GRPundit

This video of Leila de Lima's epic meltdown at the Senate the other day should be submitted to the Journal of Psychology . It's rare scientific documentation of a sociopath cracking under pressure and dropping her mask. You can even see her persona switch from "disente" to deranged then back again in a matter of minutes. (The craziest part is in -27:35 to -22.05.) What made De Lima snap? De Lima held this press con just a few hours after that Bilibid stabbing incident that left drug lord Tony Co dead, drug lord Peter Co in critical condition, and drug-lord-cum-De-Lima-"asset" Jaybee Sebastian injured. While the police were still investigating the crime scene, De Lima was already telling the press that the stabbing was part of the government's efforts to force inmates to testify against her. Why was she so defensive? Why was she so strung out? Could it be because Peter Co and Jaybee Sebastian survived? Witnesses at the House probe on Bilibi...

Back in 2015 during the election campaign, "online news site" Rappler put up Leila De Lima as "the next Miriam Santiago". Just when you could think of no other way Rappler could plumb lower depths in the practice of "online journalism", we come across this gem of a tweet ... Will Leila De Lima be Senate's next Miriam Santiago?http://rplr.co/1OE9VVv  #PHVote The link in the tweet leads to a Rappler article with the same headline ... De Lima raised the question as she formalized her Senate bid on Thursday, October 15. Her candidacy for the May 2016 polls marks the first time she is running for public office.  The former justice secretary known for ordering controversial investigations into corruption and criminal cases said people compare her to Santiago, the Senate's resident legal expert known as the Iron Lady of Asia. It is important to note that this tweet and the article it links to was fielded and published respectively during...

Challenge accepted. 1) Face up to the fact that this generation of Filipinos is doomed. They have no real chance of redemption. Adults rarely change their ways. Instead, focus on giving your children the tools to fix the mess that you and your compatriots created. This is relatively simple. Young people are good at doing things that need to be done, quickly. 2) Refuse to send your children to (public) school. This is where their heads are filled with all kinds of nationalistic nonsense and misinformation. Instead, teach them how to learn things. If you do not know how to do this, seek advice from people who do. There are plenty of books on the subject of "how to learn things". It's possible one of them is available in Tagalog. 3) Today's children have the entire knowledge of the planet laid open to them on the internet ... and all they do is play around on Facebook. Teach them to use this powerful tool wisely. Make sure your child reads something new - som...

If you perform some action X and experience an unpleasant outcome Y as a direct result, is action X good or bad? - If I elect a thief as a local mayor, and observe that he steals all the public funds, what can I learn from this? - If I throw trash everywhere and observe that it blocks the storm drains, what can I learn from this? - If I eat garbage and observe that I develop metabolic disorders, what can I learn from this? - If I go through life treating other people and animals with cruelty, abuse, and manipulation; if I lie to people, and use them for my personal gain; if I refuse to consider anybody's feelings except my own; and if I then find that I am poor and miserable and excluded, what can I learn from this? How is it that Filipinos are completely unable to perform these simple tests? --------------------- This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the discussion !

Re. starving animals, I noticed something a bit different. There are two sorts: 1) The ones that are chained up with a six-inch piece of rope, 12 inches away from a food/water bowl which is perennially empty, or perhaps occasionally filled with leftover rice. 2) The ones the mope around scrounging. Here’s what I noticed about (2). In most countries, stray cats (for example) are well-known for two things: keeping the vermin population down, and devastating local wildlife (especially birds). All the stray dogs and cats where I live look fat and happy. A few of them get fed by the locals, but 90% of them go out hunting for food. None of them look like skin-and-bones. So here’s the crazy thing: even the stray animals are Filipinos . Everybody’s yard is full of those stupid fighting roosters, mostly uncaged. Why aren’t the strays doing their jobs and eating the lot of them? There are plenty of rats, mice, birds and other wildlife around – somehow, they survive the onslaught of F...

All these Filipino politicians—including the ones the masses hold in high regard like Miriam Defensor, Peter Cayetano, and Richard Gordon, just to name a few—are all crooks and thieves who wouldn’t think twice about accepting “kickbacks” and bribe money from oligarchs in exchange for favors. How else are these politicians going to live the lavish, aristocratic lifestyle of owning mansions, luxury automobiles, and travel abroad in style unless they engage in dubious activities? This is what really puzzles me about people who lambast the Yellow Party and elevate Marcos to a new height of heroism that has done a lot of good for the country, when all these politicians are guilty of “milking the cow,” sort to speak, of creating their own political dynasties and stealing from the country. Even Duterte has installed his children in key positions in Davao to ensure their political power never leaves their family. Filipinos are still looking for that “pie in the sky” of having a Mah...

