WHEN US BISHOPS POSE OBSTACLES TO SOCIAL CHANGE

The Health Care Reform Bill that is being debated upon in the United States has now entered a new phase: the bishops, a group of religious people who should be care for the health of their constituents are now divided. One is for the passage of the bill, and another is against it because of the benefits that the health bill accords those patients who want to undergo abortion.

Here we can see how difficult it is to work for change in a society, whether rich or poor. The religious sector is bound to be as conservative as ever, and refuse to conduct discussions on how to pass a bill, no matter if it will benefit millions, so long as a provision exists that will challenge its policies.

So how do we solve this problem, this impasse that could be created by such groups? I think that the best thing is to really bring the issue to the people and let them decide on what to do about it.

I am not for abortion totally, as I think there are instances where it is much needed: for example when a pregnancy is endangering the life of the mother, or when it is a product of rape and the mother refuses to keep the child. However, I believe that discussions should continue on this matter

Peoples' Primaries candidates must make sure that they would be able to discuss issues like this on the level, and not allow their religious bias to take over the need for impartial discussions.

“The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”-- quote from Ted Kennedy

TED KENNEDY: AN UNUTTERED WISH?

The passing away of US Senator Ted Kennedy leaves a sad note in the political world. He was one of the icons of American politics that really made democratic principles the shining shield against conservatism, corruption and bigotry. He could have lived longer to be a global beacon to young and old alike, regardless of sex, creed and race. I am particularly sad because now I know why I had felt a different kind of sympathy over him when he was till ailing. He had taken those issues considered "soft" in the macho political world -- education and healthcare and he also stood against the Iraqui war. As an educator, I hold in high regard those who share these principles as it is very hard to embrace them at a time when "to belong" becomes the password to be known politically or to be recognized rather than what one stands for.

But more than this, I had also hoped that another Kennedy could have been president so that the public service that was not completed by his brother, Jack, and what was missed by his brother, Bobby, could have been done by him. I think that he had borne that feeling in him all throughout his life, also that the burden of fulfilling what his brothers had aimed for were on his shoulders and that he could have thought that the public also expected him to take on the cudgels as well.

Yet for all his senatorial achievements he achieved more as well taking on those issues which could have easily been lost in the meelee of "war preparations against terrorists" and the economic recession. A news syndicate reported that: "He was in the front ranks of Democrats in 1987 who torpedoed one of President Ronald Reagan's Supreme Court nominees. (He said,) 'Robert Bork’s America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens’ doors in midnight raids, and schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of government, and the doors of the federal courts would be shut on the fingers of millions of Americans.'"

Women, blacks, children, writers, artists-- his concerns reveal high level politics that looked at society from different perspectives of people, which showed his deep preparation and commitment as a national leader. Those aspiring to become leaders of our country could learn a lot from his life, regardless of some unsavory past experiences in his resume. All sectors of society should be the concern of every legislator.

Another report mentioned that "In 2002, he voted against authorizing the Iraq war; later, he called that opposition 'the best vote I’ve made in my 44 years in the United States Senate.'” This just goes to show that he was a pacifist, aiming at peaceful means for resolving contradictions rather than through "saber-rattling."

His commitment to his country was unwavering till the end, even though he was already diagnosed terminally ill, he even advised that a replacement for him be effected right away after his death. So until the end, politics was in his mind and maybe we could ask,

Why was he so determined to fulfill his role as a legislator? In his mind, did he ever wish or did he harbour being a president despite the failed attempts? If we go by the dates of his illness, he suffered the first stroke in May 2008, when the primaries were being held to choose the candidates, including for the presidential position. Then after the Obama inauguration on that same day, he suffered the more debilitating stroke.

As some alternative healers would analyze, a disease may manifest itself physically, like cancer, but once mental and attitudinal make-up is redirected to healing, combined with great family moral support, then cancer can be conquered. Hence, maybe if Sen. Kennedy had uttered his wish to become president, and/or told his family and peers to tell him, "Hey, you are doing great as a legislator. No need to be president of Superman's country. Being president is not the be-all and end-all of politics, " then the pressures on him would have been less and that cancer would not have grown so easily in his brain.

I would ask all societies steeped in working for change to be more tender in treating those who have a lot to give in terms of public service, commitment and loyalty rather than pressuring them to deliver right away. Life to be lived well, need not be under too much pressure to achieve, but rather to be savored and enjoyed while fulfilling oneself, one's talents and serving those who are truly in need.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE

TO BE OR NOT TO BE A CANDIDATE. This seems to be the quandary of Noynoy Aquino, now very famous as a possible candidate to unite and lead all the opposition groups to counter administration-led candidates for 2010.

Maybe from the point of view of those who have been in Philippine politics, seemingly forever, Noynoy represents their hope to rise and gain leadership again and no longer be that fly in the ointment so-called who is always critiquing every move of the administration which has brazenly committed one corrupt act after another from the time of its assumption into power.

Yet there are many kinds of political vultures - those who day in and day out think of nothing but politics and power. It is very difficult to dissuade those people from not thinking about politics because for them it is their bread and butter, their only raison d'etre for existence. For Noynoy to even rest for a while and experience grief over the loss of his mother they would consider such a luxury.

That's it. That is how I view the issue of Noynoy's entry to the presidential or vice-presidential race. At this time, only 25 days since the death of Cory, it is too soon for the family to think of entering politics again. I believe that Noynoy would gain more dignity and respect if he could tell the people that he wants peace and quiet. Then he and his sisters could rest from the rigors of having taken care of their mother and from her very painful demise -- to them and to the whole country as we have lost an icon of conscience for all government officials and employees, a model of extreme sacrifice for the country.

It is actually not something strange to allow a person to grieve. This is actually a custom among us, Filipino people, to allow sometime to pass before resuming or starting a new life upon the death of a relative. Even widows are not allowed to marry right away but to skip a year or two before marrying again. Relatives even fold the things of the departed and keep them in heirloom baggages so that they could be opened now and then for remembrance of things past, whether good or ill.

In the same way, I think we should hold the Aquino family more protectively. We must guard them against any untoward happenings so that they could remain intact as that conscience for the whole nation -- heirs to icons who sacrificed their whole lives for the return of democracy in the country.

And so grieving after a year or more, then they could take on more prominent roles in the country should they want to.

What am I saying here? That we should, as a people, respect feelings. Feelings are important for a normal existence. If all we do is cover them up and say, "No, I have to get up and go after the funeral..." I think that we could turn into political robots or vultures, who eat anything in order to survive. That could turn us into unfeeling people whose only mission in life is to aspire for political power at all costs.

The ascendancy of Cory and the support she got in 1985 when the snap elections were held was an unusual period -- her husband had just been assassinated and the people knew who did it. And so, when we prodded her to run, it was, besides the larger objective of booting out the dictatorship, a retribution for the loss of her husband. No such similar situation exists at this time for Noynoy to be supported, except as an heir of the Aquinos. No sentimental reason exists except that Cory had left the children to their own resources now to be with Ninoy. (Well of course, to Buddhists, souls live on and could assume another body to live in.)

Hence, Folks, let us not push the agenda too much and just relax. November 30 is the last day for filing candidacies. We need not hurry to come up with the right individuals for the top posts. In fact, what we need do is emphasize to the people that they or we should be the ones, to select, campaign and vote for our candidates, not any party, not any other political offical but us, rich or poor,regardless of sex, race, creed and age.

To Noynoy, and all the children of Cory, we respect your feelings of loss, and give you space to allow these to subside.


JOHN EVERREIT MILLIAIS - "OPHELIA" PAINTING

INDIVIDUALS VERSUS COLLECTIVES

Some people view political events not as acts of individuals but by collectives. So they are more prone to praise parties, organizations, and render minuscule the participation and leadership of individuals. This is a very marxist viewpoint, wherein Marx himself declared that embracing communism alone will determine the prosperous development of a society or country. Lenin added to his ideas and declared that the building of the Communist Party will help realize Marxist objectives, Actually, that is a very dangerous statement because, a party can readily turn dictatorial and impose its principles and discipline on the members, and should it capture power, on the nation.

