back of that feature of politics Aquinoists have exploited to smithereens -- popularity.

Coming from an "article" that goes by the quaintly poetic cliche, "How the mighty have fallen", the following is classic de Quiros...

This country may be forgetful in the long run, but it does have a strong short-term memory. You see that in the wellspring of support P-Noy has gotten for his decision to stop the former First Couple from leaving. The anger and loathing are still there. The people want the former first couple punished. The people want the former first couple jailed.

As I said in an earlier piece, criminal prosecution is not a popularity contest.

The process of criminal prosecution is not one that is driven by a popular outcome. It proceeds on the basis of a rigorous examination of facts and an intelligent tying of these together into a logical conclusion.

Perhaps de Quiros should take on board a bit of the insight his editor is able to apply to his own writing today...

[...] it’s imperative for the Aquino administration to lay off on the triumphalist rhetoric for the moment (“We promised the Filipino people her day in court, and now she’s getting it,” Secretary Ricky Carandang crowed on the day of Arroyo’s arrest, conveniently forgetting how ad hoc, reactive and improvisational the government’s response had been to the Supreme Court’s TRO), and get down instead to the nitty-gritty of constructing more solid, legally unassailable cases against Arroyo. They should be, at the very least, free of shortcuts, infirmities and photo-finish touches, and filed in court expeditiously, to backstop the initial indictment against Arroyo.

As the eminent Dean Jorge Bocobo once observed, I often quote myself quoting myself. But then when one finds one's self surrounded by idiots, there really isn't much choice but to rely on one's own brilliance. Fortunately, the Inquirer.net stepped up to the job today and relieved me of some of my duties -- for now.

The foundation of the cancer of The Filipino Condition that has fatally taken hold of our society

I've always maintained that the problems of Philippine society at the most fundamental levels are rooted in the upbringing of the typical Filipino child -- how they are, at an early age, exposed to their parents'...

(1) tolerance for petty thievery, banal incompetence, and substandard workmanship;

(2) encouragement of the finding and taking of shortcuts (even at the expense of those who strive to follow the rules) and rewarding success at such quests; and,

(3) insistence on deference to people on the bases of seniority and credentials.

When one considers a society with a foundation held up by such conceptual pillars, it becomes less surprising that no amount of political solutions have ever proved to be effective at mitigating the effects of the profound cancer known as The Filipino Condition that has fatally taken hold of the collective psyche.

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima will have the charge of contempt of court hanging over her head for life

The only real loser coming out of the debacle after "Justice" Secretary Leila De Lima defied a Supreme Court order to suspend a travel ban on former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will be none else but De Lima herself. The tragedy here (for her, at least) is that she will most likely have been acting under the orders of her boss, Philippine President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III as Manila Standard columnist Jojo Robles sees it...

Had De Lima acted alone, she would probably be notarizing documents outside Manila City Hall these days, instead of preparing for her assured inclusion in the administration’s 2013 Senate slate.

Worse, still (again for De Lima), it seems that she will be simply hung out to dry by her boss...

And yet, in another attempt at ill-suited ingenuousness, Aquino said that he had merely heard about the filing of charges against Arroyo while he was in Bali [attending the ASEAN summit].

Was it worth being a Yes Man to a boss who will simply turn his back to you while the rest of your career goes down the tubes in the aftermath of a spectacular act of defiance against the highest court in the land that set a dangerous precedent for the future of institutional governance in the Philippines, Sec Leila De Lima?

Only time will tell.

Tit for tat II: List of things that went wrong under the government of Noynoy Aquino

Thanks to an Anonymous commenter on Get Real Post for this list of things that happened under PNoys government:

1.unconstitutional EO No’s.1 & 2
2.Samar & Balay group conflict inside Malacanang
3. bungled hostage rescue
4. blatant lie about the $430 million MCC grant
5. wrongful deportation of 14 Taiwanese fraud suspects to China
6.Cojuangco-Aquino SCTex multi million deal
7. favoring KKK to high government positions
8. release of morong 43
9. denying clemency to 100 old and sick prisoners despite PPP’s recommendation but pardons a dead man
10.failed promise to prioritize FOI Bill
11.misleading polls by own kins’ survey firms Asia Pulse & SWS
12. Hacienda Luisita/SCTex illegal toll fee
13.ineffective com group (includes Mislang)
14.pending RH Bill
15. corruption score worsens based on diff. international intelligence reports
16. lowest rate of GDP
17.mounting unemployment problem
18.undiplomatic verbal spat with China over Spratlys
19.Porsche/BMW controversy
20.P6-billion illegal tax write off given to Mirant and Team Energy
21.people suffering from higher cost of living and having depress wages
22.controversial appointees (eg. BNP – Diokno, LTO -Torres, BoC – Alvarez, PCSO – Tolentino & Joaquin)
23.core inflation rate increased from 3.9 to 4
24.biggest drop of visitor arrivals from 377, 672 to 317,443
25.slow action on OFW repatriation during Middle East Crisis
26.underemployment rate increased from 0.178 to 0.194
27. increased of poverty incidence
28. dropped imports from USD 4, 568 to USD 5, 497
29. BIR and BOC’s failure to meet their respective revenue targets
30. imposing double vat on toll
31.failure to stop jueteng
32.excessive and unproductive travel abroad
33.former AFP Chief and Defense Sec. Angelo Reyes suicide due to Senate pressure
34.corruption still rampant in national and local level
35. PPP zero investment
36.deteriorating condition of education
37.no wage increase despite the rocketed cost of basic commodities
38.billion lost in revenue due to missing container vans
39.very unproductive legislature under pnoy’s admin
40.missing in action during the typhoon
41. slow action and ineptness on crisis/disaster management
42. 9.43 billion flood damage due to cancellation of flood projects in Central Luzon
43.increased pork barrel and CCT budgets and cut the budget on education.
44.failed CCT program
45.failed Pantawid Pasada Program
46. increased crime rate
47.P-noy’s 1.46 Billion intelligence fund for 2011
48.controversy on Apple MacBooks worth 1.67 million or P67,000 each for Carandang’s staff
49.rising cases of impunity for extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances
50. 4 billion peso damage claim of Belgian dredging firm for cancellation of project
51.influencing a recent SC decision on family-owned Hacienda Luisita
52.postponement of ARMM election
53.DBP lawyer suicide due to harassment
54. Lopez Holdings 1.6 Billion peso DBP loan written off
55. secret meeting with MILF leader Murad
56. 5 million pesos aid to MILF
57. apathy to the sacrifice of our soldiers who are losing their lives in Mindanao
58. 31 million pesos aid to (not existing) ABB
59. 5-10 million bribe to congressmen to back up steps taken against GMA
60. imposing tax on SSS & PAG IBIG contributions
61. close to P1M cost (P860,000) of single Palace-Ledac meeting
62. besmirching the name of the highest court, notably the Chief Justice
63. blatantly defying The Philippine Constitution

Add to the growing list!

Noynoy Aquino will have to continue to lie to cover-up Leila De Lima's contempt of court

Simple principles outlined by Manila Standard columnist Jojo Robles today:

(1) You may disagree with a court of law but you may not defy it.

(2) Charges filed against Arroyo were rushed and the people behind it coerced.

(3) One need not be pro-Arroyo to see the error in what Malacañang did to the justice system by defying the Supreme Court.

(4) The charges against Arroyo are weak and will struggle to get through any court that is headed by a decent judge.

(5) The fact of who appointed the justices of the Supreme Court provide no bases for accusing them of biased decisions.

Read the full article here.

Conrado 'Noynoy-is-Aragorn' de Quiros continues to throw tantrums about Corona's appointment as SC Chief Justice

The venerable Conrado "Noynoy is Aragorn" de Quiros huffs and puffs in his recent Inquirer.net article Two trying to lead us to believe that the real "issue" surrounding the constitutional crisis that is flaring up in the aftermath of the Philippines' Justice Secretary Leila De Lima baldly defying the orders of the Supreme Court (SC) to suspend her travel ban on former President Gloria Arroyo is really all about the right of SC chief justice Renator Corona to sit in the office he currenly holds.