Knowledge has nothing to do with intelligence. So studying wont help, as you wont be able to learn. You can teach a bear to ride a bicycle, but it does not mean the bear will know what he is doing or that he will be able to change a flat tire. Why are there so many unintelligent people? Because the poor and uneducated have been breeding like rabbits. Each generation born just a bit dumber than the one before them. Like when you copy a VHS tape and then make a copy of the copy, et cetera. The quality will get worse and worse. A gene pool that has been watered down to the lowest quality. It has actually come to a point now where people not only act, but actually look like retards. I see it all the time in children and young adults. Now, that’s really bad. I’m not saying that all Filipinos are dumb. But most are. Gullible and easily influenced by fairytales a.k.a. religion and other dumb stuff. They are not brainwashed, because there was nothing to wash out to start with. ...

The Philippines is an academic case study in dysgenics. I spent perhaps my first year in the Philippines refusing to believe what my eyes told me: that a large fraction of the population are made up of borderline retards. It was just too frightening to admit the truth. The causes are quite obviously as you describe: a deliberate selection of faulty genes, coupled with all the best ones leaving the gene pool. I know we’re both going to get screamed at for these posts. In my defence, I’ll offer Exhibit A: a young lad in his 20s who is employed at the local DIY store to open and close the door. That’s his job: opening and closing the door. I’ve never seen him do anything else. Now, is he doing this because there is no other means for him to earn a living? Or could it be that, in fact, opening and closing a door is the only thing he’s capable of without messing it up? And it’s not just him. – Slack-jawed “assistants” in stores, who don’t know what products they sell or what t...

I commiserate and understand the feeling of lack of interest among Filipino youth on Rizal’s books ( Noli and Fili ). Maybe because it was written in Spanish or maybe not really promoted aggressively for reading in schools. Or maybe because the church was not really presented in an amiable way or it connotes an idea of resistance against establishment or whatever. I read the books in my school days but did not really digest the importance of the message and its relevance in my existence as a Filipino. Could be I was not guided properly. I simply didn’t get it. I mean, yes, it was explained to us and we got to know the details of the stories, etc. but the mind didn’t really absorb its very essence. Unlike the Bible which has several versions and attracted a lot of “geniuses” in interpreting it as well as “teaching” it, Rizal’s books had a difficult time crossing over into the mainstream, at least, that’s my summation. It’s very seldom you will find Filipino students quoting passa...

The Philippines doesn’t have to give up its religion, form of government, or way of life. I doubt very seriously if the Filipinos are ever going to do that anyway, because those practices are already embedded in their subconscious and have been a big part of their cultural identity all their lives. Plus, renouncing the current form of government and way of life might put the entire country on the brink of political and economic coup de ‘etat which no one wants. Insead, what I’m suggesting is to get genuine insight and deeper understanding of other Asian countries’ religious ideologies (i.e., Buddhism, Taoism, Asceticism, Hinduism, etcetera), and how these nation are able to preserve these time-tested traditions, customs, and practices into their modern lives. I believe the world, especially a growing number of Filipinos, now realize that the Philippines’ Roman Catholicism and Protestantism are not congruent with other Asian religions and ethnic makeup, and put the country in ...

Filipinos fall into one of two groups: 1) People who think everything is wonderful (despite all the evidence staring them in the face that everythingisn’t wonderful). They believe that anyone says a single bad word about the country should be shot, or at least told to F off. 2) People who use their eyes and their brains. They know exactly what’s going on and why, and are deeply ashamed of their Type (1) countrymen. Type (1) people outnumber type (2) people by roughly 10:1. Duterte is doing the Type 1 thing. Since he doesn’t know how non-Filipinos react (with amusement and then dismissal) he thinks he’s done a great thing … and so do his mindless cheerleaders. Filipinos have the strangest attitude towards the world at large. On the one hand, they think they should be protected from everything. And I mean everything: from the economic consequences of their own poor life choices, right through to the hard laws of physics. They want everything to be “fair”, by which they mean...

