GRPundit

I'm a Filipino, baptized Catholic, turned atheist. I was really touched with the #illridewithyou gesture that came out after the hostage crisis in Sydney. A friend of mine who'd migrated to Sydney said that it was pretty much unbelievable when he saw it for himself. A good deal of the population of the Philippines (non-Muslims) do think that all Muslims = terrorists. Only those who'd actually known, and have Muslims around them, say as co-workers, friends and neighbors may have a better opinion of them. What made me say that, a lot may ask. We think badly of Muslims, we crack jokes at them, our best mental image of Muslims is synonymous with DVD, and recently, Bluray. We think they all have a harem at home, we cradle the thought that they are all traitors, subhuman etc. Our Muslim countrymen had long been denied services befitting a good government (heck, we're also in that bucket mostly) which makes it really easy for a bunch of disgruntled dudes with guns

The more now I can't buy into two reasons now being forwarded to support the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL): (a) that we should not allow so much work go to waste, and (b) that we could find ourselves back to the dangerous square one if it is junked. I don't know about the hard work behind BBL simply because the principal proponent, PNoy, comes across as averse to any kind of work ethic. He is in his position by some glitch in history. And, BBL itself comes across as just a rehash of what Gloria was pushing that SC has already rendered as unconstitutional. Talking of hard work, I believe it was former US Amb Kristie Kenny who went back and forth between Manila and Mindanao so many times and who pressured Gloria for that peace agreement. If Gloria was pressured to get behind something unconstitutional, just imagine how much easy it is to prod a spoiled brat who hates the very being of Gloria and yet hired the same people that Gloria had in working that junked agreement. What i

It should be noted that the muslims are really not the problem here. Although it is true, that most of these problems being described here are done by people who are associated to the religion, you cannot blame a whole group of people based on just what a few people did in the name of that so called religion. The real problem here is that, the mainstream media always stresses out "Muslim" and "Terrorists" and use those two words in the same sentence all of the time. IT IS INDEED UNFORTUNATE that there are people who use religion to instigate violence, to justify the violence, but if you look at recorded history, this happened too in the past. (Remember the word "Crusades?") I'm a Christian (well at least on paper) and I live in a muslim country, and they condemn these kind of acts, and they are a loving and wonderful bunch of people, and all of the educated muslims I know laugh at the thought of what these extreme fanatics believe in. You can

Let them have their independence. I suspect that once Filipino people live under Sharia Law and Islamic State dictates for a while; they will change their minds. No music, No TV, no representational art; only calligraphy of sacred sources, no bright colors, women covered from head to toe, no alcohol, no fiestas, no Christmas, no literature except for devotional texts, no education for women, education for young males consists of memorizing the Koran in Arabic, strict segregation of men and women, no religious freedom, no freedom of speech. mandatory prayer five times a day, starting at 4:30 in the morning, child brides, laughter and good times are discouraged as being decadent. At the same time cut off ALL support from the Philippines. No resources, no electrical power, no conditional cash transfers for the poorest in the community, no subsidized rice, no road repair, no hospitals, no new school construction, no public housing. All the wealthy in that area will flee; thereby decima

We're in this mess because of the Jabidah massacre and the Tripoli Agreement - those were FM's doing. FVR treated the insurgents with kid gloves during his tenure. GMA kept the MOA-AD (establishing the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity) under wraps. When the public filed petitions to nullify the it, all hell broke loose. The MILF, under commanders Kato & Bravo, razed non-Muslim communities to the ground, killing villagers one after the other. The SC eventually declared the MOA-AD unconstitutional.This was in 2008. Only Erap had the gumption to declare an 'all-out-war' against the MILF. His war campaign in 2000 rendered the MILF powerless with Camp Abubakar, the insurgents' main stronghold, falling into government hands. Back to present. Under the current administration, stakeholders have been continuously consulted throughout the peace talks, and GRP-MILF negotiations remained transparent. That much the PNoy administration can brag. Yet despite government's best e