Consider for a moment that (1) there is nothing in the Law that barred Arroyo's appointment of Corona and (2) de Quiros's position was argued on the quaint basis of "delicadeza". After considering that, suppose, for argument's sake that de Quiros's laboured point in his article is worth considering. The question then to ask is this:

Which is the bigger crime, still? De Lima's defiance of a Supreme Court order? Or Corona's being a "midnight appointee"?

Which of the above two is potentially more damaging to state institutions and the continued stability of the government and the society at large?

Too bad bozos like de Quiros cannot see beyond their tired Aquinoist "power-rests-on-the-will-of-the-people" drivel. What is otherwise a crystal clear picture of what is going on continues to escape the blinkered minds of these old demagogues who, perhaps for their own good, are best regarded as the museum pieces that they are.

De Lima's contempt of court has a stronger chance of being prosecuted than Arroyo's 'electoral sabotage'

It is a time of great confusion in our sad Republic! On one hand, Inquirer.net "columnist" Neal Cruz in his 21st November piece All rights are limited by the rights of others makes a pathetic grasp at straws in continuing to bandy around the tired notions of the "Arroyo Court" (in referring to the Philippines' Supreme Court (SC)) to shore up sympathy for what was essentially inexcusable behaviour on the part of "Justice" Secretary Leila De Lima when she defied an SC order to suspend a travel ban on former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

On the other hand, his Editor highlights in Checkmate, published on the same day, highlights the "Aquino COMELEC"; i.e. that...

[...] it is also true that the Comelec, an independent body stacked with Aquino appointees, has left itself open to charges of itself being politicized when it joined the DOJ in the task force to investigate alleged electoral rigging by the previous administration.

See, that's the trouble when we extend the National "debate" into speculative territory. Nobody wins. And the simple truth about our sad society that I've for so long exposed becomes even more pronounced:

Filipinos deserve one another.

Compare all this ocho-ocho politics to the elegant simplicity of a sensible guiding principle coming from an elder of the legal profession and former head of the best institution of learning in the country...

The first glaring question is whether an executive officer, no matter how highly placed, may defy the clear order of no less than the Supreme Court. This is now scheduled for deliberation by the Court. It will have to decide whether indeed there was defiance by the justice secretary and what to do with the defiant. In the past those proved to have defied the order of a court, even of a lower court, have been penalized for contempt. Will this happen here?

[...]

The judiciary, of course, is not perfect or omniscient. It can make, and it has made, mistakes. But mistaken or not, the court must be obeyed. But the judiciary has no guns to implement its orders. Thus, if every person is free to obey only what he or she considers a correct decision or order of the court, we can have chaos. We had the beginnings of that at the airport last Tuesday.

Between (1) the charges of "electoral sabotage" on Arroyo and (2) the potential of slapping charges on the Justice Secretary for contempt of court, the stronger case, it seems, is clearly the latter.

Noynoy Aquino thinks prosecuting former Philippine President Gloria Arroyo is a popularity contest

According to an Inquirer.net report it seems Philippine President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III sees public opinion and "support" as key to a successful prosecution of his predecessor, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA)...

President Benigno Aquino III on Saturday night rallied the public behind his administration’s effort to prosecute former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for alleged electoral sabotage, while promising to accord her due process.

[...]

“This is just the start of the process. And it is very good to know that even from the start, even while I was outside the country, you are all behind me, especially on this issue,” he said.

“I know that I am not alone. As I think about your welfare, you continue to give me strength.”

But then the process of criminal prosecution is not one that is driven by a popular outcome. It proceeds on the basis of a rigorous examination of facts and an intelligent tying of these together into a logical conclusion.

Perhaps we can refresh the President's memory with this brief introduction on criminal procedure:

Criminal procedures are safeguards against the indiscriminate application of criminal laws and the wanton treatment of suspected criminals. Specifically, they are designed to enforce the constitutional rights of criminal suspects and defendants, beginning with initial police contact and continuing through arrest, investigation, trial, sentencing, and appeals.

Note that rule of that which is popular has no place in such a procedure.

