Entries from August 2009 ↓

Back To Beanstalk, originally uploaded by rjmarmol.

Had coffee with Ritchie at Beanstalk tonight. This is after taking time out with his bosses and officemates at a nearby resort. Was only there a few hours, didn't even get to swim, but it's fine. By the way, photo up there is a new offering at Beanstalk Cafe (Calamba), it's called "open-faced roasted chicken salad". Yes, I know the name doesn't sound delicious at all, pretty gross even. I can assure you though that it tastes good. It's roasted chicken drenched in gravy sauce, served on top of white bread and fresh lettuce and chips on the side. This is what I ate together with my Beanstalk staples: caramel macchiato, french fries and banana split. I haven't been there for quite a few weeks, months even, I guess, so it was great to have coffee there once again. For those who want to know, it's located at the rooftop (5th floor) of the new Calamba Executive Center, across the bus terminal at Crossing. The building lies on the Crossing-Halang road that leads to the famous resorts of Pansol, Laguna. Do visit if you're within the area. Shop hours/schedule: Beanstalk Cafe is open Mondays thru Saturdays from 4pm-12mn. Last order taken at 11pm. Check my other previous post about Beanstalk Cafe Calamba here .

***Note: This is NOT A PAID POST. This is a personal review and recommendation only.

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Willie Revillame (Photo by: pinoysgottalent.com)

As a "Manny Villar for President in 2010" supporter who wears his "Tropang Villar" baller ID with such pride and conviction, I would like to express my dismay upon hearing news (no longer rumors, but news) that the ever so "influential" and "lovable" host of ABS-CBN Channel 2's "Wowowee" is being "reserved" a spot on Senator Manny Villar's ticket.

Somehow, I don't want my decision to be affected by such news. Of course, it is the good senator's prerogative to choose who gets fielded in his Nacionalista Party for the 2010 elections. I'm sure he feels he has a good reason for wanting to have Willie Revillame join his party as a senatorial candidate/aspirant/whatever.

It is simply in my humble opinion that in an attempt to diversify the selection of candidates ( having almost an unlikely group which includes Querubin, Satur Ocampo, Bongbong Marcos and more), probably to optimize the number of votes through a smorgasbord of senatorial bets representing an all-encompassing spectrum of society -- leftists, rightists, loyalists, artists, "whatever-tists" -- he may be doing his campaign more harm than good. But then, it's just me. What do I know about politics and its "workings", right?

However, I'd like to think that such a decision shouldn't bother me. Why? Because I, for one, do not vote straight. Only die-hard fanatics do that. I've never voted straight in my entire life. Not even in high school student council elections.

Who cares if Willie Revillame is there? Well, apparently a lot of people. Most people. Even apathetic people who would otherwise choose to vote for Manny Villar unless another viable candidate comes out.

So there. A short post that's not so sweet.

Wait, can I push this a little further? Anyone but Willie Revillame, please. Anyone but him.  There, I've said it. Ah, what relief!

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Warning: Promises Never Kept!

Photo by שאול חנוכה Shaul HanukaWhat's in it for me? I'm sure you've been asking that eternal 2010 presidential elections question for God knows how long. And unfortunately, you haven't been getting the answer/s you want -- that is, if you've been getting answers at all.

We turn to forums as our means to bridge the gap between what we know (what he hear on public radio, see on TV, read in the papers, online, even from friends) and what the presidential candidates are trying so hard to tell us. But somehow, it just isn't enough.

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First: A Few Thoughts On Communication and Forum cum Debates

I can imagine the frustration of someone who believes that he/she has a wonderful idea in mind but just couldn't find a way to get that message or idea across, as simple and as crisp as the one that he/she has in mind.

Can you now imagine how hard it is to be asked mostly general questions, give the best answer you can come up with and pack it in 2-3 minutes while people expect you to say something awesome or at least be right the whole time? The entire nation, if not the world, watching you as you open your mouth, and you watching the look on their faces at every pause, fishing for hints of contentment or dissatisfaction?

You see, communication takes effort. It is not an activity for the lazy (actually, no activity is ever worthwhile to the lazy). You are overflowing with ideas that can actually save mankind from destruction but the world just wouldn't listen to you just because a)they have now become prejudiced. Politicians = scammers. Politics = scam. Promises = *sorry, can't write the word* or; b)your sentences somehow sound incoherent anyway or; c) you are just plain boring.

