==> WHY NOT...GIBO...

I don’t know why im even bothering to write about a presidential candidate whose chances of winning the 2010 presidential polls are NONE and NIL. But, Gilbert Teodoro seems to be attracting a good number of young people, mostly college students from reputable schools to vote for him, or at least, consider him the best candidate for the job of CEO of this republic. If only for that, i gave in to the temptation to write about the man.

To say that I AM SURPRISED by this support for Gibo from the supposedly “hope and future of this nation”, is an understatement. As far as im concerned, a more apt description would be, I AM DISMAYED at their lack of depth, lack of shrewdness, and lack of discernment as evidenced by this glaring display of poor judgement. I would have been elated had they chosen to display their idealism and thrown their support for Nicanor Perlas or even JC de los Reyes because my perception of these 2 candidates is that they are men of strong principles, even if they also need to do some reality check of their own(do they really believe they have a chance at all?).

YES, on paper, Gilbert Teodoro’s credentials are impressive. Does that mean that the others are dumb, stupid or incompetent?

Cant’ the young people of today see beyond the image that the candidate himself wants to project? Is his supposed academic achievements more important than his character? Does Gibo’s TOTAL lack of commitment in prosecuting his president and her cohorts, in making them accountable of their crimes against the Filipino people, is that ACCEPTABLE to the “learned” youth of the Philippines? Do they not even care that his benefactor of so many years and whose interest he has forwarded and supported is none other than Marcos’ number one crony and his uncle Danding Cojuanco. Was’nt his entire political career until only a few months ago is with his uncles’ NPC, whose members are mostly the second or third generation Marcos men? Does it not bother them that the clowns behind his candidacy are the same clowns that made a mockery of our national institutions by repeatedly, blindly and brazenly supporting and conniving with his president? yes kids, Gloria’s cohorts and the clowns im referring to are one and the same, they are your honorable members of the House of Representathieves and your local government officials, all members of the Lakas-Kampi political party which Gibo is proud to be affiliated with. If all that is just cool with you kids, then, huhu…sniff…sniff…For me, a person’s character is defined by the company he keeps, plain and simple. The saying "Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are", is still relevant and true to this day.

In 1965, a politician who was often described as having a brilliant mind and a leader with a vision and who incidentally is also a Bar topnotcher, became the president of this country. Twenty years after, he was booted out of his office in disgrace that left our nation deeply divided, our national treasury depleted and our public servants in moral decay. They say, our young people have no sense of history, sadly, that impression is not entirely baseless. Could the reason be because today's youth never knew how life was when Marcos was in power? Have they taken democracy for granted because they never knew its opposite, dictatorship and/or authoritarianism? HISTORY HAS THE TENDENCY TO REPEAT ITSELF UNTIL WE HAVE LEARNED ITS LESSONS.

“Galing at Talino” is not synonymous to good leadership. Good leadership is first and foremost about good character.

At this point in our country's history when our institutions are still weak, TRUST is still an important factor in choosing our leaders, trust in our leader's good character. Our frustration and anger over how our public servants are leading our nation has little to do with the candidates’ platform of government or an intellectual plan of governance, it has everything to do with honesty, transparency and accountability. Each of these candidates can promise us the heavens, BUT, we all know that in Philippine politics…TALK is simply…CHEAP.

==> the day the "CIRCUS" came to town

True enough, the circus did hit our little town. Lets see, how will I describe the show? Highly amusing? Definitely! Entertaining? You bet! Was it a rewarding experience? For some, they were rewarded by candies, tshirts and calendars, all with the names and images of our circus perfomers of course!



Headlining the show are the most colorful of personalities in the business. The likes of the “ganito kami sa makati” fame, none other than the king of the makati political dynasty, Jejomar “jojo” Binay. Also present is the “king of coup-de-etat” himself, the very poor and destitute juan ponce enrile. Not to be left out is the partlist group of the el shaddai “holy man”, another needy and impoverished personality, Bro. Mike Velarde of the Buhay Partylist group. Of course not to be missed are the 3 star clowns of the show. First is the man they call Leon Guerrero, the “sleeping beauty of the philippine senate” Lito Lapid. Next is another clown whose star continous to shine in the senate, none other than “ang panday” himself, Ramon “bong” Revilla. And… the star of the show…the pardoned plunderer…the ousted president…the former jailbird…mr Joseph “erap” Estrada…applause, applause…










Now with these clowns running the show, tell me, is it any wonder why our country is in such a sorry state?