Let us look at the Peoples' Republic of China. It is run by the Chinese Communist Party, but how do they treat the people of the world -- just as markets. Plain markets where they can make a fast buck. Filipino inventions are being pirated without proper compensation. Their products are flooding the country but look how easily destroyed they are. A ballpen will stop working after only a few days whereas there is still ink in it. The handle of a kitchen pair of scissors readily breaks. An umbrella has easily-breakable ribs. And where can we get replacements? Nowhere. Not even the Department of Trade and Industry is helpful in our getting consumer protection from their poor products. Of course there are exceptions like those blankets that are really cheap, only P120 per piece, complete with pillowcases. But they are quite rare.

How about PRC treatment of critics? They incarcerate them and even support military regimes like that one in Burma which has incarcerated Nobel Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s democracy leader. Despite its claims of being for women's freedom, it has turned a blind eye on violations of political rights of individuals to campaign for democratic governance. Also, their treatment of Tibetans is appalling. Instead of appreciating the way the people have preserved their culture, and instead of persuading the Tibetans to assume more democratic ways of living, especially in the treatment of women, they impose their own on them. I once watched a film about Tibetans, and saw a Red Guard pass by in the background. Shocking how a military soldier in green uniform and the Mao hat could be "guarding" those who were being interviewed.

But what makes communism a difficult path for nations is that it upholds and strengthens the rule of faceless rulers, who could be desensitized by their rigid forms of discipline on members. These rulers do not have to feel sentiments for those who suffer because they would always attribute problems to structural not individual causes, which then renders all kinds of educational individual development useless.

Because of its adherence to collective decision-making, communist-leaning writers have that tendency to put down individuals who participate politically and render meaningful contributions to the development of a country. I have just read an article in a UP student newspaper and I was appalled by the putting down of Cory as an icon of democracy not only for our country but for the whole world. The person who wrote that does not know the great difficulties we suffered under martial rule; he even credits the underground movement, led by the Communist Party of the Philippines as having been quite widespread already when Cory came. That is not totally accurate. Actually, Marcos used the underground movement as a menace to be eradicated and hence perpetuated himself as the only power that could perform that function. Worse, the CPP boycotted the snap elections, thereby committing the greatest historical blunder of not being part of the great Filipino people in ousting an anti-democratic ruler of 14 years.

What the writer is ignorant of, or chooses to be ignorant about is that Cory hastened the demise of Marcos and military rule in the country. She became a rallying point for the people to unite and stand up against this political gang which has managed to resurrect itself under the current uninvited guest-ruler in Malacanang. I wish the Marxists and other communist leaders in our country, the older ones would correct their wrong theories and interpret political events in our country more humanely for the sake of younger theoreticians. We need to set their minds aright because they could turn dictatorial once in power like one of the speakers then in the 60's rallies, before the declaration of martial law and who could really fire up demonstrators but is now the great apologist of that unwanted guest.

Hence, as we gather and unite for a new type of governance in 2010, let us be discerning of future leaders and shun those who would look at their ideological Bibles as the answer to the nation's problems. We value diversity of political views, but keep an alert eye on those who would later on reveal an anti-democratic stance once in power. And let us not forget to pray for Divine guidance so that we can have bloodless and peaceful elections.

-- Wilhelmina S. Orozco

HONDURAS: SAMPLING OF INTERNATIONAL UNITY VERSUS FAKE PRESIDENTS

The days of puppet regimes, of power grabbers, and fake presidents as well as prime ministers will soon be totally over. Honduras whose president Manuel Zelaya was deposed by Micheletti for attempting, (attempting pa lang ha...) to change the Constitution has been supported by the European Union by its suspension of aid, a very difficult decision. Please read below the news which is very difficult to access. Big news organizations do not carry Honduran news regularly; this why I have had to search thoroughly through the Googles. Or is my server "hacking" the news that I can read?

What this means Friends is that, the EU is setting us an example that through collective decisive acts, eventually, true democracy will be placed on solid footing in the governance systems all over the globe. No longer will any individual or power groups be allowed to grab positions and declare themselves rulers. In this new millenium, that is just a normal, laudable act to do. But I wonder, how close can they get to stopping countries from invading militarily like what the US did in Iraq? Or even stopping the conduct of wars in solving internal and external problems? Their answers to that can totally define what is meant by INTERNATIONAL UNITY AGAINST VIOLENCE. - WSO



Prompted by the breakdown of the second round of negotiations in Costa Rica, the European Union has suspended development aid to Honduras, valued at $90 million (US), until the current political crisis is resolved. The figure represents aid for the period 2007-10.

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU’s External Relations Commissioner, said that this had been a “difficult decision” based on exceptional circumstances, but added that she strongly urged all parties to avoid any action that might increase tension in Honduras.

This is the latest in a series of similar retractions by the international community, who have been unanimous in their support of former President Manuel Zelaya. The withdrawal of financial aid is a symbolic gesture, which demonstrates the EU’s refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of the interim government headed by Roberto Micheletti. Agreements on a new trade treaty between the European Union and Central America have also been put on hold.

Zelaya was flown out of the country by the military on June 28. Since then, Micheletti´s interim government has failed to garner any significant international support.

In the days following Zelaya’s ousting, the World Bank placed subsidies to Honduras on hold. Oil shipments from Venezuela ceased almost immediately. And with Honduras’ suspension from the Organization of American States, all member countries were advised to “review their relations” with the country.

Several countries have now withdrawn their ambassadors, demonstrating their condemnation of the current government. In a move that has exacerbated tensions with Venezuela, top Venezuelan envoys have now been ordered out of Honduras, accused of meddling in governmental processes. In a July 21 speech, interim President Micheletti gave a 72-hour deadline for diplomatic staff to leave. He also cited Venezuelan aggression, through repeated threats of military action, as a reason for the expulsion order.

The announcement by the European Union has further increased Honduras’ diplomatic isolation. Yet it is feared that those who will feel the brunt of these methods will be the country’s poorest communities – ironically many of whom support calls for Zelaya to be reinstated.

Zelaya has now urged his supporters to impose targeted sanctions against the leaders of the interim government – a list of whom he has provided. Economists have warned that such sanctions would be difficult to enforce.

from HONDURAS ONLINE THIS WEEK. Honduras is the third-poorest country in Latin America, behind Paraguay and Haiti. A large proportion of development loans from the West is spent on medical care; it is estimated that 50,000 children under the age of five die each year from drinking unclean water.

The nation is also still feeling the effects of Hurricane Mitch, which struck in 1998, crippling an already-fragile infrastructure. Micheletti’s government may have enough residual funds to last until the planned November elections, but the impact of the withdrawal of aid is likely to last a lot longer.

The U.S. is the largest individual lender to Honduras, with an estimated total of $200 million each year. Although the U.S. government acted quickly to suspend development aid, with an estimated value of $20 million, the bulk of U.S. subsidies, for essentials such as clothing and shelter, are continuing until further notice. But U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has hinted that Washington could impose more severe sanctions if the interim government does not acknowledge Zelaya’s right to return.

PUBLIC SPACE AND PROMOTION-HUNGRY OFFICIALS

Folks, public space has been appropriated by some people planning to run for a certain position. They have put up tarpaulins in the middle of streets, thereby covering the vision of vehicle drivers. Another one erected obelisk-like structures right there at islands facing intersections using silver letters --a nephew of a city mayor sporting the same family name.

Could you, lawyers and other concerned citizens, please find out if there has been any violation based on the following:

From Wikipedia: "Public space is commonly shared and created for open usage throughout the community, where as private space is individually or corporately owned."

I would like to know also if public officials have the right to just appropriate for their promotional projects any public space for that matter.

-artprint by GREGORY LANG

FROM THE EMAILBOX: MAR ROXAS AND HIS GRANDFATHER

What?? isa lang ang issue n'yo kay Roxas?

The act of mar roxas in leading the senate drive to ratify JPEPA last year is definite;y another issue against him and in fact it's the biggest issue, enough for all right-minded Filipinos with a sense of duty to country to block his bid for the top seat. the issue is the crime of TREASON whether committed wilfully by some senators like roxas, manny villar and miriam santiago, or committed in irresponsible ignorance by others who voted likewise to ratify JPEPA. it outweighs mar's other issues and his supposed merits (no corruption daw, implying that he committed treason for free).

mar's grandfather led the LP team that ratified the Parity Rights Agreement for the US interests. Mar's equivalent for Japan (JPEPA ratification) was worse because JPEPA is a disparity agreement. Parity Agreement put US citizens at parity with Filipinos in the expoitation of Philippine resources; JPEPA even put Japanese citizens at an advantage over Filipinos in doing business in our own country. This was very clearly explained to the senators and to everybody else by the Fair Trade Alliance led by former Sen. Bobby Tanada and by presentors in hearings chaired by mar roxas himself before the ratification vote. roxas even admitted that RP had nothing to gain by ratifying JPEPA, but went on with his unexplained logic that we can't afford to be "left out."