And so unless our politicians are all born with that gift of communication and public-speaking charm, we may well be throwing the viable candidates in exchange for the rotten ones -- all because the viable ones don't know how to communicate. What a waste that would be.

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What exactly do we want from our candidates?

If you clear the festive campaign air we breathe now, remove all the foot-tapping jingles, the superfluous statements, the cry-me-a-river drama of it all, you will see that only one thing will remain -- the universal human pursuit for CHANCE. As the soda crackers commercial of Robin Padilla clearly puts it, "Dahil bawat Pilipino, kailangan lang ng break." (Because every Filipino just needs a "break").

Yes, you read that right. It's not really world peace that we're so hung-up on (but of course that's a given) or winning the lottery (okay, wait, maybe a little of that..) or that fancy house, fancy car, fancy everything.

While we all want to get rich and rule the world, foremost on our agenda is to get that "break" -- that chance.

So to all the 2010 election presidentiables/candidates, take note: The Filipino people does not need your promises. We are not in need of alms or a measly welfare coupon. And unlike the cliche that we got used to, we are not so much in need of hope either. Promises get broken. Alms get spent. And hope? Hope is too abstract for the empty stomach to digest, much less for the jaded brain to comprehend.

And yes, we don't need your pity. Many of us 90M+ Filipinos are able-bodied and optimistic people -- ready to take on anything given the necessary tools. We are ingenious. We are smart. We are hardworking. We are generous to a fault. We have everything necessary to succeed, to excel, to soar, or at the very least, to survive.

But there is one thing, dear presidentiables, that we cannot create -- even with this artistic and equally strong pair of hands. We can weave baskets, but we cannot create a market for it. We can invent machinery but we cannot create corporations that will use it. We can draw wonderful images, but we cannot make fantasy become reality. We can cultivate land, grow all produce a-plenty, but we cannot buy land. Or at least, dear presidentiables -- at least, not yet.

What we need, what we really, really need right now is CHANCE -- a chance to live a decent life at least and a progressive one at best.

A chance to a decent job. A chance to a decent education. A chance to live and not just exist.

Give us chance and we'll do wonders with it. You'll see.

But before that, we know that the heavy burden rests once again in our hands. It is ironic then that before we get that chance we so ardently wish and need, we must first give you yours. It is an "all-in" gamble, scary, we know. After all, we are not only risking our own lives, but the lives of our children and theirs. But unless we take a chance on you, our own chance would left to chance. And mind you, that's not a chance we are willing to take.

So presidentiables, take heed: We are watching you. Very closely. We are willing to give one of you that chance, but that chance comes at a steep price. We will give you your chance in exchange for our own. It is a chance you will be duty-bound to give us. And should you fail, just imagine what a person with a jaded mind, an empty stomach, strong, skillful  hands and a broken heart can do. Multiply that by 90M+. You get the picture?

Now, that -- that is what this election is all about. I hope you realize by now just how serious a problem you're getting yourself into and just how crucial the role you are about to play. So play nice,  and play well. Because regardless of your reason for running for President, you will be hounded, all 6 years of your term, by 90M+ people in the undying human pursuit for chance -- for a "break".

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Photo by lamazoneIn the coming 2010 presidential elections, the candidate currently leading the surveys is getting all the bad press. Is Villar the villain of our elections story? Or is this simply a case of early elections mudslinging?

Note: I write this post amidst the C5 controversy (click to download primer) and the so-called "grandfather of Legacy scam" issue that Sen. Jamby Madrigal raised and explained yesterday which Sen. Villar denies.

The lawyer also said the Villars no longer have shares on the Optimum Development bank.

She also said that since the transactions happened even before Villar became a senator, the "acts are beyond the jurisdiction of the Senate."

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile agreed to this.

"That borrowing of the money at that time will not be taken as part of the ethical misconduct because he was not yet a part of the Senate," Enrile said in an interview with reporters.

My thoughts on this, if there is incontestable evidence, let the complainant file the case in the proper courts, the Sandiganbayan perhaps? That is such a heavy accusation. Problem is will she see this issue through to the very end? As much as I want to believe all that Sen. Madrigal claims, she happens to be notorious at starting an issue and then abandoning it on a whim. Leaving us all wanting. Iniiwan tayo sa ere.

