The Dizzying Philippine Politics

Our country gets exciting and dizzying day by day as politicians prepare for the big date -- the filing of candidacies. Meanwhile, we love looking from the stands and kibitzing about -- Grace Poe's real intentions, VP Binay's sudden turn-around; Sen. Trillanes' constant pressures on UNA and VP Binay, and many, many more.

Folks, I listen to DZXL radio every morning and find the tandem of Rogie and Lourdes very engaging. They have a down-to-earth style of commenting, analyzing the issues of the day. But I miss their No Direction Band music. Though sometimes their voices lack the proper pitch, still the music gives us the light feeling over the heavy issues that are daily discusses in print media, radio and TV. I think that they shoult restore the music -- it's the language of the soul. Besides, it is very natural to be off-key, as singing in that program is not a professional task at all.

So, if you want to sharpen your analyses, do listen to them. I think they are online also. Their number 8822374.

So what if VP Binay has resigned from the PNoy cabinet? He is still the VP that the people had voted. So he still has tasks to do for us, not just to pick on PNoy but to keep the people's hearts and mind burning for democracy. He was part of the People Power Movement and its defense against the Guardians under Enrile and Honasan who sought to dislodge Cory from power in 1989. And so his historical role cannot be ignored. He could recover from the suits he is facing now by truly mounting huge programs that will help alleviate the people's poverty.

Meanwhile, as to who I will be rooting for as President, that will depend on who will run by October this year. I do hope that we could have a make-over image of women who capture the highest or higher positions of the land and show them at their best with the people as the center of their efforts and attention, and not just as props for photo-ops.

Have lovely evening!

TO BE PRO-MASA

Politics is in the lips of almost every broadcaster nowadays. This early, the printed pages, radio and TV stations are full of news, rumors, gossips, opinions about this and that potential candidate for the highest or lower positions of the land. 

What does that say of our country? I think that it just shows that the people are very leader-oriented. We rely too much on what the next leader will promise or will bring us but does not say how we ourselves will act, say and move to better the lives of our countryfolks (including ourselves of course). 

So what does that show of our education as a people? Haven't we learned anything from the people power movement of 1986 and subsequent events imitating it? 

The purpose of people powering is to empower the people, to make them strong enough to trash an official if he or she commits an error in judgment or function. I think that in a way, we have achieved that. But who are left there standing, so to speak, that have not been dented at all despite their questionable backgrounds and inclusion in the PDAF (priority development assistance funds) scandals? It seems that our sense of justice is quite skewed to present officials who are close to the powers that be. 

So has there been any change since 1986. 

Worse yet, some candidates being touted as potential leaders have a scorched background of having gangster-like tactics in dealing with crimes, and one even escaped from the arms of the law and resurfaced scotfree of being judged at all. 

Thoroughness is what seems to be lacking in our pursuit of our realizing our principles in practice. We tease, we prick here and there but there is not follow-through. To do so is to be branded "makulit," or "sirang plaka," yet the issue is never closed at all. 

Maybe there is something in the way media directs itself. Perhaps we should have a weekly tickler in one column, detailing the different issues that have been discussed the past week and then our giving a status report. Monthly, we could also have a recap of the issues and find out which ones have been resolved or continue to irritate us. Yearly, we could then say if we have spent the 365 days as the best of our lives in changing our society to be humane, democratic and truly maka-MASA. 

WHEN RADIO ADS BECOME IRRITATING

THIS IS A WARNING TO RADIO LISTENERS:

1. Be more alert in listening to news that is interspersed with advertisements every two minutes. The announcer talks as if the ad he is reading is news. That is a ploy to make you buy the product, which is not really that special. 

2. Report to the authorities ads that downgrade women. Saridon, a pill, is advertised this way: "my isang lalaki na nagreklamo dahil sa kanyang madaldal na katabing babae: you are the palakol to my ulo..." That is just one among so many horrible adjectives and negative nouns he had used to describe the woman. This was aired several times over a radio station with a woman announcer whose first name is Nympha known for her political reporting. You see, even if she eats political news everyday, she is weak to reject ads that degrade women simply because the real boss behind the microphone is that guy who orders the technicians to air that ad. 