Kawawa naman ang Pilipinas kung talagang kay roxas na lang pwedeng ipagkatiwala ang presidency, dahil lang sa ayaw natin sa corrupt, di naman tayo kakampi sa traydor! even assuming mar is really clean, TREASON IS ON A MUCH HIGHER PLANE THAN CORRUPTION! Of course i am willing to discuss this with anyone, including the treasonous senators who ratified JPEPA.(but i would not even think of helping them in any way. their crime is not quite easily forgotten in a few dozen decades.)
thenkful cheers!


---ding reyes

Note: the letter was not edited as the writer might have wanted to belittle all those names in small instead of capital letters.

MOTORCADE FOR AMONG ED: STOP RECOUNT

Please join us and support the motorcade-march to the Comelec in Intramuros, Manila (Recount is done on August 22, Saturdayon Saturdays). Assembly place is Villa del Sol in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga at 7AM. The motorcade leaves at 8AM.. The Metro Manila contingent shall merge with the Pampanga delegation on A. Bonifacio Avenue in Caloocan City at 9:30 AM. Kindly coordinate with Adonis Simpao (09196181070) and Arnel Manliclic (09175104906) of the Kapampangan Kontra Recount (K2R). Please email inquiries to kkontrarecount@ yahoo.com. Please pass the word around. Also, take your family, friends, co-workers along in the motorcade-march. Bring food to share, make creative streamers or placards or tie yellow and black ribbons.
Please continue with our prayer power.

CHANGE STARTS WITH A SINGLE EDUCATIONAL STEP

Yes it almost means quixotic to fight for what is right in our country, to continue doing right and to correct those who would try to make us just accept what is not right.

Yesterday, I had to go to a barangay in order to denounce a tricycle driver. His fault? He made fun of me -- for wanting to have the right fare for a ride to my destination. He gave two conflicting rates and when he lowered and I said I would take it, he immediately pointed at another driver who would take it. And so I reported him to the barangay for his mischievous act, and in all terms, of being discriminatory of those who do cannot afford "their" rates. The barangay belongs to the affluent ones in MetroManila and the regular passengers are wealthy enough to afford any amount they charge. I asked for a 7-day suspension of his license to drive.

Why go through the trouble of reporting such an incident? I did because I wanted to teach him a lesson. And I know that once this happens to him, his other co-drivers shall learn about it and learn their lessons as well.

In others words, in our country, one person's experience can be a model for everyone else.

I cite to you another lesson I gave to a jeepney driver. The no-smoking ordinance had been promulgated already but a Quiapo driver refused to throw his cigarette away. As soon as I saw a police force in the streets, I reported him and he was sent to the nearest jail in the area. He was detained for 30 minutes. Since that time, I noticed that not many jeepney drivers smoked inside the vehicles anymore.

Today, a law exists banning it all together in public places.

Every change, or educational step, begins with a single step, no matter how small it seems. It reverberates and gets known by many people.

TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE

Now I have an insight into life: only two kinds of people exist on earth: the corrupt and the incorruptible. To be corrupt means to be prone to violating human and environmental rights. To be incorruptible means to be able to resist, reject and denounce all forms of violations of human and environmental rights. Need I say more?

Wilhelmina S. Orozco

-- PICASSO QUIJOTE AND BULL ARTPRINT

AN ERA ENDS IN SOUTH KOREA WITH KDJ PASSING

FROM NORMAN MADRID:

Korean President Kim Dae-jung, dead today at 83 or 85, teaches us Filipino idealists many practical lessons for our immediate nation-building and private fortune-making success. Could Filipinos and EPICients please forward this message to their various yahoogroups?

KDJ enriched South Korea by freeing it from authoritarianism and economic provincialism. And, he did that after two initial failures to get elected President, and after a failure 35 years earlier to be elected to the National Assembly, and after two attemps to kill him before he was elected President.

Before his Presidency, South Korea was too protectionist and too rigid domestically during the 30 years of rapid growth since 1961. Like the Philippines, it did not welcome foreign investors. It favored big businesses. Small firms complained of neglect to the extent that the owner of one mid-sized company committed suicide publicly to protest the favoritism. The rigidity kept S. Korea the poorest among the Asian Tigers.

It was hardest hit among all Tigers during the 1997-98 financial crisis, when Dae Woo, the industrial giant, and many S. Korean banks failed. Amazingly, economists worldwide had been predicting for many years that South Korea was headed for a big fall. It was the only Asian economic tiger so tagged while it was still succeeding at economics impressively.

Kim Dae-Jung modernized the South Korean attitudes that led to the failures. Rationally he welcomed a liberalization policy imposed by the IMF on the country as a condition for loans to keep it afloat in the aftermath of the 1997-98 Asian economic flu.

Memorable is the industrial estate that he established with North Korea on its soil. On about 100 factories, there now work 400 North Koreans per factory, or 40,000 in all in the entire estate.

An industrial estate like that is what we at Epic Tiger Ventures LLC want to put up. With an output of $200,000 per worker, it would have exports of $8 billion, or 1/6th of current Filipino exports. With 200 more export estates like that, the Philippines would catch up with four Asian tigers at exports and GDP. The four Tigers include South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Their combined population is lower than in the Philippines. But, their exports and GDP per capita are 20 to 27 times as high as in the Philippines. They have many more industrial estates--and all more efficient-- than the estates in the Philippines.
We fought to put Cory on top; we loved her subsequently ethical presidency. But, she failed us at economics; she was not a competent leader for nation-building.

In sharp contrast, Kim Dae-Jung was a compleat leader. He was ethical and rational at politics and economics. Although he won't be remembered by the world as revolutionary heroes like Cory, Mandela, or Gandhi, he was as great or a greater leader than all three put together at politics, ethics and economics.

As a common feature of their lives, Kim and Cory survived assassination or coup attempts because of overpowering U.S. military help.

When the U.S. scrambled two Phantom jets from Clark to Camp Villamor to frighten the leaders of a coup against Cory, the coup withered. So too, when North Korean agents abducted Kim Dae-jung in Tokyo into a ship with the plan to dump him at sea, a U.S. helicopter gunship that hovered over the boat led to Kim's release.

Today and in the future, let's honor Kim by making ourselves succeed in multi-billion dollar ways as global Tiger winners.

PHOTO BY CHARLES BOWMAN:KYONGBOK PALACE, SEOUL

WHY WE ARE BEING DITCHED

August 18, 2009 from the EMAIL BOX

The implementation of the Zero Base Budgeting (ZBB) process was short-lived. It was discarded when the Presidential Appointees of the Dictator Ferdinand Edralin Marcos realized that ZBB made it extremely difficult to bloat their respective budget requests, and hide their "provisions" in the usual accounts.


The Incremental Budgeting (IB) process is at the core of the unrestrained bloating of the budgets in both the National Government and LGU levels.


IF the NEXT President will truly be responsible about government spending, ZBB must be re-installed effective 01 JULY 2010.


It should be expected that there will be loud protestations from the ranks of government employees. They know that their "secrets" in their respective budgets will be out in the open for public scrutiny.


The Budgeting Process is the crucial area where the COMMISSION ON AUDIT (COA) had been remiss all along. This is simply due to the fact that COA is constitutionally independent ONLY in theory. For as long as the power of appointment of COA commissioners shall be exercised by the President of the Philippines, there is no way for any supposed to be constitutionally independent commission to be truly independent.




JM

POWER IS IN YOUR HAND; TEXT YOUR LOVE FOR COUNTRY

Dear Friends and Relatives,

You hold the power in your hand. Join the People’s Primaries. And select a people’s candidate. With the support of the people –that’s you and I--traditional politicians of all shades & colors, cunning & clout, can be overcome by the people’s choice, not of a lesser evil, but of one who can inspire us and lead us in our desire for reform.

The People's Primaries is a district-based process designed to have all Filipinos who want real change from Traditional Politics to get involved in choosing the ONE alternative candidate for President who will abide by Transformative and Moral Politics. Once this candidate is selected by the people in the 219 Districts all over the country, this Alternative Presidential Candidate will NOW challenge the Presidential Candidates of the Administration and the Opposition Parties.