Disclosure: I am in no way connected with Senator Manny Villar or his office. My support of him is a personal decision which I have made long before I have been invited to the blogger event for which I write this post. While it is my personal conviction that he is the best choice for President come 2010, you, the reader of this blog are entitled to your own choices. Your opinions are valued in this blog, this is after all, a free country. So please feel free to share your thoughts. However, profanity and expletives are best kept to yourself. But of course you know that already. :)

In photo (L-R): Mark Villar, Jo Diana-Diga, Bianca Gonzalez, Sen. Manny Villar, Dine Racoma, RJ Marmol, Carlo Ople, Paolo Villar and Camille Villar (photo courtesy of Carlo)

By the way, if you haven't already, I urge you to register for the 2010 elections. Deadline is August 31, 2009. Remember, voting is not just a right, it's an obligation. It is one of the best things you can do for your country in the preservation of democracy and the sole decision you can make that can create a long-term impact for the better or for the worse. So it goes without saying that you vote wisely.

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They sneered at his decision to run for President in 2010, many said that he wouldn't lead the surveys ever, much less win. So everyone was quiet and complacent. Surely, Villar will not win the favor of the general voters, much less the so-called masa (at least in the pre-elections survey) -- or so they thought. But when his rank in various surveys started getting better, surely, he is doing something illegal or unacceptable -- or so they thought.

Sometimes you can't blame these people. It's not entirely surprising, in a country as impoverished as ours, that this mentality that "affluence=evil" has become prevalent because that's what Villains in movies are supposed to be -- rich and powerful, opportunistic, heartless, consistent liars, evil to the core. When you are rich, you have got to be made of pure evilness. When you are poor, you have got to be pure of heart. That's the template we have made. That's how we stereotype according to economic class. So surely, this is what villains are supposed to be in real life as well -- or so they thought.

How else will you explain their vast wealth? The land they own which stretches far into the horizon, farther than your eyes could see? How can you possibly be wealthy and honorable at the same time? That's unthinkable! How can you possibly be successful, acquire riches and not lose a sense of your morals? Surely, anyone who is rich, whether by birth or by sheer perseverance, will eventually succumb to greed -- that's inevitable. No, scratch it, it's a sure thing. He will only enrich himself some more. Surely, no one who is rich deserves to be President -- or so they thought.

Affluence=Evil. Period. Definitive. No exceptions. Sure thing. -- or so they thought.

For how can anyone who lives in a mansion, drives a luxury car, owns acres upon acres of land, businesses of all sorts and jaw-dropping stock portfolios empathize with the poorest of the poor? The uncared for? The forgotten? How?

Well, if yours is a "rags to riches" story, to empathize with the poor you once were isn't hard to imagine. But no, the cynics say. Affluence=Evil. Period. Definitive. No exceptions. Sure thing. -- or so they thought.

This is the dilemma of Senator Manny Villar. But not one he goes through alone. It is also the dilemma of the "not-so-rich" presidentiables. Why so? Because in the same way we are adamant in putting someone rich in the highest seat of the land, we are equally reluctant to put someone "less rich" in the Palace -- ironically, for the exactly the same reason -- for fear of the elected President to amass wealth from the country's coffers. Temptation in government is very strong. It is everywhere. But it is especially strong in the Palace. To resist such, one must either be 1) impossibly saintly; and/or 2) too contented to not even spare corruption a thought.

So surely, people tell themselves -- Villar is the villain. In this story we're writing, anyone lesser in finances is the better choice -- they tell themselves. Look at all the money he's spending for TV ads. Surely, he'd want to get it back, double the amount at least -- after all, villains think that way. They are cunning...scheming. Conflict of interest. Double insertion. That's what the cynics tell themselves.

Hopefully, this little interview and humble article will be able to shed some light on certain issues and satisfy our need for answers to nagging questions we've always had and Sen. Manny Villar have always been asked.

