Just because I'm straight doesn't mean I'm not voting for Ang Ladlad party-list on Monday.
Logically, I should vote for a women's rights party-list. Or something. But, I figured, there are many women's and children's rights advocates in Congress already. On the other hand, there are no LGBT rights advocates.
This is a decision that crystallized, actually, long before the infamous Comelec decision on Ang Ladlad, and its subsequent overturn by the Supreme Court.
Credit it, in part, to BB Gandanghari. Yes, that BB Gandanghari and her “Be all that you can be” thing, when she tried to explain the death of heartthrob Rustom Padilla and the birth of BB Gandanghari. Assigned to write articles about her, I had to find a deeper understanding of the larger picture, the situation of the LGBTs, in order to do justice to her story. This article was one of the results, the reason why I can easily address a member of the LGBT sector by the gender he/she prefers, in BB's case, “she.”
When Comelec came out with their homophobic decision to disqualify Ang Ladlad as a party list, I was one of those who reacted in indignation. The memory of BB and Dee came back full-force: why deny them the representation they so badly need in Congress? If women's and children's rights groups had representation, why not the LGBTs? Even security guards could be granted representation, but not, it seemed, a much-maligned and misunderstood, often denigrated and overlooked, substantial sector of our society clearly in need of representation. Ang Ladlad did not disappoint me; they fought it out all the way to the highest tribunal in the land. When the Supreme Court decision came out, I cheered.
That does it, I said. That's the party-list I'm voting for. They want representation, they fought for it, they deserve to get it. Besides, I asked myself, in which other congress in the world do LGBTs have a voice in their own right? Perhaps this is the first. And I want to give them, if only for once, that victory.
BB, Dee, and all the LGBTs out there: This vote's for you.
Let me get one thing straight. I am not endorsing any candidates.
I just noticed that the adsense ads on my blog are showing ads for Manny Villar and Loren Legarda. I am not endorsing any of those candidates, or any candidates for that matter, and most certainly NOT those two. Although I haven't yet settled on a president, those two are out of the running as far as I'm concerned. I have now blocked political ads in my Adsense. /looks annoyed/
Dear Congress and Malacanang,
Do you know the meaning of the word "oxymoron"? No, it's not a moron with too much oxygen in his brain.
Please stop designating "special working holidays."
A holiday is a day on which one is exempted from work. If we have to go to work on that day, then please don't call it a holiday at all, as you are only needlessly raising our expectations. Why don't you just call it a "special day" or "commemorative day" or something?
Kthxbai.
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full."
-Luke 6: 32- 34
I promised myself that come the 2010 elections, I will not believe what TV, print and radio ads say about the candidates. It is hard to avoid these ads. They are everywhere: on TV in between segments of my favorite Koreanovela, on the radio when I'm in the taxi going to work, in the papers, even pasted on lampposts and hanging from street corners everywhere I turn.
So-and-so Congressman is a sponsor of this educational opportunity, such-and-such Councilor is the sponsor of this purok fiesta, this Senator is a pro-poor advocate, that one is the hope of the nation. Even the president is lauded as the benefactor of such-and-such livelihood program and scholarship. When the name of the politician is way bigger than that of the program / project / event he or she is supposed to be sponsoring, I end up wondering whether the said program / project / event is nothing more than a publicity gimmick to make that politician more visible to the public.
I guess that deep down, I believe that a candidate's track record and public life should speak for itself when it comes to elections. I am more inclined to be suspicious of and avoid candidates who never miss the opportunity to get themselves front and center of the cameras, the flashing lights, the microphone. Just like I always tell the writers I edit, "show, don't tell. Instead of describing such-and-such in generalized superlatives that don't mean anything, just set forth the facts and let them speak for themselves," so too I want to know the facts about the candidates and let them speak for themselves instead of listen to them blather on in glowing, grandiose rhetoric about their (public) beliefs, proposals and acts. But then, you tell me, that's politics.
Remember the film Constantine? It posed the question: If you do good in expectation of a reward, is the deed still "good" enough to merit such reward? Constantine, being a resuscitated suicide, was considered unworthy to enter heaven because he had, technically, killed himself. He kept on hunting, exorcising and killing demons in the hope that he would enter heaven. It may be argued, however, that the awareness that you are doing something not because it is good but because you hope to gain something from it has already cancelled out the reward. Thus, too, with the current politicians, I keep thinking that the moment they do something for publicity's sake and not for public service, the public service part of it has already been cancelled out by the publicity part. It's different when someone tries to get publicity for a cause. I'd be more inclined to accept that if someone put the cause ahead of themselves. But when someone acts as if the cause was there for their benefit... no thanks.
But tell me, which among the politicians, especially the presidentiables, that we have now do not have those ads and publicity gimmicks? Now that it is election time, they are everywhere, kissing babies, hugging old people, and promising reforms. Jokes are being cracked about politicians wanting the position not because they really want to serve the country, but because they only want the power and the benefits that come with the position. With that view... are there any politicians left that I might honestly wish to put into office? If I thought for just one second that writing "abstain" in all the places in my ballot would teach them a lesson, I'd do it. Unfortunately, that would just make my ballot irrelevant, and would just help to put someone else in power. The people who might have probably made a difference, if not in action, at least in mind shift, such as Ang Ladlad and Danny Lim, have been disqualified anyway.