Let's make the 2010 elections different! Let's create Electoral People Power now! JOIN by texting: JoinNameTown Provinceor JoinNameBarangayCity and send to 09189138154 or 09173200022
(e.g. JOIN Juan dela Cruz Mariveles Bataan or JOIN Juan dela Cruz San Antonio Makati City).
When you do, computers will group joiners by District and a People's Primaries District Coordinator will get in touch with you on the next steps. First step is to register.

TINDIG! BAYAN. POWER IS IN YOUR HAND


For God & Country

Grace Riñoza-Plazo

TIPS TO PP PEOPLES' AGENDA

HOW DOES THIS GOVERNMENT DEAL WITH THE FILIPINO PEOPLE?
1. It continues to send workers abroad instead of finding solutions to industrial financial problems here.

The number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who worked abroad at anytime during the period April to September 2008 reached 2.0 million as reported by their families. The 2008 estimate represents an increase of 14.6 percent over the 1.7 million OFWs estimated for the period April to September 2007.

By continuing this mass exodus abroad, the government is able to defuse the raging frustration and anger over joblessness and the possible strengthening of the workers' movement.

2. Soldiers are sent to war sites that are known to the enemies before hand. Look at the number of soldiers killed, so-called reinforcements ambushed by the MILF, with whom the government has a standing battle cessation agreement.

is it possible that the soldiers had been sent to that war where they would surely die in order to turn the attention of the public from the ostentatious display of dining and tripping in NY and Washington?

3. Its biggest industry really is the pregnancy program. It has been shilly-shallying on supporting the contraception policy and has allowed the population to register a growth of 88.5 Million. This is projected to increase to 92.3 M this 2009. Critical sectors say that the lack of a clearcut policy on curbing the population is due to the compromise that this administration is making with the Catholic Church wherein many bishops, priests and nuns have grown disenchanted with its weakness in alleviating poverty, yet continue also to follow the Roman Vatican rule of using the unreliable natural family planning.

Hence whatever Peoples' Agenda will be developed by the PP has to zero in clearly on two things: how to create industries that will hire and give jobs to workers; and two, how to curb the population and prevent the exacerbation of natural and economic resources of the country.


-- painting by RENE MAGRITTE, Un Musee Ephemere. 1986

WHY PEOPLES' PRIMARIES

Dear FOLKS,

Our country currently suffers from many ills, political, economic,cultural and most of all social problems that seem to pile up day by day. Our only hope to solve these is to concentrate fully on how we can elect leaders who will take serious cognizance of their roles and to inject in full ethical, principled and good governance policies that will inspire others – their co-officials, their co-employees and the public in general.

The Peoples’ Primaries aims at realizing this so that the year 2010 will be a good and bountiful year that will allow us to harvest leaders that will make us survive and rise up from all the problems that we continually suffer from.

Many oppose this move, but we think that this stems more from a meager knowledge of the Peoples’ Primaries than from the lack of its definition and its practices. Moreover, those opposing could be profiting from the status quo and hence do not want to shake the very foundations that bring about highly questionable governance in terms of just practices.

Hence, we would like to explain what it is all about. The primary system is meant to transfer the right to elect a presidential candidate and other national and local candidates from an
elite, entitled few into the hands of voters. The system will also curb the use of guns, goons and gold in getting elected.

Candidates under the system will be forced to pay attention to issues that voters consider important, their platforms as springboard for debate among the candidates. Thus, with this kind of approach, elections will no longer be a source of illegal funds, or more importantly corrupt spending to elect a political gangster who will use his or her position to steal from the people’s coffers. Citizens will now take part in the process of choosing their own leaders.

We can stop the era of cheating, buying votes and election killings through the Peoples’ Primaries. By electing together as one the candidate that we feel should be endorsed, we are acting as one in shaping democracy, the progress, the prosperity and peace that our country should reach. We can make a difference in how this country can be run, if we only work together along this democratic path, the path of Peoples’ Primaries.

Now is the time for all of us to join, unite and work together in creating a new country, a new Philippines, caring of her citizens, though high or low in economic status, regardless of sex, of age, of creed, we shall create the new Filipino people in in thought, word and deed.



- Cheryl Piperberg painting, Children Love the World

WHEN GERMANY WAS FORMERLY A DIVIDED NATION

FOLKS, let us go back to 13th of August 1961 when Germany was divided into East and West by the East Germans. That is the saddest part of all when a country is halved, just like in Korea, formerly Vietnam, and Pakistan, formerly East and West but which spinned off one to be called Bangladesh.

I was able to visit East Germany, in 1984* and my heart felt very, very heavy while riding the train from West to East Berlin and go inside that country. From a very modern setting, I entered another era, as if I was going back to a place that was of 30's vintage. The scenery was full of vacant lots and gray atmosphere. But when I met the people, I felt sadder because I could feel that they were not too happy about the division of their country. There were many good things there -- like having cheap food, and similarly prized goods wherever you went -- meaning, no capitalist competition because the State owned the businesses.

From Berlin, I visited Leipzig where I was able to catch the last screenings of animation films of the Leipzig Film Festival. Yes, culturally, the East Germans were very much in then. Afterwards, I got to visit Potsdam where pictures of Stalin, Churchill and other political figures,signed a treaty. Then the Stadt Berlin Hotel where I was billeted was very posh, and I was able to reach that tall building with a restaurant on the top that has a view of Berlin. I felt very great being in that place, with my theoretically intellectual guide, Rene Hexamer. He was able to give me a good side of the Germans, neither East nor West, that of having a humorous disarming trait. He poked fun at the Russians, who put up their tapestry on the wall instead of the floor. (At that time, Russia had a military camp inside the country and many Germans did not like the idea of falling under their control. It appears now to me that the battle within the Germany was not really between East and West, but rather USA who helped modernize West Berlin, and the whole of West Germany, and USSR who defended East Germany.)My last day was to shop in a store where dollars were accepted as exchange. There I was able to buy a nice watch, which was recommended to me by Rene's driver. He told me, this Seiko watch is good because it has a date and appointment setting features- meaning you can put the date as well as the kind of appointment you will have. What a great advice that was.

One beautiful thing there is that the East Germans are as history-conscious as the west. I was able to visit Sachsenhausen camp, where the Jews were slaughtered through the gas chambers. The people were able to preserve even the bunkers where the captured slept and awaited their fate, whatever - to die or to live as they were not made aware of being killed later on. Rene also told me that even the hair and teeth of the prisoners were collected to be used in some kind of industry and make a profit for the Hitlerite government.

Hence, the visit disabused my mind about the status of East Germany as not really very backward just because it was under a Communist regime. It was also democratic in the sense that they knew Hitler was not a kind person at all in conducting genocide. But one thing was quite stark there: one could not speak nor write freely. All public communications came from the State, no free press, no free radio, no free tv. How sad, really.

After returning to West Germany, I asked a fiend, how do you teach history to the children here in West Germany, especially that WWII era? How do you teach the children that Hitler was bad, or that era was the darkest period in German history and on earth? And he had a hard time answering me. Why because his parents and those of other people profitted from that era -- they had jobs and were able to live peacefully and prosperously. Even the film editor, Karl Fugunt, bless his soul, who came here to the Philippines to teach us film editing up there in Baguio City under the aegis of the Goethe Institut and Kidlat Tahimik's foundation, also could not categorically state that Hitler was a bad example of a ruler.

By the way, in the statistics of those who died during WWII, I told Rene that they should also include Philippine statistics, the number of Filipino soldiers who died defending democracy, as Japan, the ally of Germany invaded our land and held the people captive for 4 years.

So let us look back to these historical periods and find out for ourselves what the downsides are of being a ruler -- when one could be faced with survival and the limits of being humane become a stepping stone to being a dictator. Maybe this is why Hitler committed suicide, when he could not accept his mistakes anymore and that the prospect of being a prisoner by the people whose countries he had bombed and invaded became more real.

But no, suicide should not be the answer. Collective judgment should still be humane. Every person should be allowed to repent, and serve a sentence for destroying people's capacity to be good. Hello, Malacanang uninvited guest!


