GRPundit

Truth is like a lion. You don't have to defend it. You just let it loose. It will know how to defend itself. * * * * Once again, the people have been invited to the circus (SONA). They said it was the last show for the season; the next season will involve another lion tamer. In the last other shows of the current season, tamer and lion didn't coordinate well. People came, curious if he has finally learnt from his blunders; after all, it was his last show. Unfortunately, this show was worse despite the additional props. Experts tamers allow lions to be just, well, lions. It is, after all, a lion show. People come to watch the lions; maybe, a little bit of the tamer. But, if the lions did their act well, the credit and accolades will be to the tamer. But, they booed him; why? Because he tried very, very hard to steal the show from the lions. There he was with his usual chair (the Office of the President) and his whip (presidential power). But, we don't know if he kn...

Ako Muna – Me First Mañana Habit – Do tomorrow what should be done today Bahala Na – Whatever happens happens Funny thing about all these horrible traits of the Filipino is it happens mostly AT HOME in the Philippines! You take a Filipino out of the country, put him or her in a country that doesn't put up with any of that $hit and guess what? They become productive as hell!!! Why? Simple: they are kept in line! Follow the rules or else face whatever consequence whether it's work related or society related. They are FORCED to abide, which is more than you can say about what happens in-country! I like to remind people that there is NO LAW in the Philippines! There might be the APPEARANCE of law but not the ENFORCEMENT of it! What this does is it makes people in the society use anarchy as their means of navigating society. "Me first" works because nobody complains when someone cuts someone off in line so unless a fight breaks out or someone disciplines the ...

Filipinos, inherently, have a cultural lack of unity and code. Rather than recognizing this, the country as a populace is too occupied wanting things they don't understand (as the article enlists, things like modernity and international standing). Jumping the gun much? These things are hard-earned, not merely handed to you. This pathetic sob story mentality and blaming game has outlasted its welcome. What do Filipinos value in life? (Other than wanting a Western paycheck so they can buy a BMW or Mercedes. Why always THOSE two brands specifically?) Or, to be more upfront, who exactly are the Filipinos? Try getting a straight answer; you won't find any. Personally I only see two viable solutions: break up the country into multiple autonomous constituents, or force the country into unified submission through authoritarian reform. -------------------- This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the discussion! http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2015/07/the-philippines-me-first-a...

Filipinos have never really done anything on their own. Take away the appearance of republicanism and capitalism and what would you get? A collection of islands of people with tribal mentality who bask in the sun. I've always said this: if a foreign country was able to colonize another country for a long time, and that country continued to be in a sorry state AFTER colonization, then it says a lot about the inhabitants of that country more than the occupying one! ------------------ This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the discussion! http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2015/07/the-philippines-me-first-attitude-results-in-a-backward-society/#comment-1236219

In view of what happened to Greece, dapat alam na nyo that dole-outs are very, very, very dangerous propositions. Mga people, maawa kayo sa bansa nyo, sa Pilipinas. Please lang. Alam nyo ba na kada tanggap nyo ng perang ayuda o regalo na galing sa politico o gobyerno ay linalapit nyo ang Pinas na maging parang Greece. Dapat alamin nyo ang nanyari sa Greece. Ang Greece ay halos pag-aari na ng mga bangko at ng mga sindikato dahil sa ganyan, ang warde-wardeng gamit ng pera. Ngayon, hirap na hirap ang mga tao sa Greece So, pwede ba, buksan nyo mga mata nyo, ang mga utak nyo, at alamin at pag-aralan ang nangyayari sa paligid Where will dole-outs come from? Eventually, from foreign borrowings. No local bank will lend the government for dole-out programs. Just look at CCT, it is borrowed money from ADB. Candidates give freebies, where does the money come from? (1) from kickbacks, (2) from PDAF and DAP, (3) from political donation. (1) where does kickback come from? From your taxes. (2) ...

The Failippines public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is lots of evidence that they can't read them either. On my own thoughts, most Failipino politicians are small and shabby, the sort of people who have been bullied at school. That's why they become politicians. On average, women are better liars than men. But the best liars are men, because Failipino politicians are still predominantly men. They are all honest politicians — they all stay bought. Most Failipinos don't know where the money comes from. Even most of their elected officials don't know. If you were to ask a Failipino politician where money comes from, he/she would probably reply, "I don't know, from other people's pockets?" It's hard to steal somebody's shoes while they are wearing them and not have them notice. But that's what Failipino politicians have done in this country. Not only that, but they replaced all the Failipinos foot...