This reminds me once again of the Katipunan, and Aguinaldo and Bonifacio. Bonifacio, who helped to found the Katipunan, who helped to lead the revolution from its early stages, ultimately was struck down by politicians who wanted to use the cause of the nation to further their own agenda. In the end, the people who wanted an independent nation were all gone, replaced by men who accepted a payoff in return for voluntary exile. Well, come to think of it... if that was the way this republic began, no wonder it's this way now, a century later.
The taxi I took last night to get home had its radio tuned to GMA teleradyo, and the driver was listening to the news. Just as we entered the traffic along Araneta Ave., Jiggy Manicad's report on the Maguindanao Massacre came on, where he interviewed Buluan Vice-Mayor Toto Mangudadatu, who had finally seen the dead body of his wife, one of those killed in the massacre. By the time I reached my destination, I was already crying from sorrow, anger and frustration.
“My wife’s private parts were slashed four times, after which they fired a bullet into it. They speared both of her eyes, shot both her breasts, cut off her feet, fired into her mouth. I could not begin to describe the manner by which they treated her," Mangudadatu said, trying to hide the tremor in his voice. "I cannot cry. I have to show my people that I am strong," he added.
Two of Mangudadatu's sisters, Bai Eden and Bai Faridah, were also killed in the massacre. One of them was four months pregnant. One of their aunts, Bai Manguda, was also reported to have been with them.
Aside from the Mangudadatu family members and relatives, the massacre victims also included two female lawyers, one of whom also had her elderly father with her, many journalists, and even some people who were on their way to Cotabato City to consult a doctor, and whose vehicles had gotten into or near the convoy when it was attacked.
According to news reports, Mangudadatu said that there were witnesses who had been able to escape from the convoy and who said that the attackers belonged to the Ampatuan clan, whose stronghold was the town where the attack happened. He also said that his wife had managed to call him over the cellphone and tell him of the attack, that the attackers were forcing them to rip up the papers they were to file with the Comelec for his candidacy, that the attackers were forcing them to even eat and swallow those papers, before the call was cut off. In one of the interviews of him after news of the massacre came out, he said that he had already been threatened with death if he filed his candidacy for the governorship of Maguindanao, the incumbent of which is an Ampatuan, and that the reason his wife went to file the papers for him was that he thought they would not dare to attack women.
He learned all too soon how high the price was of losing the gamble he made.
The massacre has provoked an outcry, not only within the country, but in the international community as well. Media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres has already called it the worst media killing in one day in the history of journalism, because of the number of mediamen who were killed, covering what would been an ordinary news event.
Perhaps the reason why the massacre has provoked so many reactions is that it hits so deep and touches on so many nerves. The senseless and brutal gunning down of so many people for the simple reason that they were trying to exercise the right to run for office in a democracy, because they dared to challenge an incumbent in his own stronghold, is one. Another is that many of those killed were women, one of them even a pregnant woman. Still another is that among the victims were lawyers and journalists, members of professions which are by tradition to some degree entitled to protection, one for its function as mediators and negotiators, the other for its function as recorder and reporter. Yet another is that even bystanders who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time became collateral damage.
Try as I might, I cannot begin to fathom the mindset that would perpetrate and even condone the commission of such atrocities. The manner of killing, as well as the treatment of the dead bodies, by the (said to number about 100) killers, displays such contempt, such scorn towards the victims as to show that they regarded the people they killed to be nothing more than pieces of trash to be thrown out and destroyed. What sort of people are they? Are they still human, at all? What manner of environment, of upbringing, even only of personality, do they have that they can commit such things the same way a mad dog singlemindedly attacks everything in its path?
Arguing for the sake of argument without all these statements necessarily being the truth, if all the rumors were true, if Mangudadatu's allegation concerning the Ampatuans were true, if all of these were for the purpose of teaching a lesson to an "upstart" who dared to challenge the king, then the twisted rationale to the Maguindanao massacre would be this:
A politician, wishing to extend his area of influence, decides to run for office in his rival's territory, and this rival, who has so far enjoyed unlimited authority in said territory, becomes incensed at what he views as an insult to his honor. Instead, however, of letting the election process run its course, he decides to nip it off at the bud by making the first politician abandon his plan. But the former is determined; come the day of filing for candidacy, he has a brilliant idea and sends to file his papers in his stead the people who by law and tradition are entitled to protection and safe-conduct: women, ambassadors, mediators and scribes. It was a good plan; had his rival been a more reasonable person, he would have acknowledged his loss in the first round. But no, the rival's anger grows even more. How dared they? How dared this woman come here on behalf of her husband, thinking to outfox him in his own den? Very well, if she would enter the field, she would then be a player, and she would learn the price that losers pay. Let all their deaths be horrible, so that no one would dare to challenge the king again. So he orders, and so his orders are carried out.
The rival, however, forgets that his "kingdom" has long since been a part of a democracy, and that he is in that position technically not because he belongs to a clan that has long been regarded as royal, but because of the democratic processes of the country where he lives, and that any misuse and abuse of power would hold him liable for his misdeeds to the people of that country.