*I visited East Germany under the sponsorship of Deutsche-Philippine Freundschaft which had a chapter here in the Philippine and where Inday Pineda-Ofreneo was a coordinator. She was able to secure me a visit to EG, which I did after attending the Brussels Super 8mm Film Festival under Robert Malengreau where I presented my films and those of other independent filmmakers like Raymond Red, Cynthia Estrada, Resty Reyes, Ernie, and Clodualdo del Mundo's students' works, among others.





BBC NEWS:


1961: Berliners wake to divided city
Troops in East Germany have sealed the border between East and West Berlin, shutting off the escape route for thousands of refugees from the East.

Barbed wire fences up to six feet (1.83 metres) high were put up during the night, and Berliners woke this morning to find themselves living in a divided city.

Train services between the two sectors of the city have been cut, and all road traffic across the border has been stopped.


They are and remain our German brothers and sisters.

Konrad Adenauer, West German Chancellor
Thousands of angry demonstrators quickly gathered on the West Berlin side of the divide. At one crossing point, protesters tried to trample down the barbed wire, only to be driven back by guards with bayonets.

ANNOUNCEMENT

TODAY, THE EDUCATION GROUP OF THE PEOPLES' PRIMARIES WILL MEET AT MIRIAM COLLEGE, ENVIRONMENT CENTER-OFFICE OF DR. NINA GALANG AT 1PM. THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED PLEASE COME AND JOIN US. EMMA OROZCO

VIEWING BUDGETTING ML STYLE

I worked in the Budget Commission way back in the 70's, during martial law. Actually, the granting of budgets per government agency was done through budget hearings where the officials would defend the amounts they had put on paper for Marcos to allocate to each one.

My own boss then, Rey Abella, married to a Diokno and a relative of Ben Diokno told us that the nature of budgeting then was incremental. Taas ng taas ang perang binibigay, hindi bumababa. So what happened then was that the budgets kept going up and up. Why so? I can only surmise that after enjoying the perks of their allocations, the budgeteers wanted more and more.

Finance officers lined up in the rooms where budget hearings were called, reciting platitudes, about the need to raise the standards for the people's existence. Yet we knew that as the budgets were released,the officers were getting a cut from them. I remember seeing a budget officer under the commission sporting golden rings with huge diamond stones, and another officer known for having many houses despite the meager salaries that a government employee should get. One Ministry of Human Settlements employee had the temerity to ask for ten percent per approval of a housing loan.

But it was not ten percent. In the Development Bank of the Philippines, the going "patong" or now called "tongpats" rate for release of loans was 20%.

Mr. Ben Diokno's article below does not cite how much the current rate is now. It would be good to know, or should we resurrect the investigation done during Jun Lozada's testimony?

HOW GOVERNMENT MONEY IS ALLOCATED LOCALLY: CORY'S LEGACY

Core
By Benjamin E. Diokno
Empowering local governments

Local authorities owe President Aquino a great debt of gratitude for the improved state of local governance and for giving them the resources and responsibilities to address their constituents’ needs. Some may continue to bellyache that they do not have enough resources to implement their devolved responsibilities. But these gripers must know how much better off they are now compared to the bad, old days before the Local Government Code of 1991 was enacted.

In the bad old days before EDSA 1, local government officials had to trek to Malacañang to ask for authority to buy any capital goods (say, a typewriter or air-conditioner) authorized in their local budgets. They had to lobby with Malacañang and budget authorities for the release of their much smaller internal revenue allotment (IRA). The process of grant giving was tedious and opaque. Local authorities did not know how much their IRA shares were, and even more iffy, when they would be released.

The uncertainty necessarily created so many problems in local budgeting. It resulted in so much waste in time and effort following up the approval of authority to purchase capital goods and budget releases. And because the process is complex, it opened up opportunities for graft and corruption for government bureaucrats and public officials.

When President Aquino took power in 1986, she promised a wide-ranging package of public sector reforms including the devolution of political and administrative authority to local governments. The promise was kept through the passage of the Local Government Code of 1991 that resulted in far-reaching devolution of both political authority and administrative authority of many services including many aspects of health care, agricultural extension, social welfare, and financial management.

The Local Government Code of 1991 is the most sweeping law changing intergovernmental structure and fiscal rules in the Philippines. Aquino knew that the existing system of national- local relations then was an inefficient and unwieldy way to manage the 76 provinces, 66 cities, 1,540 municipalities, and some 42,000 barangays. She knew that local governments have to be empowered.

Bigger ira shares

The 1991 decentralization act significantly increased the assigned responsibilities and taxing powers of local governments. Not surprisingly, it is in the area of intergovernmental transfer system that the change was most drastic. Showing great concern for local fiscal autonomy, President Aquino committed to give local governments a bigger share of the country’s internal taxes. But being a non- politician, she wanted the intergovernmental grant system to be rules-based rather than discretionary and thus subject to political bargaining.

As a result, the share of local governments from domestically raised taxes was more than doubled, the grant system was formula-based, and the fund release automatic. The amount of IRA that should go to a particular local government unit (province, city, municipality, barangay) was transparent, predictable, and automatically released. (A power-hungry President would not allow such arrangement to happen.)

These new IRA rules have significantly improved the capability of local governments to provide essential local public services. And because grants coming from the central government was predictable, budget planning and execution was enhanced.

Before the reform, the share of local government units was, at the maximum, equal to 20% of internal revenue taxes. In practice, however, less than three-fourths of internal revenue taxes was appropriated and released to local governments. The fund release was discretionary on the part of the President and was subject to political bargaining.

The intergovernmental transfer system under the LGC of 1991, called IRA, is formula-based and mandatory. The share is very transparent. The code provides for 40% of central government revenues collected three years before the year of distribution to be transferred back to local government units as internal revenue allotment.

The IRA is divided among the local government units through a two-stage process. The first is to distribute the total IRA into four distributable pools by level of local governments (provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays). The second stage is to allocate the distributable pool available to each level of local government according to a formula based on population, land area, and equal sharing.

Specifically, at the first stage, the IRA is divided among the levels of local government as follows: provinces and cities receive 23% each, municipalities receive 34% and barangays 20%. At the second stage, the IRA share of each tier of government is then divided among the individual local government units on the basis of population (50%), land area (25%) and equal sharing (25%).

In contrast, under the previous IRA formulation, the total amount was divided: 27% for provinces, 22% for cities, 41% for municipalities, and 10% for barangays. The IRA share of each level of local governments was then distributed among each level of local government units according to the following factors and weights: population (70%), land area(20%), and equal sharing (10%)

Winners, losers

The new formula has resulted in a sharp increase in the financial grants received by local governments. The barangays were the biggest winners, followed by cities. The provinces, on the other hand, were the biggest losers considering that they absorbed almost half of the total cost of devolved functions but saw their allocation share drop from 27% to 23%.

The IRA is in the nature of an unconditional block grant, thus giving local governments wide discretion in its use. The only condition for the use of the IRA is that each local government unit must earmark in the annual budgets an amount no less than 20% for local development projects that are embodied or contained in the local development plan.

As a result of the Local Government Code of 1991, the amount of resources going to local government units have soared from P15.6 billion (1.2% of GDP) in 1991 to P271.1 billion (3.1% of GDP) in 2009.

The important lesson here is that local authorities owe a debt of gratitude for their higher IRA to President Cory, not to any incumbent President. The provision for automatic release of local government’s IRA share is embodied in the 1987 Constitution while the IRA formula is specified in the Local Government Act of 1991 — both legacies of President Aquino.

For some local authorities who still doubt the significance of President Aquino’s legacy, remember the June 19th 2000 Supreme Court decision when it ruled that President Ramos committed grave abuse of discretion in ordering the withholding of 10% of the IRA. The decision states: "The Constitution vests the President with the power of supervision, not control, over local government units (LGUs).... He may not withhold or alter any authority or power given them by law. Thus, the withholding of a portion of internal revenue allotments due them cannot be directed by administrative fiat."
Admittedly, the Local Government Code of 1991 is not a perfect law and, at times, has not been implemented properly. But the higher and unconditional grant that’s embedded in the code has empowered local authorities to provide what they believe their constituents want. For their enhanced political power and fiscal autonomy, local authorities have only one person to thank, though posthumously — President Cory

Let us note down all the companies that charge excessive fees for remittances. Then the people will know which to patronize for being humane as a business entity. -- Emma Orozco

OFWs paying oppressive remittance fees - Herrera
(The Philippine Star) Updated August 10, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Migrant Filipino workers are paying “oppressive and burdensome” fees to send money back home to their families in the Philippines, a labor leader said yesterday.