I do not say this with prejudice….I would say it to any race , white, black , brown, Purple who treat their country like the Filipino's do in the Philippines: YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE IN THE PARADISE YOU LIVE IN! You throw garbage everywhere, you use your public streets as toilets, you treat people who come and live here and spend their hard earned dollars as outsiders. You have no respect for anyone in your driving habits, you have no respect for pedestrians, be they pregnant women, old men and woman, school children or just the average citizen. Don't ever point your fingers at me and say I am a boastful American. My wife is Filipino..my child is half Filipino…I live among you everyday, and quite frankly, it is not making me a better person. I take better care of your country than you do ….I use trash cans, I use the CR and not the streets, I try to stop for pedestrians and use proper and safe driving habits but YOU are turning me into the same kind of driver YOU ar...

Sorry but whenever education setbacks in the Philippines is the topic, I can't help but turn my raised eyebrow on the country's media too. They are not the only ones at fault here for sure. The society in general and the families of the students have their share in the blame. But I truly believe that media has the bigger share. Why? Let me count what I think are the reasons: 1) News programs Unless there are bigger stories to tell (impending disaster, war, and the like) what's on the menu: (a) Politician X joined Political Party XX so he can run for president 2 years from now. And switching parties to achieve an ambition appeared cool, to prepare for an election years ahead. (b) Politician Y is reported dating Actress X – spends a long airtime. (c) Philippine economy gets a boost (yawn) – short airtime and instead focusing on the details of the news, anchor gets an analyst to ask "nararamdaman ba 'to ng ordinaryong mamamayan?" Of course the already imp...

In my experience, it's not "easy" to blame the people. Because the people in question tend to find every excuse not to look at themselves in mirror and take some accountability for allowing the public servants to mismanage the country. The people's inability to accept that they are part of the problem and that they need to change is something that we have been up against since GetRealPhilippine's inception. As a matter of fact, we have been receiving all kinds of abuse from those who resist the idea that the people should share the blame. The truth is, it is easier for the people to blame the government. It is the default way of thinking. It's human nature to shift the blame to someone else when the proverbial brown stuff hits the fan. I don't know but maybe one has to be on a higher level of realisation before one can accept responsibility - that it was the people who put the public servants in power and it was the people who turned a blind eye to what th...

Let me see… among the people I am with with everyday… 1) They're busy with their work and livelihood that politics is just another buzz in the media which is understandable; but what I seem cannot forgive are: 2) A few of them are content with what the media is feeding them. Example: They are angry because China has occupied a portion of territory in the South China Sea. Ask them how big, they don't know; what is the basis of China's claim, they don't know. They'll just say it's baseless. Ask them what is our basis, they'll just say its ours because that is what is reported in the news (we should defend what is ours! Filipino pride, yeah!!). That's it. End of debate. Ask them what is the update in UNCLOS, they'll just walk away. 3) They seem to be hypnotized by the cheap and crappy TV shows daily that they don't know what's going on around them. I'm sure that a good portion of the people in my barangay knows who has been evi...

There is no denying the fact that generations of Pinoys are permanently scarred by the Martial Law dictatorship, but would it hurt if we take a "modern" view of Dictatorship and look it is a more "positive" way and MAYBE give it another try with a "better leader"? I mean think about, the things Dictators can do to "help" their people. In Dictatorships, MEDIA IS ALWAYS POSITIVE, TRUTHFUL AND HELPFUL to the plight of the people. They can help shape the opinion of the constituents to make pinoys feel proud, afraid or angry of certain individuals or groups. They can be asked to also influence people's feelings in favor of certain laws and policies even if these are against our own interests, welfare and freedoms. In Dictatorships, THERE IS UNITY BETWEEN THE BRANCHES OF THE GOVERNMENT Imagine, when prosecuting certain groups and individuals you can ask the Judiciary, the SolGen, Ombudsman, Sandiganbayan and Senate Committees' coope...

The Philippine economy is living on borrowed time. We must use this time and opportunity to research or "steal" new technologies similar to what Germany did to overconfident Britain during the empire era. But the Filipino people and the government are too busy crying for respect and admiration instead of working hard to be superior or same level with the top. The economy will fail when richer countries could no longer afford to give simple jobs to Third Worlders. --------------- This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the discussion! http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2015/07/we-must-learn-from-greece-and-stop-relying-on-the-government-to-save-us/#comment-1230568

During our childhood we had Sesame Street and its Filipino version Batibot (no I am not referring to male masturbation, corrupted minded basterds hehehe). I can say, on a personal level, those shows were a big influence for me in jump starting my education. During the mid to late 80's pre schooling or even kindergarten was not mandatory in our province, when you start education you start Grade 1 agad at ang norm na age ng Grade 1 was 7 years old. Those children shows basically made me able to recite my ABC, read and write basic letters, numbers and shapes well before being enrolled at six years of age. Well within the 90's there were these Math & Science educational programs sponsored by DECS (old DepEd) and DOST aired in PTV 4 during weekends which I liked to watch along with that "Britannica Adventures" And furthermore, cartoons back then were ENGLISH DUBBED, seldom you would watch GI Joe, Transformers, He-Man, Centurions, Inhumanoids, Voltron, Voltes V,...