Unlike most of you here, I am a peacenik when it comes to Mindanao, and thus support any peace initiatives that will resolve the ceaseless wars between the government and the rebels. Unlike most of you here, I am prepared to treat the MILF, BIFF, etc. as equals in the negotiating table provided that they disown their Islamist and terrorist affiliations and any and all dastardly doings they have done (alone or in concert with other rebel groups) in the name of Bangsamoro or Allah or whatever. Unlike most of you here, I am prepared to advocate whatever solutions may be arranged to achieve lasting peace and to finally at long last pave the way for the economic and resource development of what has been ironically called "the land of promise" — up to and including a two-state solution, whether or not those solutions are ultimately ruled as unconstitutional. I will even support a constitutional amendment or even a new constitution that would adequately address the situation down so

GOSHENLAND has vast property in IRISAN called BLUERIDGE MOUNTAINS with thousands of pine trees in danger of giving way for housing development. MOUNT JUMBO TRAIL in LA TRINIDAD used to be our playground in BENGUET until it was bought by Goshenland and burned all the pine seedlings and shrubs in the area. ANYA NGAY AR ARAMIDEN YO NGA ENVIRONMENTALISTS? Where were you when hundreds of pine trees were cut for the construction of MOLDEX RESIDENCES along MARCOS HIGHWAY? ….A new subdivision development has started along BENIN ROAD, IRISAN and many trees fell to give way for road and residential development in the area.. NGANGA PA RIN BA? Another condominium on the rise owned by Manny Villar called OUTLOOK RIDGE RESIDENCES in Mines View cut several trees too…and AGAIN another wooded area in MINES VIEW is on the brink of extinction for the construction of MEGAWORLD's condominium project called 88 GIBRALTAR, a vast complex of exclusive housing towers. GET REAL PEOPLE!!!! BE IN THE K

The things said about how people vote gets to be confusing because although most of them are correct some are not really exactly what they appear to be. Let me just focus on the other angle of the issue which is seldom talked about nor given more exposure so that we can widen the coverage of the discussion. When talking about electorate we have to differentiate the classification of voters. We have the masa and the middle class and higher class of the voting public. I'm not saying it's just the masa that is guilty for they will not be able to vote for those questionable candidates without the help of those who are more educated and influential than them. The criminals and the crooks get voted not because they are worthy but because they already established and enjoy advantage in terms of influence, bailwicks, followers and of course capital. For example, Erap, ousted as president for graft and corruption; elected as mayor of Manila. The same with Gloria Arroyo, tarnished

Perhaps I can help out with this discussion as an outsider looking in. I'm Filipino and a Philippine national, but spent my entire life outside of the Philippines (Africa and USA). The problem with the Philippines is not an intangible noun like "corruption" or "poverty"; the problem with the Philippines is FILIPINOS. We have to stop being insular and realize that Filipinos do not possess the same abilities of self-rule like other peoples of the world. Filipinos, by nature, make excellent learners and workers, but are not inherently capable of being leaders and creators. The Philippines is a society of FOLLOWERS. What good is a society like that when you have incompetent direction to utilize it? Hence, the mass migration of Filipinos and brain drain to countries whose administrative systems and job markets are more vibrant and able. Filipinos have to realize that they're not as talented when it comes to leading and creating. This is an area that needs effor

If we want to change anything, we should start by changing OURSELVES. ======== That line has been with us, like, forever. Growing up, I firmly believe that that is the key to a frutiful and positive change and development. But, alas, I don't think it even make sense now. Let me say why. Changing ourselves infers that the process toward change starts from within. We'll do it ourselves. We change on our own volition. That attaining change individually will end up to changing collectively and will result to the desired change for the whole. But obviously we're still far from it because people still wish it. Kumbaga, gasgas na. The problem with that theory is that it assumes we know the way to change ourselves. That we don't need external assistance as a factor to go about changing. Start changing your self and things will fall into their proper places. No, they're not. Time and again, our political as well as our religious leaders have said that but still cha

In his recent visit, the Pope asked us to be "ready to go beyond your homes and to care for your brothers and sisters who are most in need." This is difficult for me. I have become numbed by the onslaught of the countless poor and dispossessed. I have stepped over so many children sleeping in the street, that I no longer feel anything. I sometimes wish that the poor would just go away and go back to the provinces. The clamor and filth created by these colonies of squatters makes me want to run away to a gated community. The Filipino "Family First" value is understandable. However, that siege mentality has consequences. Public spaces are neglected, covered with spit, trash, dog shit, and broken glass. Why does loving your family mean turning your back on everyone and everything else? -------------------- This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the discussion! http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2015/01/values-and-virtues-in-the-philippines-and-why-they-do