Day 4 of the Senate hearing on EJKs under the new committee chairman, Senator Dick Gordon, has been the most interesting so far, but the foreign media oddly did not report much about it. Is it because they don’t want people to know that Edgar Matobato has backflipped on nearly everything he said? Since the media are not reporting the details of Matobato’s about-face, let’s recap the highlights here. Here’s the link to a recording of the whole Day 4 hearing. The juicy parts are really worth watching. HIGHLIGHT #1: Sali Makdum Senator Alan Cayetano showed a CNN Philippines video where residents from Matobato’s old village in Samal talked about “Sali Makdum”, the supposed high-value international terrorist that Matobato said he killed for the Davao Death Squad (DDS). Watch the CNN Phils report on the 1:30:30 mark of the video above, and see why the yellow media are quiet on this. It turns out Makdum was not an international terrorist, but a Turkish national who lived ...

Ban Ki Moon has blasted  some world leaders in his farewell address (yes, he is leaving the UN), and we can consider it a small triumph (and mercy) that despite President Duterte's fuck yous, Ban Ki Moon didn't consider him a real danger to the world. This is because unlike many, Ban Ki Moon knows what true evil is. “In too many places, we see leaders rewriting constitutions, manipulating elections, and taking other desperate steps to cling to power,” he said. “My message to all is clear: serve your people. Do not subvert democracy; do not pilfer your country’s resources; do not imprison and torture your critics." (Duterte did not manipulate elections, has not made desperate attempts to cling to power, did not subvert democracy,. did not pilfer our resources, and did not torture and imprison his critics. BUT WE KNOW WHO DID. BWAHAHA. We know who manipulated elections, is still trying hard to cling to power, imprisoned his enemies illegally, and pilfered our resour...

Human Rights Watch routinely criticize everyone, including the EU. They do this because they hope criticism can help build a better world. The Filipino, being incapable of even considering a future that’s better than today, sees criticism only as an insult. For what it’s worth, I think talk of “Human Rights” is nonsense: there should be far more talk about Human Responsibilities, from which Rights naturally emerge. When people uphold their own Responsibilities, others have Rights. In civilized countries, citizens mostly understand their Responsibilities. They know their duty to each other, to the State, and to the world in general. Not everyone, and not all the time: they need to be reminded, for example by the police, by propaganda, or by organisations like Human Rights Watch. In the Philippines, you will be laughed at if you tell people they have certain Responsibilities towards others. To some extent, this is understandable: why should one be Responsible for paying taxes t...

SEE THE DIFFERENCE: When De Lima presented an incredible witness to demolish a President-- 》News reports immediately vilifying our President and painting him as the man behind thousands of senseless deaths (EJK) came out left and right even when the hearing was still on-going. 》Immediately after the hearing, surprisingly, a pre-taped video of Matabato's testimony, complete with English sub-title, was already made available online and was posted by New York Times. 》In less than 5 hours, the international media came out with highly damaging & misleading headlines and grossly distorted & one-sided news reports--taking Matabato's testimony as nothing but the truth. 》Most of local & foreign press did not even present the other side of the story (no mention of Lacson, Sotto, & Cayetano's remarks showing the inconsistencies and lies of the witness' testimony) 》Only after few days and only after thousands of Filipinos here and abroad have united ...

I’m cautiously supportive of the actions of the current administration, but by failing to intelligently engage his critics, all he’s doing is to make the country look like even more of failure than it actually is (if such a thing is possible). The proper response would have been to explain to the critics what the problems are in the Philippines, what the current policies are, and how those policies are being implemented. He might issue a statement explain what the deal is with De Lima. Or he might have made a polite phone call to whoever might be interested, and offer to have a discussion. As for Alunan’s comment : words fail me. Yet another Filipino vacillating between deep shame and Pinoy Pride. Here’s the thing, Mr Secretary: commenting on world affairs is what politicians do. It’s what they’re paid to do by the electorate. It is not “interference” to flag up something of international concern. The only response required is for the national authorities being addressed to rep...

While I agree that the hypocritical and meddlesome EU deserved the F U, President Duterte should have known better and restrained himself because he was being baited. The media, the NGOs, and reps of western governments take turns goading him and laying traps so he will have more epic rants that they can broadcast, and each time, he is stupid enough to swallow the bait. He doesn’t even know he’s being played. The problem with Duterte is his old school, uncivilized approach to conflict management. Unlike Lee Kuan Yew, he doesn’t know how to express his anger in a forceful but intelligent way. Lee Kuan Yew’s jabs at his critics were far more lethal than Duterte’s cheap cussing, yet LKW knew how to slap his enemies down with class, so people (including westerners) did not lose respect for him. Duterte, on the other hand, is a palengkero . He doesn’t know the graceful but deadly, martial-arts style of fighting. He just thrashes about and throws random punches while frothing in th...