Aquino henchmen in Congress file resolution vs SC and Arroyo that lacks any legal or constitutional legs #ArroyoWatch

What exactly does "extraordinary political will" mean? This is the basis of a move by "Palace allies" in Congress to back the administration of Philippine President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III in its on-going effort to bar former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from leaving the country to seek medical treatment. According to an ABS-CBN "report"...

Reps. Joseph Emilio Abaya, Lorenzo Tañada III, Neptali Gonzales II, Irvin Alcala, Henedina Abad, Kaka Bag-ao, Walden Bello and Mel Senen Sarmiento introduced the resolution.

As of posting, some 80 have already signed the resolution, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. confirmed. He said, "it's an expression of support for the executive...for what Secretary Leila de Lima did."

These "representatives" justified their move by highlighting that it is aligned with "Aquino’s battle-cry as the 'nation’s first and most determined fighter of corruption'."

Despite presenting a few other arguments around this "resolution", there seems to be no construct within their position that rests upon any semblance of a legal ground.

Justice Department Circular No. 41 and Aquinoists missing the whole point @raissawriter

Raissa Robles wrote (in value-crushing detail) about a loophole exploited in a certain Department Circular No. 41 issued by Justice Secretary Alberto Agra in 2010 under the Government of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA). This circular is what the current Justice Secretary Leila De Lima then used to slap the travel ban on now former President and Congressman Arroyo.

Because of this, DC 41 said, these Supreme Court circulars left a gap because they were “silent with respect to cases falling within the jurisdiction of courts below the RTC as well as those pending determination by government prosecution offices.”

It is the last clause, which I posted in red, which De Lima is using to bar the Arroyo couple from traveling – because they have five complaints filed against them “pending determination by government prosecution offices.”

So check out the bunch of commentors over there at that blog exchanging high fives over what they perceive to be the irony of a GMA-era circular now being used against the former President.

The real irony here that is lost on these folk lies in their not considering that for all the whole vindictiveness that the government of President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III exhibits over anything and everything related to Arroyo, they end up actually celebrating the use of some of the work GMA left behind for their own quaint purposes.

Of course the real point of it all remains. It is really more around the whole question that has been raised even by Arroyo's most virulent critics: Why to this day have no charges have been filed in court against GMA by De Lima's mob (and, by command responsibility, President Aquino himself)?

All this just highlights the desperation that is evident in the Second Aquino Administration having to resort to using a legal artefact that is a direct legacy of the administration they ironically demonise.

Pinoy nga naman talaga
Parang aso
Matangkad lang kapag naka-tayo.

Keep on trying, guys.

For those planning another ocho-ocho people power thing at the airport, think again...

Learn from the past so that you don't come out looking like chumps in the future. Check out how Edsa "revolutions" DIED in this c.2005 GRP classic (excerpt below)...

So, in effect, Filipinos would have not accepted their duly constituted institutions and duly elected officials as the official authorities on the "Truth" yet would have easily relied on a street mob in yet another Fiesta Revolution to dictate and uphold said "Truth". This is tantamount to arbitrarily voiding Congress and allowing street mobs to call the shots from hereon. That it seems is what many Filipinos want. However, Filipinos have a track record of never going the whole nine yards when it comes to "revolution" (or anything else for that matter). Thus we have nothing more than Fiesta Revolution -- so much hate and tunnel-vision, but none of the conviction and wherewithal to go for the gold. The fact is, even in the happy sport of "revolution", Filipinos exhibit their world-renowned mediocrity.

Planning a "people-enforced" watch list order? Here's my advise:

Stidi lang kayo dyan...

Why we need to demand MORE of our celebrity 'tweeps' @jimparedes @gangbadoy

The following comment was posted on Get Real Post addressed to moi:

People on twitter just point things out. They make jokes because they can and there is no reason not to. No one is trying to influence anyone or sell anything. I suppose you expect everyone to pull out Polsci textbook for their 140 characters? Yeah, that’s the right way of doing things.

And no one is debating anything, get off your high horse.