3. Campaign against ads that belittle indigenous products like lagundi and tawas. Lagundi was downgraded by no less than a giant in the comedy scene, claiming that a "padahon-dahon" na paggagamot will not do you good but  Solmux would. Eventually that ad was removed, or changed after a time. I talked to an alternative medicine doctor but he is too shy to campaign against it, having been a government official before in the health department. 

4. Campaign against the most recent -- Rexona ad that claims tawas is not effective. Actually, while taking the tricycle, a driver really smelled awful, the air wafting to me as he drove on. I told him to use tawas, which is only P5 per sachet and mix it with water. Now, no tricycle driver in our subdivision smells like a macho pig anymore. Rexona has become colonial in its advertising. You see how can the product compete when it costs P8, whereas tawas only costs P5? You expect the tricycle driver to go wild driving so he could add another  P3? No way, Mr. Unilever. You have stayed so long in the country, you should learn to respect our natural products and allow us to do away which your artificially and chemically made harmful products.
Actually, you could develop allergies using those strong medical products because of the chemicals used in their manufacture, whereas tawas is just so purely natural. 

Rexona even chides the train passengers to use it because the vehicle is too crowded with people. Well, if one is using the train everyday, then should he/she buy rexona every so often? A sachet of tawas mixed with water and alcohol will last for a month.  

It is so sad that I heard this ad after I had been listening to the tandem of Rogie and Lourdes, two of the hardest-hitting radio commentators today. There seems to be a latent message there -- for us to turn to another station as the advertisers had made an ad that would make us connote their opinions with "kili2 power".  By the way, the first ad of Rexona mentions that Tagalog word. 

So help us campaign against Rexona. 

Folks, the advertising world lures many honest people and especially those with integrity to use their talents and genius to pervert the people's values. Let us conscientize them to be humane and to use their God-given talents and skills for the betterment of this world. Let us also pray that they be brave enough to say no to make them pursue their art by negating all the Christian and humanitarian values that this planet needs. 

12 Leadership Qualities Of An Often Overlooked President:John Adams, 2nd president of America, written by Mike Myatt of Forbes:

1. He valued education.
2. He strove for a good reputation.
3. He loved his wife.
4. He fought for what was right.
5. He was a great communicator.
6. He saw his shortcomings and recruited others to fill in the gaps.
7. He recognized talent.
8. He was brave in the face of physical danger.
9. He had unwavering integrity
10. He had perseverance- As mentioned before, Adams readily admitted when he was unfit for a job. This was especially true while in France and Holland, serving as an emissary. He was staunchly patriotic ....
11. He could see the big picture.
12. He was a true servant.

If you want the full article, search it in this http:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2013/08/29/12-leadership-qualities-of-an-often-overlooked-president.

Let us set up the qualities that we should expect from a president and see if they measure up to our standards. We used to decide on the basis of our emotions -- whether pity or sympathy, fear, or exhaustion from too much politicking in our midst. This time we should get hold of our emotions and let our rational perspectives take over. After all we are building a Philippine society for many, many generations to come. We don't want to bequeath to them moral cretins and confused leaders who do not know how to stand up when crises arise or who rely on fawning (To exhibit affection or attempt to please, as a dog does by wagging its tail, whining, or cringing. 2. To seek favor or attention by flattery and obsequious behavior.) underlings for wayward advice.  Our heirs deserve the best that we can leave them. WE must start in 2016.  

Beating the Big One

How to prepare for the Big One: here is an article I found in the Internet on being safe from the efx of the earthquake:

Forewarned, forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory.' Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

There you are at work, on the freeway, shopping, at a restaurant, or maybe just at home. And the Big One hits. The lights go out as electrical power fails. No internet, no phone or cellular signal, no utilities. Many buildings and homes have crumbled and are on fire. Roads are impassable and people are hysterical. Maybe it's raining.Are you prepared? Start with the essentials: it's dark half the time, so always have a flashlight, shoes and eye glasses within easy reach, especially near your bed. If you can't see or make your way to safety, you're in trouble.