Quoting a World Bank (WB) study, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) secretary-general and former Sen. Ernesto Herrera said Filipinos in the United States spend an average of $12.79 to send $500 home to their families in the Philippines, and an average of $11.45 to remit $200.


Filipino workers in the United Kingdom shell out an average of $17.75 to wire $500, and $14.40 to transfer $200.


Those in Italy spend an average of $22.28 to send $500, and $19.05 to remit $200, while those in Germany pay out an average of $13.06 to forward $500, and $11.07 to convey $200.

Those in Spain have to shell out an average of $12.42 to dispatch $500, and $10.64 to transfer $200.


In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Filipino workers spend an average of $6.93, whether they transmit $500 or $200.


“They are definitely excessive, considering that in this day and age of modern technologies, seamless and cost-efficient money transfers are already possible through such platforms as the Internet and international mobile telephone short-messaging,” said Herrera, former chairman of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development."

GREED IN THE AGE OF ECONOMIC RECESSION IS A SIGN OF LACK OF MORALS, LACK OF CHRISTIAN VALUES, AND NARCISSISM.

PENALIZE AND DISSOLVE EMIRATES AIRLINES?

IF THIS IS HAPPENING, HOW COME EMIRATES AIRLINES CONTINUES TO OPERATE? - Emma

NEWS THROUGH EMAILS:

During the Christmas of 2005, Emirates Airline made it's regular flight from Dubai to Manila . However, 4 hours into the flight, most passengers were sleeping or dozing off. A man approached a lady who was alone and asked her to assist his child in the bathroom. Not thinking much the lady followed the gentleman to the rear of the plane.

Immediately she was grabbed by the man's 3 accomplices who immediately gagged and taped her mouth and then went on to rape her in the back area of the craft while 2
kept watch, 2 others molested and raped her.

After they had all had a turn, they forced her to drink a drug laced drink and escorted her to her seat. She had knocked off until she arrived in Manila by which
time the 4 men had disembarked and gotten away.

This is a repeat case of the same thing that happened on a flight from Dubai to Mumbai on aN Emirates airline. The Emirates staff are aware of this but when the
staff have some suspicion of some incident taking place they make it a point to avoid going to the back of the plane.

This is the 4th case to take place on Emirates airline.

However the worst case of a rape victim on a Emirates flight was when a flight from
Bangkok to Dubai . The lady was not only raped on flight but she was taken thru immigration into Dubai and raped for several days and then later on sold to the underground.

Please pass this on to all females who travel alone.

PAULINE HIDALGO LAZARO
Marketing Officer
PHILIPPINE TOURISM OFFICE (Overseas Office)
400 Orchard Road, 13-08 Orchard Towers
Singapore 238875
Tel: (65) 6738-7165
Fax: (65) 6738-2604
Mobile : (65) 9863-4955
Email (Yahoo): pauline_lazaro@ yahoo.com. sg

9 AUGUST 1945: NAGASAKI BOMBED

Images of war are still with us, whether we like them or not. They are always reflections of inhumanity, dehumanization, sadism and cruelty. How do we eradicate war as a tool to oppress people? As a means to cut off life? Does anyone have that right to say to the living: ":Hey you, I will stop your life!" saying that to a person or to trees, plants and animals. No, that is unacceptable. War should be denounced for its being a reflection of the inadequacy of human beings to use words, ideas, thoughts, mind, and heart in solving problems. Wars are just means for conquest to have power, to maintain power and to sustain economic greed. Let us learn from WWII when atom bombs hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Any government official must take heed that using killing weapons is contrary to all ethical rules of solving human problems, contrary to being a Christian, and being a member of the UN.
___________________________________________________________________________________

9 AUGUST 1945: Atom bomb hits Nagasaki

American forces have dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki - the second such attack on Japan in three days.

The bomb was dropped by parachute from an American B29 Bomber at 1102 local time.

It exploded about 1,625 ft (500m) above the ground and is believed to have completely destroyed the city, which is situated on the western side of the Japanese island of Kyushu.


Ignorant of the contamination risks they were taking, they were bussed to Nagasaki for transfer to Okinawa

People's War memories »
In a statement issued from Guam, General Carl A Spaatz, Commander of the US Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific, said: "The second use of the atomic bomb occurred at noon, August 9, at Nagasaki.

"Crew members report good results. No further details will be available until the mission returns."

Important port

American airmen flying many miles from Nagasaki have said smoke from fires in the city was rising 50,000ft (15,240m).

Nagasaki is one of Japan's most important ports providing vital access to and from Shanghai.

Three days ago a similar device was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on Japan's largest island, Honshu.

The extent of the damage caused to Hiroshima is not yet known but Japanese broadcasts indicate that "enormous devastation" has been done.

No reaction to the Nagasaki attack has yet been given by Japan but pressure is growing on the country to surrender. Yesterday the USSR joined forces with the allies and declared war on Japan.

The Americans have also warned the Japanese people that further attacks of a similar nature will be made unless they petition their emperor to surrender.

More than three million leaflets were dropped over the country today from American aeroplanes warning the Japanese people that more atomic weapons would be used "again and again" to destroy the country unless they ended the war forthwith. About 30% of Nagasaki, including almost all the industrial district was destroyed by the bomb and nearly 74,000 were killed and a similar number injured.

The bomb, nick-named "Fat Man" in a reference to Winston Churchill, measured just under 3.5m (11ft 4in) in length, had the power of 22 kilotons of TNT and weighed 4,050kg (9,000lbs).

The attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the first time atomic bombs had been used in warfare.

Residents of both cities are still suffering the physical and mental consequences of radiation to this day.

The bombs killed as many as 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki by the end of 1945,[4] roughly half on the days of the bombings. Amongst these, 15–20% died from injuries or the combined effects of flash burns, trauma, and radiation burns, compounded by illness, malnutrition and radiation sickness.[5] Since then, more have died from leukemia (231 observed) and solid cancers (334 observed) attributed to exposure to radiation released by the bombs.[6] In both cities, most of the dead were civilians.[7][8][9]

Six days after the detonation over Nagasaki, on August 15, Japan announced its surrender to the Allied Powers, signing the Instrument of Surrender on September 2, officially ending the Pacific War and therefore World War II.On 14 August Japan surrendered to the Allies.

-- MIXED SOURCES: BBC NEWS, WIKIPEDIA

PROBLEM SOLVERS WANTED FOR DIVISORIA

Divisoria is the central market place of MetroManila where goods from all over the Philippines are brought for distribution to other places. Bagsakan wika nga. It is always a busy place and majority of the store owners with stalls are Chinese, half-Chinese, etc. It is also where the vendors are either inside buildings or outside in the streets. What is difficult for the consumers is the way the street vendors hug the sidewalks. Hardly is there space for us to move about or negotiate our way to and through streets especially during the Christmas season, and election time when officials need money for campaigning and antagonizing the vendors will bring on resistance to "kotong" or bribe money.

The place is reeking with bad odor, and has mountainous garbage of plastic bags, styrofoam boxes, vegetables rotten and half good, fruit peelings and over ripe fruits thrown into the streets. Some chinese owners have complained that the streetvendors have been stealing their customers as they retreat readily once it becomes difficult to reach the former's stores.

Hence, a big task lies ahead for all people who want change to get into the picture and help solve the problems of overcrowding and merciless throwing of garbage.

The people are helpless because of connivance between the authorities and the vendors who pay them a "kotong" just so they could continue to sell in those illegal spaces.

I am thinking if the Chinese exporters who profit a lot from the business transactions in Divisoria and the Fil-American nationalistic groups if they can create a task force to pressure the barangays in the area as well as Mayor Alfredo Lim of Manila to do something collaborative to solve these problems. Help!- Emma Orozco

Painting by Jackson Pollock, Untitled

PP EDUCATION GROUP REPORT, 8 AUGUST 2009

Knowing how important it is to convince, inform and instill in the electorate the value of a new type of politics espoused by the Peoples' Primaries, the Education (and Media) group decided to squeeze ideas from their brains to come up with relevant, meaningful and appropriate education to be disseminated down to the barangay level.

Participants included: Jenny Romero-Llaguno,Grace Rinoza-Plazo, Tony Cruzada, Therese Plazo, and Emma O.