Within the 3 years that SM planned the expansion, it seems that the only thing that Baguio's so-called "environmentalists" latched onto was the SM plan itself. At almost the same time that they were protesting this in 2012, 1000 trees were being cut at the San Luis subdivision across town; none of the protesters did anything. Only one person stood up for the 1000 trees cut at Mount Sto. Tomas, and she isn't even an environmentalist. The ultimate hypocrisy here was that when a certain blockbuster movie was being premiered at SM Baguio Cinema, many of the movement's most vocal leaders sneaked in and watched it there. In the end, these "environmentalists" can't even be consistent with their advocacy (and it shows in the Court of Appeals decision). --------------------- This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the discussion! http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2015/01/non-baguio-resident-noemi-dado-muddles-the-issues-behind-sm-baguio-tree-cut

Narrating a story is not stating a problem. It may be admitting that there is a problem, and I think that is precisely what he did — admitting to the whole world in so many words that his administration is in a terrible shape. But, WHAT is the problem? (And, we should not even question for a moment whether his narrative is a lie or a truth. It is inconceivable that he would tell a lie in front of an august body — that should already be a given and one that does not even warrant a thought.) So, let us just unpack briefly what he said. [President Noynoy Aquino] talked about the Marcos era for two reasons: (1) to remind everybody that his parents were the freedom fighters to whom we owe our democracy (okay, we can give that to him; nobody is complaining), (2) to have a premise that the Church helped his parents in their struggle (still okay, I too can not object to that) From his premise re the Church during Marcos, he complained that the Church changed and just stood by while Gloria

We are here talking of people at the highest level who already hear sad stories from their staff and lower levels in their day to day activities. P-Noy can't be of the lower level since he, as the Pope, heads a sovereign state. (1) So a situational analysis already brings down the quality of the meeting. He was like a spoiled brat complaining: "Daddy, they hurt me — huhuhu, see I'm crying" What message did he deliver? IMPLICITLY, I (repeat, I) have a problem..even IF he WANTED to EXPLICITLY express WE have a probem. (2) At that level, policies, principles or doctrines are what should be discussed. NOT situations. STRATEGIES, NOT TACTICS!!! Did he do that? No.. a big freaking NO. Why? Because he has NONE. Please give me a policy statement, a declaration of principle, that is attributable to him. …..Well, he could have had one if he supported his slogan: Kung Walang Corrupt, Walang Mahirap. But, a slogan will remain a slogan and cannot develop into a principle or do

The thing is, did PNoy lie before the Pope? Did he speak with invented facts and innuendos just so he can hug the limelight for himself? Or did he simply talk of the truth? And I'm not talking about the truth that you or I agree or disagree with I'm talking about the truth in PNoy's own perspective. It was his observation and if he think that he needs the Pope to hear it, hey, to whom you can confide the truth better than the Pope? I'm not defending PNoy for there are people who can do that better than me. And it's not my business to shield anyone from blame or criticism. My business is to present the other side of the equation. My focus is on the criticisms of what PNoy has done in the presence of the Pope. So what if he talked politics? He's a politician. He did not talk about pure church matters nor even point a finger to the Vatican. He merely talked about his experience and observation (and also frustration maybe) with church people who he praised in

Looks like Philippine President Benigno Simeon 'BS' Aquino III's fixation on the past and the "evil" Marcos and Arroyo years cannot be put on hold even in the rare presence of Pope Francis. That's gotta be some sort of serious mental illness at work there. Worse, President BS Aquino even slammed the Church itself! "There was a true test of faith when many members of the Church, once advocates for the poor, the marginalized, and the helpless, suddenly became silent in the face of the previous administration's abuses, which we are still trying to rectify to this very day," BS Aquino said in his speech. Aquino also found no problem throwing a tantrum over the criticism he attracts from the Philippine clergy even recounting how "one prelate admonished me to do something about my hair, as if it were a mortal sin..." Awesome.