Even if he were made liable, he thinks, they would have to come and dig him out of his fortress first. Who would dare? After all, this is his territory and he has friends in high places. He once got them out of a tight spot; he played a key role in getting them where they are now. Let them return the favor; if he goes down, so will they.
(That's why I should be writing fiction instead. I'm good at cooking up conspiracy theories.)
A great deal of the indignation we now feel at this is fueled by what we perceive as impunity granted to these monstrous killers to murder anyone who stands in their way. It is an indignation born of the knowledge that the common man is nowhere safe, that even the legal processes meant to protect them may also be their downfall if they do not have the money or influence to protect their rights. That it is always easy for one to earn a place in a cage when he is sufficiently non-entity enough. That on the other hand, one who deserves to be put in a cage can always avoid it or walk out of it at will if he had the money or influence. It is an indignation born of the realization that even monsters can go on a killing spree in broad daylight and their identities will be protected if they have the money and the influence with those who think they're the ones who matter. That in the end, the laws and legal processes of a democracy only work for the elite and not for the common man for whose benefit and protection they were originally intended and on whose backs, on whose sweat and toil, these elite built their empires.
It is an indignation that grows even more every time we read or hear words like these:
"Under the current government, the Philippines has become the most dangerous place in the world for media workers. At least 74 journalists have been killed during its eight-year tenure, yet the government has not acted to end the culture of impunity. At last count, only four convictions had been secured..."
(Being a journalist: one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.)
"an incident between two families in Mindanao... We cannot be affected by that… This has nothing to do with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo or the administration... If the public would know that we are sincere and that we are doing our best to give justice to the victims, I think that would vindicate us in case there would be impressions later on.”
(Why do you need vindication?)
“We don’t have full control of the situation on the ground, mortals as we are."
(...)
"If we use the iron hand on them, they might fight back. We should take precaution. These are not ordinary people."
(Weren't you quick to use the "iron hand" against the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf? Didn't the government fall all over its own feet to declare an "all-out war" in Mindanao? What makes these people different? Why are you so afraid that they will fight back?)
In the end, all we have are rumors that refuse to be substantiated, and this sorrow, anger, indignation and frustration that refuses to be assuaged. Wanna bet that after a while, all this will die down, and people will refuse to remember anymore... until the next, more horrific massacre occurs? And meanwhile the underlying problems continue, and the impunity remains.
Mindanao, my Mindanao, what is happening to you? Today you bring terrible news. While on the way to file a candidacy for governor, about 40 people, including journalists, were seized and killed in Maguindanao.
The numbers and identities vary. The wife of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu was in the group, on her way to file her husband's candidacy; some sources say his two sisters, too, were there, along with other relatives. Journalists, too, were in the convoy, including, it is believed, Mindanao correspondents for most of the radio and print media. Some say there were about 11 journalists in the convoy, others say as much as 30. Reports say that 21 bodies have been found; others say that all of the people in the convoy had been killed. There are even rumors that the women in the group had been raped before being murdered and beheaded; someone is quoted as saying that the victims were shot, or run over, or beheaded. In this election year, so far, it is the most atrocious of all the atrocities that have been committed in the name of politics.
The Mangudadatu clan single out their political enemies as having done the deed, saying that they had received death threats should they file candidacy for governor and challenge the incumbent clan. Apparently, the death threats apply to anyone, even to women.
I just don't know what to say anymore. These atrocities leave me inarticulate with anger and sorrow. Perhaps this is the most atrocious --and heart-breaking-- election-related killing AND journalist killing in one fell swoop, although I don't have the concrete statistics for those. Sometimes just when you think we are progressing away from all those blood feuds and violent acts that marred our history, an incident like this comes along that reminds us that we are not that far away from our dark past after all.
With sorrow I recall my second year in high school, when we received an influx of transferees already well into the school year. They had all come from the north, non-Muslim settlers who were fleeing the war. Two of them were put in our class.
When I asked one of them why they had transferred so late in the semester, she replied that there was a ridu or clan war in the town they had fled from. That one of the things that had happened was that one of these clans had taken a little boy from their enemy clan, nailed him to the door of one of the classrooms in the elementary school, and used him for target practice. In horror and disgust, many of the people in the place fled, including my classmate and her family.
What is this thirst for blood, Mindanao?
I don't want it to degenerate again into an us-against-them, Muslim-against-Christian battle, as many comments already go to show. I don't want it to be a "It's a Muslim thing, let them kill themselves" sort of thing. I don't want it to be either prejudice or apathy. I know you to be more complex than that-- an infinitely exasperating, yet not-unlovable complexity. But how can we solve this problem that has been centuries in the making? What sword of Alexander would unravel this Gordian knot?
Dear Philippines,
You just suffered another major fail today, amidst all the major fails that have been going on in you anyway. Today your Commission on Elections has refused the petition of a gay organization to be included in the party lists that will be voted upon to represent your people in congress in the coming May 2010 elections.
The Comelec's reason: Being gay is offensive to religious morals and therefore cannot be allowed a voice in Congress. Yet, it said, it is "not condemning the LGBT, but we cannot compromise the well-being of the greater number of our people, especially the youth." Double-talk, much?