People on twitter just point things out. They make jokes because they can and there is no reason not to. No one is trying to influence anyone or sell anything. I suppose you expect everyone to pull out Polsci textbook for their 140 characters? Yeah, that's the right way of doing things.

And no one is debating anything, get off your high horse.

Here is my response in all the usual brilliance everyone has come to expect of me:

Yes I am on a high horse at the moment -- because I point things out better than most, and I do it properly applying a willingness to challenge both the popular and the adored (because I am not encumbered by the baggage of cozy personal relationships over these social networks) on a communications medium that forces me to be structured and coherent in the way I present my ideas.

Because I am not a celebrity I am compelled to build my credibility on the back of consistency that stands the test of time and substance that stands the test of scrutiny. Compare those stringent standards to those that the public routinely applies to celebrities -- people who can command an audience simply by acting stupid in front of a camera or on stage.

That, dude, is why I have crowned myself the Rock Star of Da Pinoy blogosphere.

That said, I did say that there is nothing necessarily wrong with joking around on Twitter and making the albeit lame assumption that these people do so for the mere purpose of "pointing things out". It is a nice pasttime. But then, again as I said, do it once too often and it starts to come across as moronic -- specially coming from people who, because they have more, are expected to be more than the standards they stoop to just because they can.

Next question please.

Just like celebrities dish out drivel and r still believed and adored... @Jimparedes

...while the rest of us work on substance to *earn* respect. In response to the tweet...

The corrupt and powerful have a right to 'due process'. The rest have the right to suffer indignities and be philosophical.

If we expect the "corrupt and powerful" to police themselves, shouldn't we also expect the popular and influential to tidy their backyard as well?

The showbiz industry and the celebrities it coddles account for a lot of the moronic ways Filipinos think. Perhaps before our celebrities start pontificating about what our politicians ought to do with their "power", they should first look in the mirror and check out what they themselves -- as a sector in our society -- do with the influence they wield.

The real point of inviting foreign investment seems lost

My feeling is that we've lost sight of the real point of inviting foreign capital into the country, which is to *seed* the economy with a capital base and provide *initial* stimulus to consume (presumably from those that come to be employed by the businesses that said foreign capital creates).

We forget that there is a second stage to that initial one where the ground work laid by the above seed and initial stimuli become the fertile breeding grounds for *domestic* enterprise to take root.

My skepticism surrounding all this rah rah over foreign investment  lies in both (1) the above second stage no longer being highlighted giving the impression that foreign capital will single-handedly sustain the economy, and (2) the iffy assumption that, given the opportunity, Filipinos will exploit the groundwork laid to engage in their part of the deal, which is to create and accumulate capital domestically.

When I Fell In Love

This document comes with no disclaimers, apologies or motives. It is short but from the heart, and I hope you, bayani, find writing about your land a bit more comfortable, positive and oriented to what exists between elections.

I came to Pinas in 2005, uneducated about the culture and unaware of anything other than the desire for my partner at the time. While that faded rather quickly, my interest in the country never did. Fortunately I was able to grab hold of it and manifest a reality some may never truly appreciate. Fast forward to 2010, wherein I recognize that my love of Filipinas is really just a distraction from my ultimate goals. I have transplanted and redirected my desires. While I still have many pinay friends, and adore each and every one of them as the interesting creatures they are, my interest in Pinas no longer lies in my love for them.. I just love this country. I behold the natural beauty of Bohol and weep for the sturgid streets of Cavite; I gaze upon the golden shores of Calicoan and wonder how did Marikina go so wrong...

In 2011, as we near the end, I appreciate more the phrase "Ang buhay ng tao'y gulong ang kahambing. Sa ibabaw ngayon, bukas sa ilalim" often overstated to emphasize the Pinoy mentality of daily survival. In the constant change of life here, one can retain nothing but pride at times and yet, I love this country. I love it for its recognizance of sheer stupidity, for it teaches our youths what not to do in the future. If we instruct them wisely, they will evolve into leaders this nation needs so desperately. Within them lie a future not yet inscribed, let us take each one of them..let us take the physical beauty of Bohol, Guimaras, Suquijor, Banaue, Batanes, Coron, Camotes, and Calicoan and transform it into a lyrical prowess that demands their attention. My work here, presently, is to inspire the people, the youth who watch demented teleserye programming and listen to elders voices of hopelessness.. to take this natural beauty and make it a demonstrative and tangible reality. Pinas should not have concession in its affairs, but rather a state of urgency.. but also one infused with positive means.