There is much more to preparedness than flashlights and shoes; dried or dehydrated food, pots for boiling water, clothing, shelter (tents and sleeping bags), rain gear, medicine, battery or solar powered radio, etc. Remember, in any disaster you are likely to be on your own for a few days, maybe more. The following links will help you to be ready to survive an earthquake, and many other natural disasters as well.

Links below:

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USGS preparedness guidelines
EarthquakeCounty preparedness guidelines
DisasterCenter preparedness guidelines
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) preparedness guidelines
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) preparedness guidelines
Red Cross preparedness guidelines
DareToPrepare preparedness guidelines
Special needs and vulnerable populations preparedness guidelines

WHAT IS HE DIGGING?

So many viewpoints have been posited on the complete turnaround of Congress representatives who were formerly against many provisions of the Basic Bangsa Moro Law and who now support in toto all the provisions that PNoy wants to have in it. Shall we condemn these people right away or give them the benefit of the doubt?

Going by the many reactions of the people on the concluding statements of the Committee charged with discussing the BBL, our future holds a bleak picture in our politics. It looks like our people shall be divided, in different factions, or a grimmer picture is that bullets and bombs will be flying about.

We can hold our optimism until this bill reaches the Senate, and then it is brought to the Supreme Court for review. Meanwhile, we hold our guns.

But my intuition tells me that PNoy is not a very subtle politician. When he likes something he just drives into it without thinking of the repercussions. He could be digging a hole for a tree or a coffin, it depends.

FEEDBACK ON CHRISTIAN TEACHING ON AIR

Mexican Christianity Wall Art from http://wall-decor.novica.com/sun-and-moon/mexico



If I were a non-Christian and I hear the radio spiel -- "Jesus said, ' take, eat, this is my body'" would I not think that Jesus is asking people to be a cannibal? Quoting from the Bible is not feeding the converted with quotations but making them understand Biblical statements, not blindly and possibly Christianizing them, making them appreciate Christian teachings.

But that is not the case at the moment. A Christian radio station, with the voice of a woman, keeps harping on that quotation, ad nauseam, as if she were a pastora who knows how the souls of human beings should run -- along fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible, a very medieval view of teaching about Christianity.

But is there room for change in the world of Christians? So many people like to quote from the Bible but their praxis is total opposite to what they preach. Another pastora I know very well has hurled epithets to her landlady for insisting that she vacate the place as she has not paid for almost 20 months then, the last time they talked. Yet she could quote dozens of Biblical passages, as if she had the sole prerogative of being holy.

It is difficult to find or push for changes in the religious scheme, when people embrace their religion as if it were blood in their veins. I think that is a very shallow understanding of Christian teachings. I believe in Jesus, especially when he says that "For what shall it profit a man (or woman) if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?"

But for me to believe in Christ because so-so said this over the radio, I think that that is taking Christ out of context. But to be a Christian I would like to think is to know the whole life of Christ. To not be a Christian, is not to repudiate Christ's teachings without having read them.

Radio being an aural medium, and hence can penetrate the mind when one hears the sounds in darkness could be a dominating medium that could induce people to embrace a religion blindly. It should be handled with caution, and makes its users imperatively responsible enough to know the implications of every word that is spoken through it.

Sadly, there is very little space for changes where communication is concerned. The big radio stations use 4-numbers for people to communicate with them. But some celfones like mine do not send any of those numbers away under Globe or Sun or even Talk and Text. And how much do stations charge for sending to those 4-digit numbers? P15 per message to the Christian station.

Well, at least I am glad that DZXL has the 11-digit celfone number so I can send my comments very easily -- which is why we call it a friendly station.

Maybe the National Telecommunications Commission must already be on its toes to look into this matter of giving feedback, especially on religious matters that affect our daily lives day and night. We cannot remain quiet in the face of insidious attacks on our beliefs. The NTC must insure that every media outfit that goes on air shall allow for feedback without charges.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

An Aquino regime is difficult to fathom -- is it democratic or fascist? It is very hazy as to what its policies are. In the beginning, during the first SONA, PNoy said that the OFW phenomenon would be a thing of the past. And yet now, it has acquired a full-blown culture. 