Bullshit.
This after this country and this administration has been touting that it is well ahead of other countries when it comes to gender sensitivity. Isn't it ironic? But what do you expect of a culture of pakitang-tao (surface appearances)?
Ang Ladlad is offensive to public morals, it seems, but Jovito Palparan in Congress isn't, despite the public clamor to have him removed.
Oh, well. We have already known for a long time how hypocritical this government is, anyway.
I was already afraid of running late this morning, so I hailed a taxi at the corner of Araneta and Aurora. The taxi driver had the radio on and was listening to the morning news. Something, I believe, about the Lakas-Kampi meeting to be held later in the day.
I commented that we would finally get to know who the administration candidate would be. He answered that whoever the administration chose didn't matter because he wasn't voting for that candidate. I asked him why.
Because we need a change, he said. Because the present administration should be thrown out and replaced with people who would actually do something for the country. Replaced with people who would actually think of the country first before themselves and their pockets.
"Di ako naniniwala doon sa sinasabi nilang di pwedeng tanggalin dahil walang ipapalit, mam. Hindi naman ang ipapalit ang tanong doon eh, ang tanong eh kung karapat-dapat pa ba silang manatili sa puwesto. Sa ibang bansa nga, hindi pa ganun kasama ang ginagawa ng pinuno nila tinatanggal na nila. Di kaya yung tao na mismo kusang nagbibitiw. Dito hindi. Sinusuka na natin at sinisipa nagsusumiksik pa rin sa puwesto."
[I don't believe in what they are saying that we cannot remove them because there is no one to replace them, ma'am. The question is not who to replace them with, the question is whether they are still fit for the post. In other countries, even if their leaders aren't that bad yet, they already remove them. Or the person himself voluntarily steps down. Here, it doesn't happen. We are already vomiting them and kicking them out but they still insist on staying in office.]
Why didn't he like the present administration, I asked.
"Kasi mam, wala silang honor."
[Because, ma'am, they don't have any honor.]
He went on to say that the administration said that our lives had improved but they haven't. "Ngayon yata tayo pinakamahirap, mam. [It seems we're poorest right now.]"
"Pero wais din tong administration na to. Noong magkakagulo na sana dahil sa NBN, bigla nilang pinalabas na kapos tayo sa bigas. Siyempre, pinapili tayo kung anong iintindihin, yung corruption o yung sikmura natin. Kaya imbes na magrally, pinili natin pumila dun sa bigas."
[But this administration is wise. When it seemed there would be trouble over the NBN, they suddenly made it appear that there was a rice shortage. Of course, we were given a choice which we would attend to first, corruption or our hungry stomachs. So instead of rallying, we lined up to buy rice instead.]
That was why he was happy the election was near, he said. So that the present administration would be replaced.
I asked him if he already had a candidate for president.
Yes, he said with pride. Of course. Noynoy Aquino. He asked if I had already chosen a candidate.
I said I was still thinking over my choice. What if I chose someone and he turned out to be as bad as the present administration?
He shook his head. Not Noynoy, he said. Noynoy was the son of Ninoy and Cory. He had been brought up well. He knew what his parents believed in.
"Kahit na mam, sigurado ako, hindi siya magiging sinsama ng mga nakaupo ngayon. [Even then, I'm sure he won't be as bad as the ones in power now.]"
What if, I said, the administration would do something to be able to stay in power beyond 2010?
"Dapat hindi tayo nasa bahay lang mam. Dapat lumaban tayo para pigilan na mangyari yun. Dapat magsalita tayo. [We shouldn't just stay at home, ma'am. We should fight to stop that happening. We should speak out.]"
At that point we had arrived at the office and I paid him and disembarked. I didn't even think to note his name, or the name and number of his taxi. But from my earlier frantic mood, I felt considerably better because of that conversation.
Mabuhay ka, mamang driver, kung sino ka man. [Long live you, Mr. Driver, whoever you are.] I hope there are more and more Filipinos like you.
With the 2010 elections coming up, I was happy to see the beginnings of intelligent political discourse by Filipinos on the Internet, aside from the ones I overheard at the sari-sari store at the corner, at the jeepney terminal, and between even my neighbors across the street as they did their laundry by our front steps.
On Plurk, plurksters engaged in lively political debate the likes of which you rarely see outside the academe or even in the hallowed (or hollowed) halls of the legislature nowadays. From debates on Noynoy Aquino's fitness for the presidency, to whether or not he is just riding the media hype, to approbation of Winnie Monsod's grilling of Mikey Arroyo on TV, to reactions to Ping Lacson's exposes, I was beginning to think that yes, perhaps Filipinos are truly waking up to their obligations and responsibilities as citizens.
Then recently someone threw a spanner into the works. To a thread discussing why Noynoy Aquino is being grilled over Hacienda Luisita while Villar is not being asked about the C-5 "insertions," this 17-year-old girl who called herself "Iena" retorted,
"ang pnakamagandang tanung e!!bkt kau namr0mr0bLEma niAn???di nga namr0bLema ung g0byern0 e!!"