Your potential is vast, your people many.. please realize the gains and squander not as other nations have, to their demise. Your Chocolate Hills cry out for freedom just as the children of Pasig cry for kwarta. Sagada praises the sun which sets on Zamboanga, and curses the sands of Saudi Arabia where so many balikbayans reside...fear not, for the future is yours if you reach it with intent, with mercy upon those who disavow anything other than what the Cojuangcos want them to believe..they are your kababayan, they belong in this future, they are incoherent to reason and duty, but not to love...Ilocano to Ilonggo, Kapampangan to Waray, each has their role in this grand finale to 400+ years of aggression, greed, and subserviance.

I believe in Bayanihan and I believe that the seeds of today, lay among the thorns of yesteryear. For I love this country...

Some lingering thoughts on the RHB

It has occurred to me, upon reading some of the statements from anti-RHB factions, that traditional morals play a large role in the defeat of such proposed legislation. My question to these groups and individuals is this: If you care about the lives of the so-called unborn, why won't you support the RHB which clearly lays out plans for access to maternal care and similar services? Do you believe the individual should be forced to raise a sick child they may have no way to care for? If this is so, then you are more collectivist than the demonized Filipino progressive. You believe ethics and morality should stem from a single source and be applied to society, rather than it stem from a discussion in society and have the individual apply it their life as they see fit. Or do you?

Everybody's got a world view and their take on history is coloured by it

Much of the history we learn from textbooks in school represents the worldview of the authors of those textbooks. And much of the way history is taught in schools represents the worldview of the teachers who deliver the lessons, and the governments that fund these schools.

Human beings are hardwired to find patterns where there is none. But history, contrary to popular belief, does not have a pattern. Those historical patterns "historians" claim to "discover" and stake their careers on are all in their heads. As we keep finding out, history always surprises us.

We may forecast out five years, ten years even. And then a single cataclysmic weather or geological disturbance -- or panicked selling frenzy in the financial markets -- makes all that "insight" on the future look idiotic.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Famous last words.

Knowledge of historical facts does not necessarily translate to meaningful insight @Xiao_Chua

The following snippet written by "historian" Michael Charleston "Xiao" B. Chua in his seminal rebuttal of Baron Buchokoy's gone-viral video Aquino-Cojuangcos: Facts They Don’t Want You To Know is a classic...

[...] even if you say that life was no good after EDSA, I would not trade this life for a life without civil liberties and a determination to chart my own destiny, EVEN IF I AM STILL POOR. Ninoy and Cory were not saints, but they did their best.

First of all if Mr Chua hadn't noticed yet, millions of Filipinos risk life and limb trekking to some of the most appalling nations on the planet just to earn a "decent" living for their families. That says something about how high in the hierarchy of priorities of the average Filipino this much-hyped concept of "civil liberties" really is. Perhaps Mr Chua has had his nose stuck so far deep into the past for so long that he's forgotten how to stick his head up and look around to regard the present.

Second, with regard to people "doing their best", I might defer to the words of John Patrick Mason (played by the venerable Sean Connery) in the 1996 movie The Rock...

Your best? Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and [frick] the prom queen!

The million dollar question remains, as always, an elegantly simple one:

Where are the results?

Just out on the Inquirer.net! A report on the PinoyMonkeyPride's viral video!

Classic Yellowtard rhetoric (the kind you'd hear from infantile Aquinoist "debaters"). This is what laces the Inquirer.net report on PinoyMonkeyPride gone-viral video Aquino-Cojuangcos: Facts They Don’t Want You To Know just out now. Check it out:

From Budget Secretary Florencio Abad:

"meant to distract attention from controversies like the departure bid of former President Arroyo"

"terrible"

"black propaganda"

From Aquino political adviser Roland Llamas:

"the work of forces who are now being threatened with numerous cases"

See the full report here!