The group came up with the following: Jenny suggested inclusion in the website information to be used for the formation of 30 coordinators per district. Mr. Cruzada suggested setting up a tent (perhaps to be called EdukaTent) where discussions may be conducted. For the benefit of those not in the know, the tents in the barangays are used to shelter visitors waiting for a meeting with the Kapitan or Kapitana, a shelter for cardplayers during wake, and also to keep the coffin from getting wet or burnt under the sun should the house of the relatives prove to be too small for it. It is usually donated by a barangay official with his or her name imprinted in one-foot size font on the top of the tarpaulin for easy reading of everyone of his or her generosity, no matter if the money used for buying it was the taxpayers')

Meanwhile, Grace with support from Therese, her daughter,suggested that the contents of the materials should include the following good citizenship - practices; moral reformation; socio-political reform or transformation, political awareness, and to which I added the history of Philippine politics. Mr. Cruzada said that we should connect the education to the current problems of the barangay to make it relevant.

Grace added that the tents is a practice of direct democracy and (hence they) will be teaching tents, educating person to person or to a few groups. However, we need to train people to supervise the tent.

So this coming Thursday, we will be planning, drafting modules already. Everybody is welcome to join us. Please text education coordinator if you want to join: 0929448247 or 09164755004.

Make the PEOPOLES' PRIMARIES A SUCCESS!


EMMA OROZCO, Coordinator

PEOPLES' PRIMARIES E.D. REPORT - AUGUST 8, 2009

Dear Supporters of the Peoples' Primaries,

We had a good Operations Planning Workshop yesterday, August 8, 2009 at DLSU.

We created 7 working groups with volunteers and clear workplans. These working groups are:

(1) Peoples political agenda building
(2) Candidates search
(3) Special events
(4) Education & media
(5) Technical Communications (e.g. website, etc)
(6) Liaison & networking
(7) Secretariat

In a follow up email, I will send you their initial plans and schedule of their succeeding meetings.

May I request that those who were not able to join the workshop and want to really help in the detailed work for the primaries to email back or txt 0929 4418247 or 0916 4755004 which committee you want to be involved in.

Updates on the work of the Peoples Primaries

Volunteers & District Coverage. In less than 3 weeks since we started our work, we now have 500+ volunteers spread out all over the Philippines covering 67 of the 219 electoral districts already and growing fast. We are confident within the next few weeks we will be having willing volunteers to start work in all the districts nationwide.

Nomination of Candidates for the National Positions. A 7-person National Candidates Selection Council has been set-up ready to accept nominees for national positions (President, Vice President, Senators).

We have moved the deadline for nominations for candidates to subject themselves to the primaries to SEPTEMBER 6.

The Council includes Bishop Yniguez, Bishop Rey Cristobal, Bro Rolly Dizon, Dr. Sixto K Roxas, Dr. Mina Ramirez, Dr. Angelina Galang, Dr. Tony Roldan, Dr Nene Guevarra and a representative from the Ulama Council of the Philippines.

Negotiations with Transformative Political Parties/Movements. We are now in an advance stage of negotiations with 9 transformative political parties/movements who have either expressed intent or interest to subject their candidates to the primaries and form a single NATIONAL PEOPLES COALITION PARTY as 3rd FORCE for 2010.

MORE DETAILS SOON!

Thanks

Roy Cabonegro
Interim Executive Director
Peoples Primaries Group - National Technical Working Group
Cell 0929 4418247 Email: rcabonegro@ymail.com

Website: www.subsidiaritymovement.net

CORY'S HEART

A Filipino in American emailed that "Cory was not known for great intellect." How could he say that? I have always thought that people in the western world would have higher studies on the mind. But it seems this emailer has not heard of Howard Gardner who wrote about multiple intelligences.

Cory was emotionally intelligent, as she could perceive and sense the feelings of the people. The government bureaucracy deadens one's "pakiramdam" but Cory never lost it until the end. That is how she differs from all the traditional politicians that surrounded her. She had always felt that cheating and stealing the people's money were evil. But others seated in offices never thought so or never think so until now.

In other words, Cory had all her heart for the people.

And so what kind of intellect was this emailer thinking of, I wonder?

TRUTH ABOUT ZELAYA

An opinion article on Honduras shows that much of the talk about President Zelaya being too ambitious as to want to extend his term are not true. Calvin Tucker tells his story and analyses of the events in the Guardian website:


“...The coup was timed to prevent a consultative referendum scheduled for the same day. The military regime has falsely claimed that this proposed ballot was an unconstitutional attempt by Zelaya to extend his term in office. This allegation has been taken up – naively or otherwise – by much of the international media.
The question on the ballot papers for 28 June refutes this lie. It was as follows:
Do you agree with the installation of a fourth ballot box during the 2009 general elections so that the people can decide on the calling of a national constituent assembly? Yes or No.

No mention of allowing the president to run again for office. Had the consultative poll been allowed to take place and the population voted yes, the Honduran Congress would have been under pressure to agree to a second (this time binding) referendum on the same day as presidential elections in November. Irrespective of the referendum result, Zelaya could not have been a presidential candidate.

During the Zelaya presidency, measures were implemented that improved the position of the poor majority. These included the doubling of the minimum wage, free school meals (a hugely important step in a country where 50% of children suffer from malnutrition) and agricultural machinery for impoverished farmers. As the rural social leader Rafael Alegria told me, the effect of these measures went far beyond the practical improvements in people's daily lives. "It gave people hope," he said.

Under Zelaya, the majority – including the indigenous and black populations and the urban working class – were beginning to take centre stage. The elite was afraid that the convocation of a constituent assembly would have made this process unstoppable.

At a state-sponsored pro-coup demonstration attended mainly by business owners and employees who were instructed and paid to attend, the placards and banners denounced the presidents of the other Latin American countries, both leftwing and "moderate", along with Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, who is chairing the mediation talks. The coup leaders and their backers regard their actions as an attempt to halt and reverse the "red tide" engulfing the continent.

by Calvin Tucker guardian.co.uk, Monday 3 August 2009 21.30 BST

PAKIKIRAMAY, PHILIPPINE WAY

Naririto ang mga sakripisyo ng ating taumbayan para lang makita ang kabaong ni Cory, para makita ang kanyang mga labi.

1. Ang pila sa La Salle at sa Manila Cathedral ay lumiliko sa mga daan-daan para lamang makasilip sa mukha ni Cory.

2. Umulan, humangin ng husto, kasi bumalik si bagyong Kiko. Ang kabataan na pinapunta ng mga guro nila para magsulat ng review tungkol sa nangyayari, nandoon, may dalang kapote at payong para makita ng husto ang mga pangyayari.

3. Mga babaeng may ipin at wala, mga vendors, mga fotographers, mga may cellphones at digital camera, nagsipunta rin para makasilip, makisama sa pakikidalamhati.

4. At pagkagaling sa Katedral, ang labi ay dinaan na sa Roxas boulevard hanggang sa Luneta. Duon bumuhos ang yellow confetti, at laban signs ng mga daliri. May mga sumisigaw din ng "cory, Cory."

5. Paglipat papunta sa Quirino ibang set naman ng mga tao ang naroroon na para bang ayaw ng taumbayang mawawalan ng titingin kay Cory.

6. Nang umabot na sa southsuperhighway, aba, alas gabi na, nasa daan pa rin si Cory? Bakit? kasi ibang grupo na naman ng taumbayan ang sumalubong sa kanya, mga nadagdag sa mga naunang sumama.

7. Pati ang mga Aquino ay natigagal sa dami ng mga taong gustong makasama sa paglilibing.

8. Hanggang sa pintuan ng Manila Memorial Park, marami pa ring gustong pumasok, kahit na umuulan, may dala dalang posters nila, "Mahal ka namin Cory."

Ngayon, kung may papanaw na isa pang opisyal ng bansa, huwag sana, sino ang papantay sa ganyang uri ng pakikiramay sa ngayon? Aber, hanapin.

Ito ang tandaan natin -- as a people, we are not plastic. If the people do not reveal their feelings right away, probe, probe why. Don't judge them in the negative way. Their silence means they are finding the right time, when everyone is ready to express their thoughts and feelings. But they are there -- they bide their time, in God's own way, in destiny's way. Let us respect the people's response.