For literate persons, what she said was, "The best question is!! Why are you people worrying over that? The government isn't even worried!"
EPIC FAIL.
Today, in the midst of a discussion of Ping Lacson's exposes, this 21-year-old female who called herself, aptly enough, "karenderia," (I am reminded of Vilma Santos's immortal "Para kang karenderyang bukas sa lahat ng gustong kumain (You are like a cheap diner that is open to all who want to eat)!") interjected,
"ang dami niong alam.. dami niong galit sa mga pulitiko wala ka namang naambag sa pilipinas"
Again, for literate people, she said, "You people know too much.. You are so angry at politicians when you haven't contributed anything to the Philippines."
Asked if she had contributed anything, she confidently answered that she had. Asked to enumerate her contributions, she retorted that there were too many to fit in the thread. And expressed joy at having "stolen the scene (agaw eksena)" in the thread. Although she seemed to have raised a point at first, her answers became more and more jeering and sarcastic, so that people on the thread chose to treat her as a troll and ignore her.
Perhaps I am only exhibiting what one of my Law professors once called "intellectual arrogance." Perhaps I am only being arrogant and blind because of who and what I perceive myself to be. But it is frustrating to engage people in serious discussion if they choose to ridicule the process. Frustrating and sad to see that there are people so caught up in their own images in the mirror that everything else without them in the center is a subject to be ridiculed. That there are people like those who suddenly enter and disrupt a discussion, no matter how serious, just to attract attention to themselves, without anything intelligent to contribute to the discourse. Suddenly I fear for the future generation, a generation that can't even spell and seems not to know proper grammar. Will they all grow up to be as shallow and silly and egocentric, caring for nothing else but their clothes and their gadgets and the pettiness of their lives? Will they be sheep, complacent in their silly, shallow lives, not knowing or caring what happens around them until the holocaust sweeps them away without warning?
I know I could look at them as objects of ridicule, of contempt. I could laugh at the silly, ignorant, unwitting sheep. But I want to cry instead.
The stage was set: Club Filipino, with a yellow background.
All day we have been hearing that Mar Roxas has called a press conference to make a big announcement. Some of us speculated on what he would say; others were pretty sure they already knew. Even to those of us who already suspected what Mar Roxas would announce, the actual moment was still charged with emotion. Perhaps, even something we will at present dismiss as a foolish fancy until the outcome of the 2010 elections are certain: a sense of doom, or maybe of predestination.
Senator Mar Roxas, who everyone knows has been aiming for the presidency, has announced today that he is supporting Senator Noynoy Aquino for the presidency, a move which to many brings back memories of Doy Laurel conceding the candidacy to Cory Aquino, Noynoy's mother, for the 1986 snap elections.
"This is about our people and our country. This is about our common dream," Roxas said, adding that he was about to make one of the most difficult decisions of his life. However, he said, "I do this for unity in support of change. If that means that somebody has to make a sacrifice, it must be me."
Personally, I'd say that it was the best thing Roxas has done in a long time. Srsly. All his efforts to get himself front and center with regard to the Filipino public-- from the notorious "padyakitos" and "lalaban tayo" ads, to the very public wedding announcement on Wowowee, have only brought him derision so far. Ironically, the simple act of giving up his goal has done much to raise him in the estimation of many Filipinos, more than all his PR gimmicks has done.
In my eyes, at least, there's a new respect for Mar Roxas. I hope this means that there's hope for him yet.
When the news broke over the weekend about the dinner at Le Cirque that our esteemed public officials had partaken of before flying home "to catch Cory Aquino's funeral," I was struck by the sheer effrontery of it. It was like dancing on Cory's grave, I thought. When someone dies, especially someone as beloved by many as the former president was, you respect the grief of the bereaved, even if you aren't part of the family. It's the proper thing to do.
Then I thought, holy cow... 20 thousand US dollars? That's... about a million pesos!
Article 25 of the Civil Code, I recall, lets the courts enjoin "thoughtless extravagance in expenses for pleasure or display during a period of acute public want or emergency" "at the instance of any government or private charitable institution."
If the ostentatious consumption of a very expensive dinner by public officials on an official visit in another country during a time when majority of people in the country can't even get three square meals a day isn't thoughtless extravagance during a period of acute public want, then I don't know what is.
Then I learned that before that same dinner, our most esteemed public officials had, the night before, consumed a dinner worth 15 thousand US dollars at Bobby Van's Steakhouse. A source also tells me that those weren't the only expensive meals they had partaken, although details of those are unknown as of this time.
So how much was the total amount they spent? The first two bills alone are said to add up to nearly 2 million pesos. Much more than most Filipinos could ever hope to see in a lifetime.
How callous can you be?
Public officials are supposed to act with decorum. I will reiterate what I always say: you guys are not landed nobility, nor are you wealthy royalty. You are elected public officials; your salaries and most of the money you spend on things that have been colored by your public duties even only a little, are paid by the people you swore to serve faithfully when you came into your offices. Your first concern should be the people who elected you, your constituents. Your recent acts are tantamount to Marie Antoinette dismissively saying "let them eat cake."
Do you people even know what it's like to be hungry?
