GRPundit

I read her blog when it was still accessible. Apparently, all the money in the world won't buy you a sense of "subject-verb agreement". Let's be honest, naiinggit ang karamihan na nakakita ng lifestyle niya. Who wouldn't want to have that? But the reason why we're so pissed off is although her mom is not yet proven guilty, there's this overhanging premise na if this is indeed ill-gotten wealth, andami na sanang natulungan with the money from her Louboutins alone. And yes, I want to know what her businesses are. I think I saw sa news na they have a coal mining business. Are there any corporate lawyers here who can join the discussion? How big should a coal mining business be in order to provide that type of lifestyle? I have a friend whose family owns a big coal mine in a province near ours but her family's lifestyle doesn't come close to the Napoles lifestyle… unless they're hiding it pretty well. But the question is… so what now?...

Anybody ever been to the Subic Bay Freeport Zone? I'm not saying it's perfect, but WOW! What a difference. I have nicknamed it Little America. I mean that both in a good and also cynical way. (And, yes, I'm from 'Murica so I think I have a valid reference point.) For the good part, it seems that some retraining of the Pinoy mind has begun to take place. Jeepneys and trikes are mostly banned. I see the occasional jeepney drive through there, but it's always empty so it's not like it was picking up customers. The traffic is manageable. Sure it gets crowded on the weekends, but everybody still manages to drive like normal people. Cops will actually do their job there if you decide to drive like a typical asshat Pinoy. Dare I say, driving in the SBFZ is actually pleasant, especially Mon-Thurs. The waterway between SM Olongapo and Harbor Point needs help, but the place is otherwise quite clean. People there also tend to act differently. You know, like...

I am an OFW. Deciding to be one was hard and being one is harder. As an OFW, we have to battle homesickness everyday. Living away from home and family is never easy, not to mention working with different nationalities with different culture and background. Of course, we all want to go home. Philippines will always be the only home for Filipinos. Just see the millions of OFW coming home for vacation every year. I think our number is greater than those tourists. So this led me to believe that we are keeping our airline industry alive. And who sends hundreds or thousands of dollars to the Philippine banks every month? It is the OFWs. It's true that our remittances are keeping the Philippine economy afloat. And majority of the consumers who have the highest spending power are families of OFWs. So yeah, we are keeping the Philippine economy alive. Broken families or unhappy children happen to everyone. If you're a distant parent, it doesn't automatically follow that your c...

Let's put this in perspective. Highways and toll roads in Luzon used to be the sole responsibility of the Philippine National Construction Corporation a government owned and controlled corporation. It was originally established in 1966 as the Construction Development Corporation of the Philippines by alleged Marcos crony Rudy Cuenca. It was granted a fifty-year franchise to commission and perform construction work throughout the Philippines. The CDCP, as a monopoly, ran the toll expressways. At really, really, really cheap rates. As might be expected from an enterprise that charged below market rates, the company went belly up. They incurred a heavy debt burden, financing the road infrastructure while government, among other things, refused to allow it to charge appropriate toll to recover interest and expenses, let alone their original capital investment. In 1977, Presidential Decree No. 1113 was issued, granting the CDCP a thirty-year franchise to operate and maintain t...

There is no problem with generalizing if the generalization can be observed in the majority…it doesn't have to be all. The characteristics mentioned can be observed in all societies. The relevant point is to what degree they are common in other societies and within the Philippine population. Unfortunately observational and anecdotal evidence is all that is available rather than hard data. I have been a keen observer of my own country's character all my life. I haven't just accepted how my countrymen see themselves. Having lived in PH for 5 years my personal experience and observation can be summed up as: 1) a high level of narcissism. Probably developed in childhood by either being treated as a prince or princess or (ironically) being neglected. The evidence of the prince/princess treatment is everywhere and ranges from having a yaya to putting up billboard size displays congratulating someone for graduating. And a myriad of behaviours in between. You don't ...

The rule of law cannot easily take root in the Philippines because the nation does not possess the political maturity to sustain a thriving republican democracy. The concepts of the rule of law and democracy are fragile ideals and aspirations, which need constant vigilance and a continuing active social commitment. They are not indigenous to any one particular people or nation in the western world, not even the United States of America where they have eroded over time. In order to foster the rule of law, democracy must be supported by the integral, moral discipline of its citizenry. It is a discipline that does not come about through force or imposition. It does not come by as an unconscious, random natural process. Rather, it is the product of a volitional, conscious choice and effort, individually and collectively, to progress beyond the past and well on to the future, based on the sense of a common good for the greatest numbers of people. It is a learned, informed, and enlight...