To everyone: let us not be so quick to judge people who do not agree with Duterte as yellow, and those who do agree with Duterte as a Dutertard. That's a False Dichotomy. It's not either you're one of them or you're against them. I'll make this clear now though, I didn't vote for the president. Be that as it may, let's not get carried away with this violation of human rights mantra and all its emotional entailments and pin all "extrajudicial killings" that are happening to the current administration. I would even go so far as to argue that the majority of these "EJKs" aren't even what they seem to be. The media here, after all, is almost completely untrustworthy. For all we know, these so-called EJKs are orchestrated by drug cartels so that they can pin it to the admin. This in turn, is seen as an opportunity by the yellows, especially evident in De Lima's appeal-to-the-emotion privilege speech earlier. All she did was pai...

As far as I know, nothing is “funny” when we talk about extra-judicial killings or the negative impact of it not only to Pres. Duterte but also to the entire country. Not to defend the previous administration, what is happening now is not because of what they did not do but what the present administration is actually doing. No doubt, former Pres. Aquino was nowhere near Pres. Duterte in addressing the drug problem. The former has been called weak and soft against criminality, drug lords, etc. while the current president is the opposite to the point that controversies arise because of the perceived out-of-control operation against drug suspects/criminals. Sure, Sen. De Lima was part of the previous administration but that is not the main point in why there is friction between her and the president. They simply don’t get along either due to personal differences, diverging principles or philosophical and political point of view. I hate to say it, but if Sen. De Lima has nothing up h...

1) Does the Philippines want foreign investment and tourism or no? ANSWER: Yes, and I think these partially explains the government's anti-criminality and tighter security drive. 2) Does the recent 5% decline in the USD/PHP exchange rate indicate anything about the image of the country abroad and the economic development of the country? ANSWER: I am not an expert but I read that BSP said this is due to foreign investors' "profit-taking". 3) Is it acceptable for a person to be shot by police based solely on the officer's assertion that the victim was a drug dealer, with the full approval of the country's president? ANSWER: No, but I am willing to give the police the benefit of the doubt, especially if it's a legitimate buy-bust operation. 4) Do police officers ever make mistakes or act from improper motives? Does an accused criminal deserve the right to explain and defend him or herself against the charges? ANSWER: The police make mistakes jus...

The overwhelming vote to remove Leila de Lima as chair of the Senate committee on justice is shaking up the yellow media. They’re getting so desperate they can’t think rationally anymore. They’re giving De Lima so much air time, people around me are tuning out every time she comes on. We know what’s coming next. The yellow media will turn De Lima into a martyr and claim that she was removed as committee chair to stop Matobato from testifying further. The yellow media will portray the clownish Matobato as a star witness, and act like his inane claims have not been debunked. They really are living in an alternate universe. De Lima is all over the place moaning about her predicament, but the networks don’t give much airplay to the facts that disproved Matobato’s claims, such as: – The statement of the family and lawyer of Richard King that the Dutertes had absolutely nothing to do with King’s murder. – The statement of the Nograleses that none of their bodyguards was murde...

As much as I appreciate President Rodrigo Duterte trying to change the status quo, I doubt he can change all of them. They are so ingrained in our culture, that people will (wrongly) feel cheated and “oppressed”. Take our government construction projects, for example. When a project is awarded to the contractor, the mayor, the congressman, and the governor automatically get 10% of the project’s budget at the very least. That, then, jeopardizes the project’s quality because the budget received a massive cut. And I kid you not, if you eradicate this system, people benefiting from this will actually feel cheated. Even speaking out against this system (if you’re a government employee) may get you fired. I wouldn’t put it beneath them to kill the person responsible for completely removing this system if it were to happen. I’ve seen government employees get frustrated and angry at the thought of them not getting bribes. Speak up against bribery aggressively and you’ll find yourself...

How’s this for hypocrisy? A couple of weeks ago, the US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power tweeted : Alarming reports of ongoing extrajudicial killings in the #Philippines; government must respect human rts & rule of law Did Power get the side of President Duterte before she tweeted? No. She based her judgment on sensationalized media reports and the hysterical claims of human rights activists, most of whom are funded by US-based interest groups. Today, we find out that Samantha Power “ expressed regret ” over a US air strike yesterday that killed 60+ soldiers of the Syrian army and wounded at least 100 others. "We are investigating the incident," US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power told journalists as the emergency Security Council meeting, called by Russia, got under way in New York.   "If we determine that we did indeed strike Syrian military personnel, that was not our intention. And we of course regret the loss of life." How can the ...