As a college student, I was fortunate in two things: being accepted into a state university, and having parents who could afford to give me a steady and ample allowance every week. I shared a dorm room with five other girls, most of whom could not even afford to eat two full meals a day because all that their parents could give them was 200 pesos a week and two kilos of rice. In the end, I felt ashamed to eat even a simple student meal, worth at that time 25 pesos, in our room. My roommates would go to their morning classes hungry, without breakfast. Instead of lunch, they would return to our room and try to sleep away their hunger for the noon hour. They would eat only in the evening, after their last class, when they would pool their rice and each contribute about 3 pesos each to be able to buy vegetables and dried fish from the local market. I spent 25 to 30 pesos on one meal. My five roommates collectively spent 20 pesos for their communal meal. Oftentimes, when money was really tight, they would ask to borrow 20 pesos from me, but I never asked them to repay the money. I ended up contributing my 25 pesos to augment their meal and eat with them, because it would be the height of callousness for me to fill myself to bursting while they starved. Even if I was perfectly within my rights to do so.
How did they spend the 20 pesos, the way prices were in the late 1990s?
Assorted vegetables - 10 pesos
Bouillon cube - 5 pesos
Three pcs of dried fish - 5 pesos
They would cook the vegetables with the dried fish and add the bouillon for flavoring; the broth would help stretch the dish so all five of them could eat it.
I can't help but compare those meals, worth 20 pesos for five to six people then. to the meals costing 20 thousand US dollars for 20 people enjoyed by our esteemed public officials who don't seem to care what the rest of the Filipinos think or feel about it.
Is this a social experiment of some sort?
First Manila Bulletin comes up with this article that of course got maximum online coverage by our beloved Twitterers and Plurkers. (Click screencaps to enlarge.)
Less than 24 hours later, here's the same article.
And here's a column from the Philippine Star on the same issue.
And of course, Malacanang said "What? Breast implants? No!"
A seed planted on Plurk bore fruit. The beacons have been lit. The whole of Middle Earth has been alerted. Awake and fight, o Philippines!
This song comes more and more to mind as the days pass. We need to change, Philippines. But the change has to be within us. We have to actively pursue it. We have to own it. Otherwise, this same old mess will just loop... and loop... and loop... down unto our last generations.
BAGONG SIMULA sa BAYANIJUAN
KEVIN ROY:
parang isang gabing walang katapusan
sa bawat mesa, asin lagi ang ulam
umaalog sa alkansya pisong pinagpawisan
batang nakahubad kumot ang lansangan
YAEL:
lupaing kinalbo minsa'y nadidilig
ng dugo sa away ng kapatid sa kapatid
MARC:
sa kalagayang ito tayo ay nakagapos
parang awa sana ay dito magtapos
KEVIN:
todo na 'to!
YAEL:
liparin ang langit na bughaw
pagningningin mga tala at araw
MARC:
mamumulang muli ang silangan
sa bagong simula ng ating bayan
KITCHIE:
wag nang maulit kapalarang kay pait
wag magpabaya wag kang manahimik
wag kang manlalamang, wag kang mangigipit
wag magkanya-kanya, magkaisang bisig
YENG:
magmalasakit ito'y kabayanihan
gawin mo anumang makayanan
kalagayan ng bayan sumasama lamang
kung walang gagawin tayong mamamayan
ALL:
todo na 'to!
lliparin ang langit na bughaw
pagningningin mga tala at araw
mamumulang muli ang silangan
sa bagong simula ng ating bayan
ipakita natin sa ating mga magulang,
mga kapatid,
kaya natin 'to!
isang subok pa,
sabay-sabay na,
walang kokontra!
PLACID:
todo na 'to!
lliparin ang langit na bughaw
pagningningin mga tala at araw
mamumulang muli ang silangan
sa bagong simula ng ating bayan
TUGMA PART
ALL:
todo na 'to!
lliparin ang langit na bughaw
pagningningin mga tala at araw
mamumulang muli ang silangan
sa bagong simula ng ating bayan
======================================
A New Beginning in Juan's Country
Translation by Laya
KEVIN ROY:
Just like an endless night
On each table, only salt to serve as viand
The peso coin so long sweated for rattles around inside the piggy bank
The naked child has the street for his blanket
YAEL:
The denuded land sometimes is watered
By blood from the war between brothers
MARC:
Unto these circumstances we are bound
Mercifully, we hope that this ends here.
KEVIN:
Full speed ahead!
YAEL:
Fly into the sky so blue
make the stars and the sun shine
MARC:
The east will grow red again
for our country's new beginning
KITCHIE:
We don't want repetitions of such bitter fortune
Don't just stand by, don't you just keep quiet
Don't cheat, don't oppress
Don't be selfish, stand arm in arm
YENG:
Caring is heroism
Do whatever you can do
The nation's situation only worsens
If its citizens don't do anything.
ALL:
Full speed ahead!
Fly into the sky so blue
make the stars and the sun shine
The east will grow red again
for our country's new beginning
Let us show our parents,
my brothers and sisters,
we can do this!
Just one more try,
together now,
with no opposition!
PLACID:
Full speed ahead!
Fly into the sky so blue
make the stars and the sun shine
The east will grow red again
for our country's new beginning
ALL:
Full speed ahead!
