A Day In The Life Of RJ

This is gonna be a short post as I’m pressed for time. I’m in the middle of reviewing for exams tomorrow — written and practical (as part of my training in my new job) so I can’t linger in front of this desktop as much as I’d like to.

Anyway, here’s what’s up:

1. I have a new job. So, yes, I’m going to be useful to the society from now on.

2. I will have less time to blog (at least in the first few weeks of the critical training period). You know how it is when you have a new job, right?

3. I cannot post photos of my company nor mention its name here on my blog as it violates an agreement I signed with them (unfortunately) so I apologize if I can’t share photos.

4. Political rants and sentiments resume tomorrow (Saturday).

5. I miss blogging, plurking, blipping, twittering and tinkering with my blog’s template so you will have to bear with this one for the meantime. The other theme I really like does not support widgets.

So there. I hope all is well with you guys. Take care, happy blogging, blog-hopping, surfing or whatever it is that eats up most of your time right now. As for me, it’s back to reviewing… au revoir

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“There is nothing easier than lopping off heads and nothing harder than developing ideas.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky

“I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of their way and let them have it.”

“Wars are seldom caused by spontaneous hatreds between people, for peoples in general are too ignorant of one another to have grievances and too indifferent to what goes on beyond their borders to plan conquests. They must be urged to the slaughter by politicians who know how to alarm them.” Henry Mencken

“There is no such thing as a good war and there is no such thing as a bad peace.” Benjamin Franklin

“Short-circuiting the long-established principles of patient negotiation leads to war, not peace.” Jimmy Carter

I miss the good old days — when things weren’t as complicated as they are now. It seemed rather peaceful then (or so I thought). Fact is, the world in general has not been truly peaceful at any time. Wars are as constant as change. And this world has seen one too many wars. There will always be small wars fought in certain parts of the world for all sorts of reason. I think humankind has a penchant for wars — probably part of what makes us human — to be hostile at times when certain boundaries are crossed. (more…)

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Hello everyone! So happy to let you know that I am now all better. I have been sick for quite a long time and I have missed updating this blog. Many things have happened and there are I few things that break my heart:

1. That I missed voting for the Philippine Blog Awards held yesterday, September 21, 2008.

2. That I missed writing about recent events and updates in the news.

3. That I missed writing updates about my personal life and other life thoughts.

4. That this blog has been down for about the same period as I was sick..issue with my webhost.

5. And so many other things..

I will start blogging again tomorrow. Hope all of you are well. God bless you all and see you back here, okay? Cheers!

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This has been a long day. I am tired and sleepy and would love to sleep and call it a night. Only that, this recent development (if you can even call it that) in the much ballyhooed NBN-ZTE Deal has a way of keeping me awake. Apparently, it works far better than coffee in giving me that caffeine boost enough to get me through the wee hours of the morning — though I hope this post doesn’t take that long to write.

First off, aside from the total trashing of the BJE MOA and the dissolution of the GRP Peace Panel (the latter being a good decision, even for a somewhat pro-BJE MOA like me), hearing such dismal news relating to the NBN-ZTE early in the day is like “rubbing salt to a wound” as mentioned previously in FilipinoVoices.com (albeit of a different topic). For a commoner as myself, let me say this: “Wow. what else could go wrong?“. (more…)

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I find it inexplicable why the BJE MOA on AD is being considered at odds with our constitution, hence this TRO and oral arguments, when a member of the MILF peace panel, MOHD. MUSIB M. BUAT in his article “A new formula in resolving the Mindanao conflict—Mohd. Musib M. Buat” at the abs-cbnNEWS.com website, said:

“But subsequently in February 2008, information was received by the MILF Peace Panel through the Malaysian facilitator that the GRP had decided to have the draft MOA-AD first reviewed by a panel of legal experts to ascertain whether or not the draft agreement would meet a constitutional test if challenged before the High Court. It took the government more that 100 days to conduct the “due diligence review” of the draft MOA-AD.”  (more…)

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As the situation in Mindanao remains fluid, the people’s future remain uncertain.  The road to peace is now littered with grenade. Who would now dare tread that path? To say that it is difficult to talk peace at a time like this is an understatement. I need not reiterate the violence that has erupted which has claimed the lives of many people — mostly civilians.

It is this pressing concern that gave rise to a need — a need to be ready and and willing to fight when necessary. The citizenry of Iligan City (claiming their right to protect themselves and their property) have decided to take up arms. And this is supported by no less than their Mayor Lawrence Cruz. He says in an ABSCBNNews.com article, “We don’t want to be helpless like those civilians who were butchered, strafed, torched, and whose properties were looted and ransacked. We don’t want that to happen to us.”

I was never a fan of vigilantism or anything loosely similar to it. Taking up arms by the citizenry is something I only envision as last resort. And I say that not because I’m kill-joy or sissy or absurdly peace-loving but because I think the current situation, in my point of view — however others may see it — still does not warrant such an activity. More than anything, I fear for these people’s safety. While I understand that being the ones directly affected by the menace that is MILF — they are full of conviction to fight for a just cause, I also believe that “letting guns do the talking” doesn’t sound like a good plan at all. Besides, it is the state’s responsibility to secure its people. If the citizenry takes up arms, they overstep someone else’s mandate. And no, I’m not trying to be be objective, I’m trying to be practical. (more…)

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Now that the ball has been passed to (or should I say was “taken” by) the Supreme Court ever since issuing the TRO last Monday, August 4 — it has been clear that the BJE MOA on AD is in for a long deliberation — possibly ultimately leading to its abolition — if its existence is to be recognized in the first place. It has been predicted that this might take longer than usual — even forever. And knowing that we are in the Philippines, this doesn’t seem like an exaggerated prediction.

True to our expectations, the Supreme Court seems to be having its sweet time deliberating on it. Not that it’s bad or wrong anyway — but longer just the same. And I’ve written before that the clock is ticking — time is of the essence here. The longer we wait, the longer it takes for Mindanao to move forward. The longer it takes for real “help” to arrive. We can’t just send doctors on a medical mission to a hostile territory. We can’t pave roads while there is serious threat to practically anybody crossing the street. Investors will not dare put up businesses where fighting can ensue anytime. (more…)

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