Hopefully there can be progress in the Philippines – but not without a systemic change in values from the top down. The Philippines ought to be able to improve – but this is contingent upon good policies, honesty, ending corruption and laws be followed. I am doubtful Duterte can change things; further, what will happen next election? If he can make significant changes( infrastructure, proper funding of departments, end corruption) then the country may move toward a better direction. Referring to previous comments regarding foreign typhoon aid, other countries will donate and the money will be stolen as usual. I remember the comments from Roxas to Romualdez in Tacloban, after Yolanda . The politicians have hatred for each other. I remember politicians repackaging aid goods from foreign countries and putting their name and picture on it. Sometimes ‘aid’ comes as a quasi bribe, in my opinion. The U.S. provides military security to Europe and then Europe bows down to the U.S. Gov. Be...

I finally feel that I need to speak up. There has been much in the press lately about newly elected Philippine President Duterte. Most of what is said focuses on his policies toward the illegal drug problem, and his direct (to put it mildly) comments to other national leaders, particularly to US leaders. The world's press responds with concern, even alarm. In the Philippines, he is immensely popular. As an American who has lived here in the Philippines for 30+ years, I think I understand why. Allow me to explain. First of all, the facts. 1) Americans almost never take culture and other cultures' viewpoints and values into consideration. Almost never. That explains nonsense foreign policy and constant misunderstanding. 2) Americans are one thing; the American government is something different. Generally speaking, Americans are liked here. Generally speaking, the American government is grossly arrogant and condescending, and is often despised because of it. 3) Other natio...

I don’t think foreign media got a sudden interest in the country because they found a bogeyman in Pres. Duterte. The country attracts attention from foreign media because we have, to say the least, an unconventional and controversial president. The smoke of the 2016 campaign has been gone after the last tally of the result was announced. Not a whimper of protest came from those who lost the election. But there is an emerging feeling even before he was declared the election winner that controversies will hound Duterte not because of his enemies but because of his character and his fly-off-the-handle kind of temper. Just look at some of the issues he made since becoming a national figure. 1. Joking about an Australian national who was raped and killed 2. Calling the Pope a “son of a whore” 3. Calling the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines a “gay son of a whore” 4. Cursing US Pres. Obama (“son of a whore” again!) 5. CallingU.N. chief Ban ki-Moon ‘fool’ 6. Telling senio...

The last case the yellows had left against former President Gloria Arroyo has been dismissed by the Sandiganbayan . The Filipino people should now urge former President Arroyo to file charges at the UN against Leila de Lima and Noynoy Aquino for illegal detention and violating her human rights. Arroyo has a strong case with the favorable UN ruling that Amal Alamuddin won for her in 2015. Since De Lima and the yellows have been invoking human rights and the UN every chance they get, let us see if they can walk their talk and face the very same charges they so liberally accuse others of. Former President Gloria would be doing her country a great service by suing De Lima at the UN. De Lima is a menace to the Philippines and a huge majority of Filipinos will be glad to see her removed from the Senate and convicted at an international court, in exactly the same way she imagines President Duterte should be charged at the ICC. Hope Amal and former President Gloria can discuss th...

The color yellow is usually a sign of sickness and should be expunged. The body releases yellow snot and phlegm if we have a respiratory illness. Our skin and eyes turn yellowish due to jaundice, which is a symptom of hepatitis. Urine is yellow-colored because it contains waste products that could make us sick if it remained inside us. Abcess (or nana) means an infection. Rotting flesh becomes yellow before turning black. What does this all mean? In the comparison above, if the Philippines is the human body, then the Liberal Party is the one making our country sick and should be cured. In addition, yellow is also the color associated with cowardice and deceit. So the LP is just acting according to what is expected of them. ----------------------- This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the discussion !

Interesting how much outpour of sympathy & concern is being given to drug criminals—-“human rights” they say, whilst the poor hapless rape, murder, & robbery victims of these criminals are being silenced as they attack the one President who finally has the real balls to speak out, defend, & fight for these victims, past to future. What show of urgency and manner of sympathy & concern are these so-called “human rights” whiners giving to these victims of heinous drug crimes?—Nothing!—-I don’t hear any effective solution coming out from that camp to rid ourselves of this drug problem. The former DOJ is herself at the front & center of this profound miscarriage of justice! The Yellow camp has been mainly instrumental in perverting whatever fiber of true decency is left of this country!—The Yellow camp thrives on widely disseminating deceptions or malicious falsehoods! They just have to be stopped! --------------------- This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the...