MUST-READ PORTION: SKIP ALL BUT THIS

In my pre-interview article, I titled the post "Behind Frosted Glass: Uncovering the "Man" in Manny Villar". I chose that title because I felt it was a fitting comparison to how people see him -- "behind frosted glass". Frosted glass is produced by the acid etching of clear sheet glass, or sand-blasting. It has the effect of rendering the glass translucent, obscuring the view while still passing light. Therefore, when someone is behind frosted glass, you can't make out or figure out who is behind it -- you can't tell exactly how he looks like. But of course, this analogy transcends the physical. In its deeper sense, you can't tell what is in his heart, his personality, his values, his so-called "essence". So every person who looks at this frosted glass looks with curiosity, sometimes with awe, sometimes with disdain -- all wondering, and each of them having a certain "perception" of who that person behind frosted glass is. They see this obscure figure moving about, possibly going through the routine of his life for years on end, just going through the motions of a normal life, oblivious to the fact that people who pass by and try to see him through this frosted glass, after spending a lengthy time trying to "figure him out", leave frustrated and with only a vague image of who the guy is "in real life". Left with no other choice, they turn to each other for insights, each one comparing notes with the other. One says, "I think he is ungodly. I've never seen him pray." The other one adds, "And I think he's irresponsible, I've never seen him clean the house." A third one concludes, with so much passion and false conviction, "I'm not sure he is even a man at all. I mean, he could be anything but a man."

Now, imagine passing by this same frosted glass one day, given all the authority and resources to shatter that glass and get to see the "man" for the very first time -- as he is. You have two hours to ask him what you've always wanted to know, yes, even the personal stuff. What will you ask this "man"? And after you found out what and who he is, will you keep it to yourself? Or will you share it with everyone else?

If I am that fortunate passer-by, wouldn't you want to know what I have found out?

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Click here to view the replay of the live-blogged Q&A

FINAL THOUGHTS:

After sitting down with Senator Manny Villar, the question of whether he is the villain becomes cloudier and cloudier as he sits there sharing his thoughts and vision for the country. And suddenly, you come to a realization, perhaps clearer than your first impression, clearer than all the noise created by scandals. Villar the villain fades into the background and you realize, one thing and only one thing is for sure -- by chasing his dream and being true to himself and his core beliefs, unfazed by all criticisms, Villar the villain may remain a question to many but Villar the villified will be an incontestable fact.
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Credits:
Many thanks to Natz Jose of Havoc Digital for the invite.

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Photo by andthenpatterns

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Hello there, everyone! I invite you to join me online via live audio-streaming and liveblogging, together with my other fellow bloggers as we talk politics and more with survey-leading Presidentiable, Senator Manuel "Manny Villar" tomorrow at Bonifacio High Street.

As of this writing, I have yet to find out the names of other bloggers who will be there with me. I will let you know tomorrow as I liveblog the conversation/interview.

As you may well know, I am an avid supporter of Manny Villar in his bid for the presidency come 2010 so I wouldn't dare pass up this chance of meeting him face to face to ask him some of my burning questions. I do hope this coffee session eventually cement my conviction of rooting for him and campaigning for him to my family and friends who are yet to make up their minds on who to vote for.

You are enjoined to participate in the discussion by sending in your comments through chat, voting in the polls and tweeting using hashtag #villar2010.

Join us and make your opinions matter! Make your vote count! Let your voice be heard!

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Photo by mimoiejuego

How often does one become so blessed as to come across two heroes in a lifetime, not to mention, a couple at that? It has always been said that the Philippines is God's country. In all of Asia, we remain as the only predominantly Christian nation. We are often mentioned in prayers of many popes even before Pope Benedict XVI. It is such a wonderful feeling to know that amid the many problems we are faced with, the fact remains that we continue to be blessed. I'm sure it is no longer news to you that one of the living symbol of Philippine democracy, Pres. Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, after a long battle has finally succumbed to colon cancer at around 3AM today.

While the outpour of support & words of consolation can somehow lessen the pain, we all know that no amount of shared grief can totally relieve her strong family at this very trying time.

Photo by Fr. Stephen

As for me, I am forever thankful to have had the privilege of witnessing the making of an unlikely hero. Gentle yet strong. Compassionate yet firm. Ladylike to the very end, even in the face of ruthless enemies. Pres. Cory Aquino has left us with the ultimate legacy one person can give another -- selfless devotion to true democracy and everything else it engenders. Rest in peace, dear President. You were then a living legacy, but by dying fighting to the very end, you have just made yourself immortal. An unlikely hero? Maybe. A Filipino in the truest sense of the word? Absolutely!

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