I’m pretty sure you’ve heard the numbing, heart-sinking news by now. And I hope mainstream media finally caught up after last night’s unnerving development on House Resolution (HR) 1109, otherwise known as the choo choo train to #conass. Apparently, that term no longer applies because as of last night, the train mutated to a speeding bullet train — proof of how much destruction can happen overnight when we lose vigilance for a moment and choose to be indifferent. Well, what do you know..the revered house can fast-track a bill after all, if they so wanted. While others sleep soundly, those sneaky bastards who sold their soul for a few silver coins are now selling the entire country to the highest bidder (money, position, and everything else). You wake up one morning and boom! You’ve been sold! The height of treachery!
This resolution filed last November 2008 by Congressman Luis Villafuerte of Camarines Sure, who happens to be a kababayan (both of my parents hail from Camarines Sur, Bicol) which was not intended for any other purpose but to ask the Supreme Court on voting procedures by the Senate and the House (how to vote — separately or collectively?) is now being fashioned in a way that may serve the purpose of a select few and not the benefit of the whole Filipino nation. As of this time, he has declared withdrawal of support to the resolution he himself authored and consequently withdrew from the party as well so he’s now independent, so to speak. Are we seeing moro-moro style tactics here? Continue reading →
Step, step, backward. Step, step, forward. And turn. And then you do it over and over until the music ends. That's essentially how you do the ChaCha -- yes, I'm referring to the "dance". Incidentally, if the peace process in Mindanao would be compared to a dance, I'd have no second thoughts about comparing it to the ChaCha as well. Forward and backward steps that don't seem to accomplish anything or lead to a highly anticipated "grand act". When you do the ChaCha, you do a simple repetitive routine -- that's basically it.
We can compare ongoing debates on the peace process to "sitting on a rocking chair. It gives us something to do, but it gets us nowhere."
Like the all too familiar discussion about peace that just gets murkier and murkier the more that people meddle with the issue. People like myself I guess. Although in my case, I don't have influence. So I can say that I am only accountable to myself. Sadly, it's not just me dipping into this and "speaking my mind" or "thinking out loud". Not that it's wrong. But if you come to think of it, influence -- in a country like ours, is such a big deal. And the more "influential" you are, the more accountable you are to more people. So go easy on the suggestions or the things you make them (your followers) do. Continue reading →
Whoa. What a week! So much has happened since Monday, August 11. And even more if we'd go back a week before that -- before that fateful day that the "barely" existent Bangsamoro Juridical Entity MOA on Ancestral Domain (BJE MOA on AD) was TRO'd by the Supreme Court. Discussions here and there, protests in streets, the Beijing Olympics, fighting in Mindanao, the ARMM elections and now Charter Change (ChaCha) has been our usual dose of news lately. We see, read and talk about it all too often that we can somehow say that we've probably heard enough. But you and I both know we haven't. I hear the music playing. Will anyone dance to it?
Well, what do you expect? The BJE is non-executory by itself. We know that. And we are also fully aware of the need for an amendment in the Constitution if we are to satisfy the promises made in the MOA. And as we continue to question the constitutionality, feasibility, effectivity and practicality of the MOA, we are now faced with a dilemma yet again -- to dance the ChaCha in the name of peace or to reject the idea altogether for fear of a PGMA "second life". Unlike before, PGMA now tweets ChaCha in all things related to the BJE MOA and the peace process in Mindanao. She has expressed her intentions of pushing for ChaCha while brushing-off insinuations that this is all a ploy to "open" the Constitution and toy with it as she pleases.
Many will hate me for this but I think there is some truth to the Palace's statement that those who oppose Federalism are those who have 2010 ambitions. But can you really blame these guys? These guys are panicky as ever especially since, I bet as early as now, they are already writing their "return gratitude" list for the sponsors lining up to support their bets and in return get immunity and relative power. This is the nature of Philippine politics. I have yet to find a public official who puts his constituents above his political ambition -- and I also doubt ever finding one in the near future. That's how it is then, that's how it will be in the future. I am a pretty optimistic person, but when it comes to Philippine politics, my optimism just isn't enough. So, I'm sorry if I can't join you in that bandwagon of a "united" Philippines -- at least in these sense that many promote. I am more of a practical peace advocate. Unity to me transcends the physical, territorial boundaries. A people united in aspirations and convictions is more appealing to me. A people although "territorially" apart yet peaceful and living together in an ultimately "central government" -- as the BJE MOA puts it, is not so bad an idea. Would you rather see incessant fighting than "negotiate"? Continue reading →
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ARE YOU PROUDLY PINOY?
March is Women’s Month
Phenomenal Woman by: Maya Angelou
Many people wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
When I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
The flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
The joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Men themselves have wondered
what they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Now you understand
just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palms of my hands,
the need for my care.
Because I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's my mother and all your mothers
And my grandmothers and your grandmothers
And my great grandmothers and your greats
And my great greats
And yours
And all you women
And Me!
I’m pretty sure you’ve heard the numbing, heart-sinking news by now. And I hope mainstream media finally caught up after last night’s unnerving development on House Resolution (HR) 1109, otherwise known as the choo choo train to #conass. Apparently, that term no longer applies because as of last night, the train mutated to a speeding bullet train — proof of how much destruction can happen overnight when we lose vigilance for a moment and choose to be indifferent. Well, what do you know..the revered house can fast-track a bill after all, if they so wanted. While others sleep soundly, those sneaky bastards who sold their soul for a few silver coins are now selling the entire country to the highest bidder (money, position, and everything else). You wake up one morning and boom! You’ve been sold! The height of treachery!
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