I can only share what I know is true based on what I experience and observe within our baranggay. You only have to observe and talk to the poor to see the difference between those who ended up squatting because of bad decisions and unfortunate circumstances, and those people with what I call "squatter mentality -" i.e. a severe case of entitlement. The prior receives and treats government assistance as a sort of "kickstart" in getting the better life they came here for in the first place. They take advantage of TESDA, education projects, co-ops, etc. The latter lies back, drinks, shouts profanities, and then think that they deserve government help.I believe it's the latter that pisses most people off. Also, another argument that keep popping up is that the squatters take on the jobs that the middle class refuse to take. Again, this is only based on where I currently live, but most tricycle drivers, house help, factory workers, etc, etc pay rent on le...

"The woman who would have been your mother in law, Princess Diana, did not lack, alas, for public and press attention. But even since her time, the mothering judgment industry has become a profit center. You know those serene old-school paintings of mothers you probably have strewn around Buck Palace? The virgin Madonna and child with maybe a cow and donkey looking on? Replace those images in your mind with photos of the other Madonna, the non-virgin one, with her children and a herd of photographers surrounding them. Raising a child, particularly a famous one, is now a spectator sport." Full article on TIME.com http://ideas.time.com/2013/07/22/kate-middletons-worst-nightmare-mommy-bloggers/

Courtesy Showbiz Government! https://facebook.com/?_rdr#!/photo.php?fbid=532428730144555&id=110296245691141&set=a.110423725678393.22123.110296245691141&__user=1146512847

SONA na naman O kay tulin ng araw SONAng nagdaan Tila ba kung kailan lang Ngayon ay SONA Dapat pasalamatan Ngayon ay SONA Tayo ay mag-awitan. [Koro] SONA ! SONA ! SONA na namang muli. Tanging araw na ating pinakamimithi. SONA ! SONA ! SONA na namang muli. Ang pag-ibig naghahari! !

"Under the order, the North Interim Transport Terminal shall be established for provincial buses and AUVs entering Metro Manila via the North Luzon Expressway, MacArthur Highway, Mindanao Avenue, Quirino Avenue, and Commonwealth Avenue. "The South Interim Transport Terminal shall also be built to cater to passengers of provincial buses and AUVs coming from provinces south of Metro Manila and entering via the South Luzon Expressway. "The Southwest Interim Transport Terminal will serve as loading and unloading area for buses and AUVs from provinces south of Metro Manila entering via Coastal Road and/or Manila Cavite Expressway. "Aquino designated the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) to lead the establishment of these temporary transport terminals." Full article: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/318087/news/metromanila/pnoy-orders-creation-of-temporary-transport-terminals-to-ease-metro-manila-traffic

It’s July 9, 2013. No one has been convicted since the hearings began in January 5, 2010—see  Ampatuan Update . Witnesses and their relatives have been hunted down one after another—see  Witness Killed and Mutilated . Kin of massacre victims agree to settle with Ampatuans—see  Kin Settles . Talk about a situation from bad to worse. Was there any doubt that the Ampatuans were responsible for the massacre? This was and remains an open-and-shut case. As if the Maguindanao Massacre itself was not sufficiently gruesome, more people have been killed and even more are being prostituted by a failed justice system. It’s bad enough the Ampatuans and their cronies have not yet been convicted after all this time. Yet, they continue to dictate who lives and dies, and are even allowed to settle? They shouldn’t even have access to any of their ill-gotten wealth, which should have already been returned to the national coffers. These monsters are still around doing their darnedest to s...

A friend of mine reposted a status of his friend on Facebook: “Having watched almost one month worth of episodes of ‎# MyHusbandsLover I can’t help but be disappointed. What I initially thought as groundbreaking television show was actually just another teleserye about adultery (which is pretty much almost all of our teleseryes are about). The only difference is we have a married closeted gay man and another gay man as a third party. Give me something that would further gay rights. Give me some insight to same sex relationship dyn amics. Tell me how it is like to be a successful but closeted gay man in a very testosterone dominated company. Tell me how scary it is to have a homophobic family. Explain to me why there are relationships composed of two masculine gay man (or two flamboyant gay men) instead of one masculine and one flamboyant which is still the society’s concept of a gay relationship. Explain to me why it is easier for some people to accept someone’s sex...

Craig Nelson introduces his book Rocketmen , with the story of a 1969 Senate briefing (shortly after Apollo 11 landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon) where Fermilab physicist Robert Wilson is asked how a $250 million atom smasher he proposes be built will contribute to the security of the United States. Wilson responded by saying that it will contribute nothing, but that the American people’s capacity to undertake endeavours like those is what makes the United States of America worth defending.