I am appalled by the senseless extravagance of this wedding. I feel like vomiting seeing the president and the bishops flashing stupid smiles next to the "royal" Pinoy couple. But I am also equally stupefied at the general consensus of the commenters in most blog posts. Really?? "It's their money so they can burn it any way they want"… in the Philippines, a country that tries so hard to look pretty yet is considered as poor as Haiti? This DongYan (the name sounds as absurd as they seem) had a great opportunity to be good examples and even benefactors to the poor Filipino public that adores them, and yet they chose to indulge themselves in the most ridiculously hedonistic ways possible. Exactly what kind of twisted values did they want to send out to the rest of the nation? Money is no object when it comes to true love? It's fantastic, delusional, telenovela histrionics! Did they forget they were public figures? If this is an accurate reflection of what

How does one change things for the better? I think to start with, one needs a realistic assessment of what the problem is, how it can be changed for the better, and who are what is standing in the way of the improvement being made. Workers and community members can organize. Together, they have more power to advocate for change; than they would have alone. But even before that step; people need to be educated in regards to basic civility. "It is morally binding on everyone to act is such a way that the people immediately around them are not adversely affected." It seems as if the party people and fun seekers rule most neighborhoods. Every night is a birthday, wedding, funeral, fiesta, etc. Loud karaoke music and fireworks blast until 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning; almost every day of the week. The workers who must sleep in order to go to their jobs the next day, cannot. This is something that can be addressed by local people in their own neighborhood. We have

The article [on the seemingly outrageous extravagance of the DongYan wedding] drives a point on extravagance in the face of poverty and serving public servants as opposed to public servants serving the public. The other problem is that we have become so used to how things are for example poverty, bribery (sponsorship) and celebrity mentality just to name a few, that it is accepted and we don't know the difference. The people will just have to suck it and go about their business of finding the next meal while there is somebody out there spending spending million for wedding and closing up a major thoroughfare for his convenience at the expense of the public. The gap between poverty and the rich is so big and the rich have no sense of sensitivity for the poor. No, a 35,000 peso pair of shoes may not be extravagant to somebody or to maybe 50% of Filipinos but it is extravagant to the person next to you who can only afford a pair of tsinelas, that is if you tell him how much your s

What we need is a cultural revolution, short of an actual bloody revolution since majority will not favor it. The country has so many cultural flaws and it has degenerated more rapidly starting in the 70s (everything still looked ok in the 60s). The greatest cultural flaw is the utang na loob system since it breeds patronage politics, patronage politics breeds corruption, corruption takes away from the people the programs necessary to uplift them. So our uneducated masses multiplies like rabbits since they are so poor, too busy ekking out a living, and has "no other entertainment" or they simply don't give a damn about consequences. The uneducated masses remains poor since they don't read books or even newspapers and would rather listen to garbage programs or watch from their neighbour's TV. Garbage programs breeds garbage mentality. Shows depicting fantasy, crime, kabobohan, kababawan.. as if our networks have no responsibility at all to the public but only t

I have lived in the US since 1984. I have now lived in my hometown in Leyte since 2013. I am not going back to the US. Although I lived in such cities as Los Angeles and New York and have enjoyed the wonderful opportunities and good life in those cities, I will not be going back there except to visit. When I first came back, I was so full of the vitriolic sense that "Nasty" had for the failings that he saw in the Philippines and the Filipino people. Gradually, I came back to my pre-US attitude and love for this country: this is home in the way that the US will never be for me. I have never liked Manila ( I studied and lived there for 10 years prior to immigrating), but I managed to make a living there, however imperfect. Mr "Nasty" is very lucky to have made it to America. His attitude of superiority, of wallowing in the good life and pissing on the rest who couldn't, is nothing new to me. I've met many people like him in the US. I suppose I was one too.

I was correct with my gut feelings. My friendly butiki, who listens to everything inside the executive offices of GMA7, confirmed that it was the network that paid for everything (repeat, everything) in the so called 'royal wedding'. It was over Php100m on the wedding day alone, not including other expenses in the pre-nuptial activities. This is an eye-popping amount if it is just a wedding expense (as I am one of those who think that a 20m wedding is already stupid and insensitive in a Third World setting, even if one could afford a 500m one). Over 100m, however, is a justifiable amount, even cheap vis-a-vis the ROI, if it is accounted as marketing and advertising expense of a large corporation that regularly spends much more anyway in their ads and promos. If the network has been able to project that their signature stars are bigger than those from competition, then they would have been able to deliver the message that GMA7 is the bigger kid in the block (don't get me