==> HOT, HOT, HOT

Not a single post in almost 3 months…whew…what’s happening to me? Last time I checked, im still breathing and alive. Burned out…after only a few posts? feeling pro! Maybe the past 3 months came and passed with nothing but boring everyday stuff? Far from it. Well…some things did happen that are not exactly pleasant but its not as if im not used to those kind of drama. I know I still have a long way to go but im starting to understand…LIFE…boy, that word sure is H E A V Y! Oooh, and im beginning to sound so mature…that is definitely not me! So let me get off this “heavy” topic before I create more problems for my scoliotic lumbar spine…

Im determined to write something today on this blog, so by god im going to do so no matter how lame the topic may be. Lets see, what would be a good topic to write about? What’s been bugging me these days? Aaaah…the heat! I don’t know the exact temperatures this country is hitting now, but it sure is, hot, hot, hot! If you need proof, how do you explain hot water coming out of your shower if your water heater has been broken for god knows how many years(why did I even have one installed in a tropical island like the Philippines is a wonder to me!)…here’s another, it feels like the heater on my room is working hard all day, as soon as I step inside, the heat greets me unwelcomingly…did I forget to mention that having a heater installed in your house is totally and absolutely unheard of in this country?...the rubberized parts of the blood pressure apparatus(whatchamacallit?) of our stay-in nurse is melting from the heat…plastiwares turning brittle…green leaves toasting under the sun turning yellow then brown…people trooping to the malls taking advantage of the free airconditioning system…halu-halo(ice shavings) vendors everywhere…rotating brownouts…the list goes on and on…

Despite my endless chatter, bashing the sweltering heat in the Philippines, I would always pick the sticky/sweaty summer over the freezing/dry flaky skin/layers-and-layers of clothes winter! 13-15 degrees and the tropical island girl in me get into the panic mode. To think I want to go back to japan and see Hokkaido in winter…I guess, i have to muster whatever courage I have in my system to get there, when is the question.

There…I managed to write something…if you can call that writing…I feel like it is best described as…ranting…yakking…blabbering…or simply complaining.

==> MY CRYSTAL BALL

So many topics I could write about, share my thoughts on, give my opinions, BUT, I could not. some too personal, others involve people who are close to me like friends, family, relatives, and they might be offended at being discussed so openly in cyberspace. Of course, I can shroud in anonimity their real identity, but again, you and I both know, its easy to do the math in this case. So relax, im not gonna start the year by involving myself in personal controversies, I’ll just do the boring stuff…since a new year is about to start, im going to bring out my crystal ball and channel madame auring, madam rosa, jojo acuin and rene mariano(all self proclaimed clairvoyants or manghuhula) and make predictions for 2010…

Manny Villar will make a huge donation(an obscene amount!) to media entities in the first half of the year. No people, its not a bribe, more like payment for advertising placements for campaign ads a.k.a. “infomercials”. If you think we’ve seen the last of those campaign ads in 2009, I predict that …there’s more to come from the billionaire. After the billions that he has already obviously spent on his campaign, the guy is still behind in the surveys to the frontrunner by almost 20 percentage points. Haaay manny who’s loaded with money, that huge donation should have been used to build low cost housing for Filipinos that were displaced by the calamities that beset the country last year, di ba?

an aquino will be back in malacanang by june 2010. by all indications, ninoy and corys son will be the next president of this nation. I dunno if I should congratulate or commiserate with the guy coz Gloria Pidal will leave him a bankrupt economy and a horde of so-called public servants whose values and morals are in decay, to say the least.

