GRPundit

Considering that the Cybercrime Prevention Act is shot through with questionable provisions and that human rights advocates and a wide sector of media opposed it, it wasn't surprising the Supreme Court struck down several provisions. Personally, I had thought the high court would have declared the whole of the law unconstitutional. I suppose the decision was intended to please everyone; in the end they probably antagonised everyone concerned. RA 10175 was poorly thought out and sloppily written. And now it is proven to be, as per ruling of the Supreme Court, a legally defective law. With the decision that major parts of the law are unconstitutional, it falls to the Executive to 'tweak' the law - likely through the implementing rules and regulations. But the IRR cannot sufficiently and validly cure those substantial defects. The IRR cannot amend the law itself. On the other hand, amending RA 10175 through the regular legislative process will be very messy, requirin...

The treachery of the Aquinos continues with traitor PNoy Aquino. The cybercrime law will be misunderstood by many netizens, and misused by many politicians, particularly in the lead up to 2016 elections. The perceived threat will be sufficient for some to still their voice, and for others to erroneously use as harassment, which could well backfire on them. The astute politician would realise that support for the decriminalisation of libel alone, without even full repeal, would gain significant popularity/votes and not really give that much away in practical terms, but send a strong and positive message to all, however sitting on the fence/saying nothing now will not endear them to voters at a later date. Decriminalisation of libel would also carry favour with UN and the international community who continue to regard the Philippines as a backwater of failed democracy despite all the support it has been given. In the few countries where criminal libel laws still apply it is t...

Too many ‘whistleblowers’ – too much NBI incompetence. Whistleblower – uninvolved in the crime and motivated by ethics/principles; Squealers – participant in crime, and trading information for leniency/immunity. Tuason is a criminal, squealing only when caught to save her own neck. So far she has said next to nothing, and should neither be heralded, nor disproportionately rewarded, if at all. Prosecuting Tuason would send a stronger and clearer message, than treating her as a ‘celebrity’. And i am sure she will not lose her wealth – i imagine she is actually being paid by Pnoy Aquino. Whose next – Gigi Reyes, then the whole of the napoles family. NBI not even looking for napoles brother ( most probably know where he is and the deal was to leave him alone). Source: http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2014/02/why-pork-barrel-whistleblowers-benhur-luy-and-ruby-tuason-should-go-to-jail/comment-page-1/#comment-213396

To repeat the question: How does blocking Roxas Boulevard (or any other major thoroughfare) make up for its economic costs? So far none have provided a detailed description of how exactly this charity event helps the victims of Yolanda/Haiyan or how they make up for the economic costs in any way. Good intentions are not a good answer and dodging the question by making flawed comparisons to other equally dubious religious events doesn’t cover it. Saying that we should all be grateful that it is showcasing unity instead of divisiveness is disingenuous at best. Also, you can’t blame people for being skeptical of your organization’s motives given your political history and organizational structure. The leader of the INC holds far more sway over its followers than the Pope does over Catholics, making it more like a cult than a bona fide religion. Source: http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2014/02/iglesia-ni-cristo-charity-walk-for-haiyan-victims-was-its-imp...

Nothing embodies, reflects, and also exposes, the myriad corrupt practices of pnoy aquino, mar roxas et al, more than the machinations surrounding DAP. (Disbursement Acceleration Programme) Leaving aside the constitutional/legal issues, the actions themselves by the administration leaders, the outright lies of butch abad, the intense secrecy, and logic itself, dictate that vast sums of tax-payers money is being siphoned off and used for bribery, campaign funding, personal use etc. An administration who looks to gain maximum mileage from any 'good news', and which is devoid of concrete plans to increase jobs, elects to stay very quiet about DAP from the outset. When the secrecy of DAP was exposed, the administration fought tooth and nail from answering the obvious and simple questions - which projects benefitted? Where did the money go? They refused to say how the billions of pesos had been spent. Now we know why. The administration which trumpets accountability an...

I wish the girl that I really liked in U.P. Diliman had read this and paid attention to me. I devoured books in the Philippines. True, it was difficult to find books prior to U.P. (my town’s public library was a joke; it was tough to convince parents to buy books not needed for school; there were no book-exchange clubs or anything). But when I got to U.P., the library was well stocked and I met friends and profs who were readers themselves. I read the classics and the best of English and Russian writers. This habit continues today. My work in the U.S. is essentially to think and write and I can’t believe I’m being paid to do just that. (I would have done it gratis with food and lodging.) I remember that time the best way to get a date in U.P. was to have a car. Nope, Pinays ain’t into brainiacs. They’re into dudes who smoked and always into inuman. Fast forward 25 years and on my visit back, I was horrified to see my peers who were hotsies in AS101 ...