People wake up! Open your eyes. Stop defending celebrities who act like they are one with the masses. They are NOT. These foolish masses believe that their idols are just like them simply because they talk like them or portray tv or movie roles depicting them. You need to draw the line. There is a difference between enjoying the fruits of your labor by having a beautiful fairy tale wedding and being obnoxious. That wedding is ridiculous in a country that is hit left and right by typhoon and other calamities. It was undoubtedly done in poor taste. If you find yourself defending Marian and Dingdong. Then, you are a fool my friend. You are the biggest fool. I still wish the newlyweds all the best because after all , I do not believe in talangka mentality. I want everyone to prosper. When I mean everyone, I truly mean everyone not just the elite few and not just these celebrities that you all clearly and blindly idolize but also you the masses. I wish you all Filipinos prosperity, peac

The wedding had more than 8 officiating priests. Lol. Palaksan system. In a normal wedding, rich or poor, you barely see more than one priest. Was that even necessary? Why close the roads for one wedding? Was that necessary? There were just too many unnecessary elements that made the wedding off. I felt like they were shooting a movie. In fact, I liked the Sotto-Hermosa wedding even better. Plus, it's sending a wrong message to the youth. It's okay to spend $$$$ for a lavish wedding, just for one day, BECAUSE it's their hard earned money. BS. Hirap sating mga pinoy ang yayabang natin. ------------------- This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the discussion! http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2014/12/did-the-dingdong-dantes-marian-rivera-wedding-violate-the-philippine-civil-code-against-thoughtless-extravagance/comment-page-36/#comment-1036337

While 80% of the Philippines is drowning in foulness and people are eating out of garbage cans, some rich, untalented tart roles around in the sack with some synthetic looking, Ducati riding "Ding-Dong". They fornicate for the amusement of the unwashed masses, who obviously love an over the top, flagrantly detestable wedding as much as their dunderheaded Celebrities. Bad taste has found a new King & Queen, so let us salute this obscene display of cheap thrills, so lacking in good taste as to cause mental weariness. In the Philippines it seems the rich & shameless have no aesthetic standards, only lots of morals, all low! I can clearly see a future, where social climbers and other stupefied wannabes will sell the exclusive rights to their wedding night to be shown on one of the pudding headed Philippine TV stations. Give the common people superficial means of appeasement, so they may forget the filth and poverty that surrounds them. I'm not surprised at all b

Filipinos don't know the meaning of "thoughtless extravagance" or ostentatious spending. This is a symptom of that very Filipino fiesta mentality. To the Filipino mind it is ok to spend even if it means ruining your bank account in order to please your friends. That's what it seems DongYan were doing – pleasing their fans showing them a fairytale wedding before their very eyes. Furthermore, DongYan fans/haters would note that in spite of Marian's Madrilena origins, she is quite the 'Palengkera' and 'Bobita' in speech which allows her to connect and endear herself to the masses who are fooled into thinking that she had humble origins – a real life Cinderella. So they welcome the fairytale wedding and the kilig high that it gives them. Ahh, kilig. That infamous Taga-ilog word – a word with no known equivalent in other Philippine languages, nor in English or tongue from other more 'intellectual' languages. It describes an emotional high relate

Pope John Paul II came to the Philippines twice; nothing that makes this country a better Catholic nation happened afterwards. I doubt if there would be any kind of collective positive transformation that would happen long after Pope Francis leaves. -------------------- This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the discussion! http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2014/12/will-pope-franciss-2015-visit-to-the-philippines-bring-out-the-best-or-worst-in-the-filipino/comment-page-1/#comment-1035993

Did Dantes and Rivero violate the so called 'thoughtless extravagance' code? I think no and yes. Let me explain. No, simply because there was nothing to cite as proof they violated the code. No one raised and made an official legal issue out of it. No, because 'thoughtless extravagance' is subjective. What Dantes and Rivera can afford can be afforded also by people having the same privileged economic stature. But that does not mean only the richest of the rich can be held guilty of same violation. Other people can also commit the same violation eventhough they are not as rich as the celebrity couple. As it is, the code has not really been clarified as to standards and level where one can be held guilty of violating it. Lastly, no one, as far as I know, has been convicted before of the code violation. Yes, because, like what the article writer said, which I happen to agree with, it qualifies as thoughtless extravagance in the midst of abject poverty. I don't remember