Fly into the sky so blue
make the stars and the sun shine
The east will grow red again
for our country's new beginning
Last night, literally at the eleventh hour, the House of Representatives passed House Resolution 1109 calling for a constituent assembly to amend the 1987 Constitution, without the participation of the Senate. At first, they barred the media from sitting in on the deliberations, then later, when it was too late, allowed them to enter. There were no representatives from mainstream media to cover what had happened; only reports from those bloggers who had managed to attend the proceedings. Were it not for them, we would not have known the details of what transpired that night. We would have known the bare bones of what had happened, yes, the parts they wanted us to know. But what about the parts they would not have told us about? Dear legislators, why are you so eager to hide your actions? You know why many of us do not want the amendments that you propose to the Constitution. Why should we allow foreigners to own land in this country, when many of our farmers do not even have land of their own to till? We could not compete with them financially. Should we wake up, then, to a day when we find that we are considered squatters in our own homeland? The issue on foreign ownership of Philippine land is only one of the reasons. We do not want the Charter Change that you are pushing because we suspect that it will be used to further purposes that are inimical to the public interest and the public good. Last night, you only gave a token nod to opposition before you went ahead and did what you wanted anyway. To make matters worse, you completely disregarded the fact that you are not the only house in Congress. You want a constituent assembly in order for the Senate to vote jointly with you on the issue, which would completely negate their existence as your co-equal house. Today, you are telling us that what you did doesn't matter because it will die anyway. You assure us that your little exercise was just the creation of a “justiciable controversy.” Controversies may be decided one way or the other, right? According to you, it has been created. There is, then, a 50 percent chance that the decision is in your favor, as good odds as any. And you tell us soothingly not to worry. We should not be concerned about it. It is our right to be concerned. It is our future at stake. It is the future of our children. It is our voice that should be heard, not silenced. The days of the rajahs and the datus, the dons and the senyors, who made decisions, gave edicts, and expected the peasants to follow them, are long gone. You officially obtained your positions not through some accident of heredity, but through the votes of your constituents. We are not your peons and your villeins, nor your timawa and alipin; we are the people who made it possible for you to be where you now are. When we speak, you have the obligation to listen, when we ask you for the truth, it is your obligation to give it, because you owe your positions to us. The taxes that are deducted from the money that should feed and educate our families pay for your salaries in Congress, and that of your staff, as well as for the upkeep of your offices and your jaunts abroad. Those same taxes pay for your pork barrels, as well as for the projects that you sponsor, as well for the kickbacks that some of you might receive. If there is anyone who should feel entitlement, it is us, not you. Instead of listening to us, however, you persist in going ahead and doing what you want. You say one thing and then do another, and expect us to accept your inconsistencies. To make matters worse, you are proposing to muzzle us little by little, on the pretense of fair play. Our journalists and activists are hunted down and killed for daring to speak out, and no real efforts are made to obtain justice for their deaths. Now that we ordinary citizens are turning to the blogosphere, your Right to Reply bill, once passed, would also impose penalties on us for saying what we think, when you do not even have to include us in that bill, for our blogs have the right of reply already built into them in the form of comments. Dear legislators, why is it so important that we be kept dumb and ignorant? Is it because, once all of the people know that power in this country is vested in them and not in you, you would lose your privilege to act with impunity? We do not need you to extend your terms. We are looking for what you should have done in the terms that you already had. Our people barely have enough to feed and educate their children. Many have no jobs; many of those who have jobs are not happy because they are not working in the fields that they really want. Our schools are sadly lacking in books, our public clinics lacking in medicine and personnel. Many of our farmers have no land, and can barely afford to buy seed, fertilizers and pesticides, let alone farm machinery. Many families have no homes of their own, either due to natural calamities, war, or plain poverty. Are these not important enough issues for you to tackle, instead of scandals and jaunts? Where are the programs for agriculture and small entrepreneurs that are badly needed? Where are the laws on women's rights, on gender rights, on reproductive health? Why do our people need to go abroad and hire out as servants to other nations just to give their families better lives? We do not need you to tell us what you may have possibly done, dear legislators. We do not even need you to show us. We just have to look at our country as it is today, and the state of our land and our people speak more volumes than your words. Right now, you do not need to change the Constitution, or the system. You are the ones that should be changed. Note: A list of the legislators who endorsed HR 1109 can be found here. Photo 1 by °Ð¼!мoji° on flickr; copyrighted. Photo 2 by ossiak on flickr; CC License BY-NC-ND-2.0.
I am tempted to do a Franklin Roosevelt and call June 2, 2009 "a date that shall live in infamy." At the 11th hour, when most of the nation was already asleep, our great and valiant legislators, many of whom are now in their last terms of office, passed House Resolution No. 1109 calling for a constitutional assembly, or con-ass. Knowing, however, how trigger-happy these same legislators are to pass their much-lauded Right of Reply bill with which they will seek to require us to make sure that they will personally rebut anything we might blog that they might construe as demeaning to them, or else they will use all their vaunted riches to send us to jail, I will just content myself with explaining how I chose my name.