Again, to be repeated for the nth time, again, for the nth time, money is NOT the root of evil. Money is a thing; so, it is amoral. Good and evil can only refer to someone with intelligence; a thing has no intelligence. The correct cliché is: LOVE of money is the root of evil. In other words, greediness is what is evil. Anything in excess is what is not good. Eating too much is not good, drinking too much is not good, etc. But, it is a horrible situation not to have money. So the lessons from Greece for Philippines, individual-wise and government-wise. 1. Money that you did not work for, or earn, is not good psychologically and sociologically. There is something more uplifting in earning one's own money, or one's own keep. It gives a sense of accomplishment, which in turn gives confidence. And, when there is confidence, it spurs more accomplishments. And when you accomplish more, your outlook of life is positive. Money that is not a product of hard work makes one look at ...

I once asked a Filipino guy - younger fellow - who was asking me for a bunch of free things like my shirts, shorts, shoes, etc., why he wanted these things from me. His answer was because I came from the States so I must be rich and have lots of stuff. I asked him if he was poor. He said yes. Yes? I asked "Why are you poor?" He thought for a moment and shrugged his shoulders and said "I don't know" I asked "You don't know why you're poor?" "Well," he said "I live in that barangay and we're poor there so I'm poor I guess. And I don't have a lot of stuff." I looked at him and told him "You're not ashamed asking me for these things? Do you know HOW I got these things you are asking me for?" "I worked for them! Nobody gave them to me!" I went to work, earned money and saved enough to buy these shorts and shoes and shirts! You should do the same thing!" I also told him that h...

To be fair to Winnie Monsod, she has been a critic of the Binays way, way before Jojo Binay became a VP. So, one wonders what vetting process the Aquino sisters had that they ended up in full support of a Noy-Bi. It is not that the Monsods are not influential on the Aquinos. Winnie was Cory's NEDA Chairperson. The Monsods being the next door neighbor of Juan Ponce Enrile, Winnie was instrumental in asking Cory to take it easy on JPE who became Cory's DND Sec. Though Winnie became one of the bitterest critic of Gloria, Winnie was actually very close to Gloria prior to that and influence Cory to fully support Gloria in EDSA2. (Cory eventually apologized to Erap when Gloria turned out to be a big, big disappointment) Meanwhile, Christian Monsod was one of the framers of Cory's 1987 Constitution. He was Comelec Chairman during Cory's incumbency in Malacañang. He is an executive of the Lopez Group of Companies (ABS-CBN, Benpres and Meralco) - the Lopezes, of course, are ...

Here in the US it's getting out of control. Organizations like the American Federation of Teachers are pushing to have homosexuality and gay propaganda be exposed to children ages 6 to 12 in order for them to view gay and transgender culture as things that are normal and acceptable. This can be dangerous since kids at those ages are not sexually mature enough to handle such content. Worst of all, more schools are doing this without informing parents because it is their "civic duty" to do so. Gay advocacy groups have launched all sorts of anti-hate campaigns against churches, schools, hospitals, and businesses who differ in opinion towards the gay movement. People have been fired, sued, or publicly defamed as being "discriminatory" if they even dare criticize the homosexual agenda in the slightest bit. So the result? Our freedoms of speech and religion are slowly disappearing and real civil rights are now being eliminated. The public has been silenced, judges...

Gerry Lanuza's observation on the Filipinos' obsession on grades is true. Also from my own personal experience, I did hate the fierce competition in academics in my younger years. Instead of creating teamwork and more on creativity, academic competition harboured walls not only in school but many have not outgrown it as they carried it in their adult life. In Switzerland (CH), I like how my daughters grew up without the jungle of competition in the class because they were taught to be curious, to investigate, to create, to produce, to question (not simply follow like a sheep or a puppy). In CH, there's no such stuff as honour rolls or special titles like valedictorian or salutatorian in primary or secondary school, but only in the university to reward the efforts of very hard working, diligent students. Majority of Filipinos should remember that the grades in school will not decide how successful you'll be in life. Grades and achievements are icing of the cake o...

Indeed, "it's the classic nature vs. nurture argument." Very classical, as it already puzzled the ancient Greeks. Plato advanced that there is inherent inequality among men. Aristotle who came out with ten categories of "being", namely "the substance" and the nine "accidents", or predicaments of the substance, argued that all men (and women) are all equal by their substance. Chino [author of the article under which this comment appears], for example, is human by substance, and in that, he is no different from you and me. He is, however, different, and unique, in the predicaments he was born into, raised, and find himself today. The nine predicaments are quantity, quality, relation, action, passivity, place, time, posture, and possession. We comprehend the predicaments by our five senses; the substance, only by our mind. But, we know substances exist because, pursuing the above example, we know it is still the same Chino we are talking of ...