“President” Gloria Pidal will be Congresswoman and/or Speaker Gloria Pidal by june of 2010 to the dismay of one of her apos who when asked what her wish for her lola is answered, “I wish you will be president forever”, out of the mouth of babes. Don’t worry hija, with your lolas’ track record, anything is possible!

OFW’s will continue to keep our economy afloat by continuously and regulary send their remittances to their family here(thanks sis!). in 2008, remittances hit US$16.4 billion, up 13.7% from the previous year. Is that good news or bad? There are currently 9-12 million OFW’s worldwide and the numbers continue to go up. Without these Filipinos workers, im beginning to question what state would the world economy be in?

So far, that’s all I see in my crystal ball. Is there a reason for us to be hopeful…who knows…at the very least, there is something we can all look forward to…at last, somebody will be out of malacanang by the middle of next year, thank God!

==> HEROES...of the very best kind

yes juan de la cruz, a Filipino won the “2009 cnn hero of the year” and no, it’s not manny pacquiao! (as if naman. with all due respect to the fans of pacquiao and boxing, please dont bite my head off but, my personal take on this sport is that it does not belong to the 21st century, it belongs to the middle ages!)

im referring to an educator from cavite by the name of efren penaflorida. in an interview after the awarding ceremonies in Washington, efren said that 90% of the $125,000 that he won will go to the organization(DYNAMIC TEEN COMPANY) and 10% to the church. with the victory of efren, im inspired to write about heroes for a change as im usually provoked into writing about the latest shenanigans of politicians, who are heroes only in their dirty, corrupt and polluted minds. writing about real heroes is a refreshing and welcome change for me.

i will not write about who efren is and the work that he does, all that is now public knowledge, rather, i would like to give tribute to THE KIND OF HEROES THAT I ADMIRE.

there are so many out there who do wonderful deeds that help multitudes of people, but to my mind, there are only a handful of them that i know by name. for now, they remain nameless and faceless, but one thing im certain of, they have big hearts.

why the anonimity, you may ask, the answer is…. HUMILITY…SELFLESSNESS, these admirable character traits common to these special breed of people may answer that question. i admire people who do their good deeds QUIETLY...was'nt there a wise man by the name of jesus, the only begotten son of God, the acknowledged lord and saviour by all christians, who once said "do not let the right hand know what the left hand is doing"...they are the people who do not seek the limelight , who do not bring photogs to document their work to feed their own egos, who do not need to be patted on the back for a job well done, who do not need to be in public office to help the poor, who do what they do without any monetary considerations...

they are the doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals who leave their comfortable oftentimes luxurious lifestyle to go to the poorest communities of the world, to help the sick who do not have access to any form of healthcare...they are the lawyers who accept pro bono cases to defend the rights of the oppressed against the injustices of this world...they are the nuns, priests, pastors, missionaries…men and women of faith that spread the word of our lord, to urge the people to choose peace and to love and respect one another, to the most dangerous parts of this planet...they are the teachers who for a measly amount of money they call salary, travels several kilometers, more often than not spending their own money for teaching paraphernalias, just to reach the students who are hungry for knowledge, waiting for their tutelage and guidance...they are those millionaires or billionares who chose to leave their money not to their next-of-kin but to reputable organizations that takes care of the poor, the underpriveledge, the marginalized…the forgotten people of the society...they are out there, doing what they have to do out of the goodness of their hearts, not asking for anything in return except maybe for the people that they have helped and whose lives they have touched to live well and someday help someone else so that the cycle of kindness continue…

you see, in my book, its not easy to be a hero. it is almost always hardwork whose only reward is the fullness of the heart and soul…on hindsight, its not a bad deal at all…to think that all the riches of the world cannot buy any of us that…

as I look at the picture of that event in Washington last night, seeing the ten finalist(out of 9000 nominees) onstage, in a sea of people wearing evening gowns and black ties, i cannot help but shed tears of joy and pride for the DYNAMIC TEEN COMPANY and their leader, who stood out on that stage wearing our native white barong tagalog with a very simple Philippine map embroidered on his chest. when asked by a journalist who his personal heroes are, efren replied…the volunteers of the Dynamic Teen Company all over the Philippines and the people who have supported their organization. he did not give their names… i guess he knows …among their kind it is understood…names are not important…fame and personal recognition is not their goal.

cheers efren, well done...

==> YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED to...

a MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE between a POLITICAL PROSTITUTE, este, POLITICAL BUTTERFLY and a BUSINESSMAN/TRAPO.
our "loving" couple hopes to serve our beloved country as the next president and vice president in 2010...
now that the engagement has been formally announced…
straight from the horse’s, or is it the crocodile’s mouth?…
let me extend my heartfelt greetings to the future bride and groom…
best wishes…
congratulations…
and…may I add, both of you certainly deserve each other!

the bride, once, rather, often described a “political prostitute",este ulit, "political butterfly” because of her tendency to flit from one political party to another, depending on which side of the political bread is buttered, seems to be giving mrs pidal a run for her money as the worlds greatest “kapalmuks”. i thought, there’s no way anybody can beat or even seriously challenge any member of the pidal family in that department, but now, given time and opportunity, our bride can give them a run for their money. how can she explain running with a presidential candidate who only months ago she helped evict in his office as the senate president, and whom she voted to be investigated by the same body for corruption charges? anu yon ? paki explain nga….ay huwag na lang, gets ko na.

the groom, proud to be a former tindero from tondo is now a proud billionare who swore to high heavens he never used his public office to obtain juicy government contracts. oh, come on…talaga? swear? di nga? isn’t he the same guy who married into a relatively rich political/business family from las pinas, the aguilars? that’s right, the aguilars can be described as “rich” by Filipino standards, they were in local politics and they have several businesses. but, when our groom joined politics, specially when he sat as speaker of the house of representathieves, the profits of the aguilar businesses skyrocketed and just shot to the roof ! their net worth now has multiplied mannnnnnnnny times over. its either our groom is an excellent businessman or he is one hell of a lucky guy. 1+1=2 right? not really , in pinoy politics 1+1=11 !

now you ask, how did these two personalities got together in the first place? strange bedfellows indeed. at the very least the bride seems to be highly suspicious of the groom”s business and political “under-the-table” dealings. was there a pre-nuptial agreement? if there is one, how much did or will the bride get? true, they have nothing in common…oh, wait a minute, they do have something in common…they share a common interest. they already have fame and fortune, so, what else is left except, POWER. both does not have a running mate or could not convince their partymates to run with them, so...they decided to use each other! he gets a runningmate and she, got somebody to finance her candidacy. forget your principles(if you've got any), forget the differences on issues, forget shame, forget pride, forget that you do not exactly "like" each other at the very least...throw all that and focus on our goal...

the groom wants to alleviate poverty and the bride wants to tackle environmental isuues. CUT THE CRAP! both of you wants to be the most powerful people in this country to feed you supersized egos. Haay naku…men and their vanity!

==> HO, HO, HO…”SEASON’S” GREETINGS!

what do you know, im back before i could even miss myself on this blog! i knew i wouldnt be bored for long...

you cant deny it, you can smell it in the air. i dare you, take a deeeeeep breath, and it will choke your lungs senseless…yes juan de la cruz(JDLC), that “season” is definitely fast approaching.

no JDLC, im not referring to the yuletide season which is being celebrated by christians all over the world, what im referring to is a season being celebrated in this country every 6yrs…i’ll give you a hint…it is the favorite season by the crooks, you know… the corrupt, the unprincipled or those with the wrong principles, the opportunists, the bureaucratic thieves, the dagdag-bawas specialists, the prostitutes(of the political variety), the survey manipulators, the paid hacks, the carpetbaggers, the turncoats, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera…i intend to write about these characters one by one in my future posts.

i don’t know about you JDLC, but it’s a season im not too happy to celebrate. problem is, there’s no stopping it , its going to happen whether we like it or not! so, instead of wallowing in depression at the thought of the inevitable , lets just find humor in the circus that’s about to hit town, “the 2010 presidential campaign extravaganza”…send in the clowns and let the show begin, jarannnnnnnnnnnnn…