Being a Star Wars fan since childhood, I adored Princess Leia. I wanted to be like her, but since there were no spaceships around, I figured writing a story like hers was next best. Funny, however, that as a child, I was at some degree aware of the concept of intellectual property because I never resorted to the fan fic type of writing (not that I knew then about fan fic). Instead, I created my own characters and my own universe. This time, though, the princess was not going to wait to be rescued. She would carry the sword, she would be the heroine. In a nod to my original inspiration as well as my own roots, I called her Princess Laya. I was then about fifteen.
The story started out as a space opera same as Star Wars, with the age-old theme of battle between good and evil. Her people had been enslaved, but were still fighting for their freedom. Laya didn't know who she really was, but her family had given her a "forbidden name," first, because it meant freedom, and second, because her people wanted freedom so much that Laya was a name given only to their princesses and queens. Through the years, however, it has undergone a lot of metamorphosis, from space opera to fantasy. The conflict remained the same, but the story in my mind became an allegory of a nation. Princess Laya, however, still stands, holding her sword, ready to fight on the side of good.
When I changed my e-mail address years ago, I didn't want to use my real name. All the other names I tried was taken, so finally I ended up using Laya's name for my e-mail. Then I wandered into a yahoo chatroom, and got so used to being called by that name that it stuck. I am even thinking now of officially changing my name or registering it as an official nom de plume.
When I think of Laya today (her handwritten, half-finished story reposes in a box at home, needing to be typed), I associate the name with a song I have also always loved since I was a child. It is the song we associate with EDSA, the song thousands upon thousands of Filipinos sang while they prepared to repel tanks and soldiers with their bare hands . One of the most beautiful songs our country has ever had.Bayan Ko
Ang bayan kong Pilipinas
Lupain ng ginto't bulaklak
Pag-ibig nasa kanyang palad,
Nag-alay ng ganda't dilag...
At sa kanyang yumi at ganda,
Dayuhan ay nahalina.
Bayan ko, binihag ka, nasadlak sa dusa.
Ibon mang may layang lumipad,
Kulungin mo ay umiiyak,
Bayan pa kayang sakdal dilag
Ang di magnasang makaalpas?
Pilipinas kong minumutya,
Pugad ng luha ko't dalita,
Aking adhika, makita kang sakdal laya...
My Country
My country, the Philippines
Is a land of gold and flowers
Love is in her hands
She freely gives beauty and splendor...
And because of her sweetness and beauty
Strangers were attracted
My country, you were taken captive and plunged into the depths of despair.
Even the bird that has freedom to fly
Would cry if you caged it.
Would not such a lovely country
Aspire to escape?
My treasured Philippines,
Home of my tears and torment
My own desire is to see you fully free...
I had been planning to write something about the end to the Great Book Blockade of 2009, but I guess this is what we mean when we say that the war has officially ended, but the mopping-up operations are still going on.
After everyone's efforts, and Rock Ed's Bookbigayan, GMA herself, on a Sunday to boot, ordered the Department of Finance to revoke the book tax. And Sales would comply.
We thought it was over, right?
But Malacanang told Teves to rescind the order. Teves, it seems has complied... by suspending it. Customs said, according to the Philippine Star, that some importers failed to submit some documents that would prove their entitlement to the exemption, which is why the order had been issued in the first place. And I recall reading somewhere... *searches* that DOF is planning to challenge the order anyway?
I mean HUH? First time I ever heard of THAT. And what documents do you need to prove your entitlement to the exemption from book tax? Isn't the fact that your shipment is made up of BOOKS enough to exempt it? This isn't like one of those cases where the authorities acknowledge a right then make up all sorts of requirements so that people can't assert it anyway, is it?
And anyway, it seems that the order is taking mighty long to trickle down the chain of command. Here's a comment from MLQ3's blog:
I have recently ordered a few books (total cost $US 77.26). I sent someone to pick them up yesterday (May 28, 2009) but she opted to not claim the books after seeing that she had to pay P1,216 in duties and other fees.
Here is the breakdown:
Customs Duty: P182
Value Added Tax: P519
IDF (this is illegible so I’m not 100% sure but it looks like I D F but could also be something else): P250
Customs Doc Stamp: P250
BIR (again illegible) Stamp: P15
Total: P1216
Also, they opened the package so that they could get at the invoice and see how much it was worth.
What’s legit? What’s not?
It seems, dear friends, that people at the post office are still implementing that idiotic search and seizure procedure taught to them by Customs of opening your package and looking for the original price of the books (search) and then charging you all sorts of fees based on that price whether or not you bought the books or got them gratis (seizure). After all, you have to pay if you want your books, right? And it seems you have the money to get books sent to you from abroad, so you must have the money to ransom, er redeem, them. The fee is in pesos. Peanuts to the dollars you must have expended to get those books.
The solution, according to our most esteemed bloggers, twitterers and plurkers, is to bring a copy of GMA's order, as well as news articles about the issuance of the order, with you to the Post Office when you go to claim your books. And do not budge even when they try to intimidate you with their hoity-toity I-work-in-the-government-and-you-can't-do-anything-about-it manners. All they can charge you is a minimal package-handling fee (and make a fuss about it if it seems too big, too).
Okay. Right. Bring out the mops!
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