The initial problems of the OFW policy -- that of exporting labor to foreign countries were the illegal recruitment to employers who -- gave the wrong salaries unstated int he contract; who overworked the employees; who kept the OFW passports; who denied them humane treatment.

Now the OFW phenomenon has become very much broader -- the OFWs are being used as drug mules -- carrying drugs and other illegal paraphernalia to other countries. 

An extension of that is the human trafficking aspect -- that of OFWs being traded off as prostitutes to foreigners. 

The whole phenomenon is nothing but a cop-out to the need to uphold the dignity of labor. Actually, as soon as a citizen leaves the airport, he or she is already abandoning all hopes if not 80% of that for protection as a citizen, much more so as an employed person. OFWs are at the mercy of their employers if they have one, or of the host countries. 

And yet, when our heroes and heroines sacrificed their lives so that we could have independence from the colonial powers, their view was that we would all stay here and enjoy the bounty of our land. 

Where do we go from here?

UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIAN TEACHINGS?

Something I don't understand with Christians. It is said that the human body is God-created yet there is bruhaha over boxing in which the boxers outdo each other in destroying it. 

It is said that being cruel to animals is bad. Yet, a Christian radio broadcasting station announces: "Christ said, if you feed on me..." isn't that a very CANNIBALISTIC stunt that jolts our sense of value for what is humane? How can we feed on Christ?

The same station states that "Looking to Christ his crucifixion and his resurrection." Every hour on the hour it repeats this phrase -- a rather masochistic view of the human body. Why should we be reminded always of the negative end of Christ? Why not focus on his teachings and the values that he preached, or even the miracles that he caused?

Worst of all, what was once a one-hour daily per week showcase of Filipino composers, singers and musicians has become only two hours every Wednesday, lunchtime. Is this the way a Christian broadcasting station should deal with our musician artists? it is high time that Christians in media look inward and see if they are really fulfilling the words of Christ. This last act is truly discriminatory, racist, and downright unChristian. 

Christ could be weeping now for the turn-around in the use of his teachings. 

God forgive them for they know not what they do. Help us determine the nationality of those who did these. 

IT HAD TO HAPPEN

The stoppage oft the execution of Mary Jane Veloso is not a fluke. It happened because it had to happen. Some things are bound to reach their proper conclusion because everyone had done their part to stop the negative from happening. I think it is a case of getting all the righteous people to support the idea to let Mary Jane continue to live on this planet. 

I wish to thank all my friends in the women's movement for their part in making as many people as possible to support the campaign for her -- Annette Forster of Cinemien in the Nederlands; Terry of Leeds Animation in UK and the National Organization of Women in the United States. Below, please find Terry's answer:

Leeds Animation <info@leedsanimation.org.uk>	Apr 28 (2 days ago)
to me

ī

Dear Wilhelmina

Thank you for your email. Yes we have signed the petition and tweeted about this and are hoping that she will be reprieved.

Look forward to hearing more about your animation. 

We are currently working on a short animated film with Justice for Domestic Workers, see pictures attached!

Best wishes

Terry

On 25 Apr 2015, at 12:34, wilhelmina orozco wrote:

Dear Terry, 

I have written you because of  the Filipina migrant worker who will be executed in Indonesia due to "drug trafficking." The legal defenders say that she was set up, in other words a victim of drug gang and that she was not knowledgeable of their crime when she was pulled into it. 

Her name is Mary Jane Veloso. and you can read about her in the Philippine newspapers online -- Inq7, Philippine Star. 

Everyday, the news carry her imminent execution. 

As Great Britain is one of the world's powers and that the history of the women's movement in your country is a sign of protection of women's rights, , may I suggest that the various women's groups there call on the president of Indonesia, and all the officials of the Parliament to ask the Indo President to lift the fatal punishment. I am sure our collective efforts would give Mary Jane a new lease on life. After all everyone is born because of women, even the president of Indonesia. He has a mother, a grandmother, and other female relatives.