Catastrophic population decline following prolonged population growth

Like in the bangus fishkill in Taal Lake this year, populations don’t seem to decline gradually when placed under stress. Prior to the onset of environmental pressure, populations of most life forms seem to first multiply in ever increasing rates up to a critical mass then suddenly suffer a catastrophic drop in numbers when some sort of ecological tipping point is reached.

Maybe the signs of imminent collapse we look out for (rioting in the street and increasing hunger) are the wrong ones, and the collapse in population that might happen soon or later will come in a completely unexpected form.

The global financial collapse of 2008 for example was preceded up to the last minute by complete ignorance among the bigger community of “expert” economists. Same thing is happening with population growth. Nobody knows where it is headed and what it will do to us as a species.

[Based on a comment originally posted on Get Real Post.]

Home along da riles in Naga City

A rustic rail side community in Naga City.



Photo submitted by Joshua Nellasca.

Our lives are as meaningful as we make them - @lmlodinow

Acclaimed scientist Leonard Mlodinow who co-authored A Briefer History of Time with Stephen Hawking, offers a succinct and elegant rebuttal to the claims of celebrity spiritualist Deepak Chopra who argues that our universe possesses an encompassing consciousness that governs its evolution...

The human animal evolved to have the capacity for both good and evil, and it does plenty of both, but there is no hidden hand of universal purpose or consciousness behind what we do, only our own consciousness, our own purpose. Each of us chooses to love or hate; we give and we take; we leave our own imprint on our family, our friends, and society. We don't need an eternal and conscious universe to give our lives meaning. Our lives are as meaningful as we make them.

The above is an excerpt from the book War of the Worldviews where in a series of essays, Chopra and Mlodinow articulate their arguments on various topics relevant to the on-going debate between supernaturalism and science.

Filipinos have a history of starting what they can't finish

Recently, in Basilan, Mindanao another tragic clash between the AFP and the MNLF occurred. What was decried as unexpected, unnecessary violence turned out to be the dead bodies of 19 soldiers and no reported MNLF soldiers. I want you to read that line over and over again until you find the hidden surprise. Have you found it? If not, I did not describe MNLF as insurgents, infidels, or terrorists. Why? Well, for starters that's not journalism, it's propaganda. There's enough propaganda waging the war against the MILF/MNLF as it is, I don't see a need for more. But I digress.

The point of this article is this: The ongoing struggle in Mindanao is a repetitive headline churner for one reason only. That reason is the result of a trait which many have, but Filipinos have perfected. From infrastructure to personal otangs (loans), Filipinos have been shirking personal responsibility and starting arguments which they can't finish for quite some time. Everybody wants to get the last word in, but nobody wants to reason out a solution. Once again, 'substance loses to appearance' in who is the more brash fighter, the loudest, most argumentative screamer, the best at accruing support even though they may have a strawman argument.

The Aquino Administration loves to take the spotlight and shine itself as the hero pursuing a peaceful resolution, but if this were a fact, the war would be well towards a finish. Looking at the events of Basilan, need I say any more?

Anonymity and the Filipino people's obsession with credentials

In a land where people are obsessed with credentials, I chose not to divulge a lot of information about myself because I don't want the readers to get distracted. I want the readers to concentrate solely on the message of my articles.

Michel Foucault, a well known french intellectual who died in 1984 eventually sought anonymity in his writings later in his career. He explained his reasons well:

In our societies, characters dominate our perceptions.... Why did I suggest that we use anonymity? Out of nostalgia for a time when, being quite unknown, what I said had some chance of being heard. A name makes reading too easy.

The exercise in anonymity is a way of addressing the potential reader, the only individual here who is of interest to me, more directly: Since you don't know who I am, you will be more inclined to find out why I say what you read; just allow yourself to say, quite simply, it's true, it's false. I like it or I don't like it. Period.

I started publishing my thoughts because I consider myself someone who is still searching for the truth. While doing so, I want others to join me without feeling the need to ask who am I and what qualifications do I have in writing my articles.