KARAPATDAPAT

Nakita ko kung paanong hinatid ng taumbayan si Cory sa kanyang huling hantungan. Nakakaluha ang mga larawan nila. Para bang tunay nilang kamag-anak si Cory, hindi isang pulitiko, hindi isang opisyal, hindi isang namuno, kundi isang kasama sa buhay na nagtampisaw sa larangan ng pulitika at nakapagturo ng kung ano ang tamang daan sa ating pamahalaan, o kung ano ang dapat tahakin nito.

Bihira ang magkaroon ng tunay na "hero or heroine" at hindi ko gagamitin ang ating sariling salita dahil baka maisip nung isang tao na itinutulak ko ang kanyang pagkakandidato. Naman, naman, naman. Sa ating bansa kasi marami ang allergic sa mga nagpapaka hero or heroine, lalo na kung babanggain mo ng diretso yung mga korap. Allergic sila kasi yung mga tinatawag na tumulong, tumulong ha, sa pagpapanalo ng People Power, pwera si Cory, ay nasa kabilang bakod na. Yung dalawang myembro ng kabinete ni Cory nagsipuntahan na sa mga korap, sa totoo lang, palipat-lipat. At kung magsalita sa radyo akala mo ay napaka -"erudite" na gumagamit ng mga analytical tools sa pagkomentaryo sa nangyayari sa ating bansa. Allergic din ang taumbayan sa mga nagpi-people power kasi nagamit yung paraan na ito para maluklok ang mga korap pala.

Kung kaya't sa pagsama, pagmartsa, at pagpupumilit ng taumbayan na makasama sa funeral parade ni Cory, pinakita nila kung sino ang karapatdapat na maluklok at mabigyan ng monumento sa kasaysayan ng People Power, sino ang tunay na nagmahal ng taumbayan, at sino ang walang pag-iimbot ng nagsilbi sa bayan.

Maaaring may pagkukulang sa administrasyon ni Cory. Paano kasi, nakapagpatayo si Marcos ng isang napaka intricate na gubyerno -- lehislatura, ehekutibo at judiciary -- na lahat ay nagsisilbi sa kanyang pansariling interes. Paano ba namang malalansag yun sa loob ng 6 na taon? Ang public administration ay isang 4 na taong kurso o higit pa sa UP, at sa AIM din at iba't ibang institusyon sa Pilipinas. Pagkatapos, kakaunti pa ang mga mapagkakatiwalaan para maging kandidato sa pagkapangulo nuong 1986. Lahat halos ng magagaling ay nabili, nangangayupapa at lumuluhod kay Marcos. Si Cory lang ang tunay na kandidata na puwedeng pagkatiwalaan -- unang-una na, ang kanyang pinakamamahal sa buhay ay napatay. So, walang bale sa kanya kung sumunod siya. Kaya buong tapang na hinarap niya ang malaking kalbaryo ng pagdadala, pagbibitbit, at pagtutulak kung ano ang dapat na maging tamang pamamahala sa ating bayan.

Sa ngayon, kahit nahaharap tayo sa mga korap, alam na natin kung ano ang korap, kung anong klaseng mga kandidato dapat ang dapat na maiangat sa kamalayan ng taumbayan, ang dapat na mahalal- isang taong may malasakit, unang-una na. Isang taong hindi bibitbitin ang kanyang pamilya upang magkontrol ng pusisyon -- kung saan ang asawa at mga anak, at mga pamangkin ang kanyang isusunod. No, wala ng ganyang klaseng kandidato. Dapat ay yung marunong umunawa na ang "public office is a public trust." At lahat ay may karapatang mamuno at bigyan ng tsansang mamuno; at kung namumuno na, bigyan ang taumbayan hindi ang kamag-anak ng mga karapatang ito.

Meron ba tayong kandidatong ganito ngayon? Hanapin, dali, at baka umandar ang tren.

WHY BLOG?

Blogging (and emailing for that matter) is a way of releasing one's ideas and feelings about the world, about life. No one should inhibit anyone from blogging. It's the best medium that has ever been discovered by humanity. It frees one from the constrictions of any political dogma; it gives life to one's connection with the world, with reality. Should anyone misuse it for negative personal ends, let the world condemn it, and history will take over. But to stop it from being written due to some rigid formal rules then that means formalism is dictating the blogging, no more the initiative and creativity of the blogger. We must develop our own style of blogging, or feel free to blog. After many years of restricting writing and thinking during martial law in our country we need to be able to free ourselves from institutional and personal restrictions that impinge on our ability to express ourselves. Let the words be free. Pasalitain, pasulatin tayo ng malaya!

- Emma Orozco

TWIN VIEWS: ANOTHER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE?

Twin opposing views have arisen about our newest candidate (or being pushed to be one) for president, Noynoy Aquino, son of Cory and Ninoy Aquino. One is from JM Nepomuceno and the other from Alvin Tabanag.

IF the OPPOSITION wants a RALLYING POINT / PERSON for the MAY 2010
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ...

RESUME what NINOY and CORY started for the PHILIPPINES by BEGINNING with
the CLEAN-UP OF THE MESS created by GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO



Who else other than the SON of NINOY and CORY Aquino CAN BE TRUSTED to TRY his darnest best to ENSURE that what his own father and mother WANTED FOR the PHILIPPINES will NOT be jeopardized by others with their own political agenda?--JM Nepomuceno

A presidentiable should run on his/her own merits and not because he happens to have a national hero for a father and a well-loved former President for a mother.
--ALVIN T. TABAÑAG, RFP, Personal Money Management Coach


MY VIEWS:

Genetics do play a big role in creating an ethical role in personal and social lives. Also, it is true that environment plays a big part in shaping an individual's response to life.

However, in a country that is in dire need of ethical governance, we need to explore as many possibilities as possible. Let us also examine the preparedness and consent of the individual when entering politics. Cory was a reluctant candidate before as her previous roles had been mother and wife at home. But that did not stop her from aspiring and assuming the highest position in the country. Why, because the people loved and supported her throughout all her administration, although so many people were just hangers-on making a cashbuck on her popularity.

Let history take its course. Let the people decide.

DISSECTING THE MINDSET

by Wilhelmina S.Orozco

Today the fifth of August is the birthday of my brother. He has stayed in Bacolod City, Negros for more than three decades already. He likes the place as it is surrounded by the sea and he can have a drink any time he wants to while breathing fresh sea air. However, business there has a way of turning topsy-turvy unless one is a hacendero. Hence, he can hardly make both ends meet except when he gets a construction project going.Right now he has one and this I wish him: Have a good booze on your birthday! You deserve it.

People ask what is the Filipino mindset? It wants to earn just enough to be able to buy a house and lot, and have a business going to support the necessities. It wants a bit of recreation, even just a little drinking now and then, and an understanding spouse who will not nag or berate should the drinking turn heavy. It is not having to sell one's votes come election time. It is having a good set of government officials who will insure that every one lives well from womb to tomb.

Cory posited that idea of a cornucopia, a mother who could be shock absorber and beacon of hope that things can still change despite all the mistakes happening in the institutions we have. But she is no longer around to help us and we must stand on our own two feet now. Should we start blaming each other, pointing at the negative qualities of each other?

I used to have a women's organization helping women in the poor slums of Tondo. Our funds were cut off frojm NY when I started getting "political." What is that? I tried running for a post and the funders would only release funds for non-political matters.

But what is not political? When I teach women about how to take care of their bodies, that they should not be giving birth every year, the community health center cuts off the supply of condoms.

When I made a film about a poor woman who gave birth every year and has had four pregnancies already and going on her fifth, I wanted to shoot inside the health center.However, a caveat was placed in the agreement by the health authorities: the film will not pertain to any criticism of natural family planning. Who was the mayor at the time? Now secretary of the environment, a staunch advocate of NFP and devout Catholic.

A friend of mine used to be a lectora, reciting or reading Biblical passages during mass in her subdivision. When they learned that she was pro-artificial family planning, she was replaced readily by the secretary of the Church.

Aling Beatriz makes bags using recycled paper. She makes them beautifully that someone buys them all for export. But for whom is her income, for her apo, her grandchildren left behind by her child who has to work abroad so her family can eat.

Mavis (not her real name) is a battered common-law wife with two girl children. She tried leaving her husband several times and even charged him in court. But whenever her husband pleads for her return, she accedes. Why she also feels the heat and she must relieve herself. She knows no other way except to do it with her own husband, although an older guy, moneyed, is around to help her anytime.

In other words, her saviors, good or bad are men, and she cannot stand on her own. Her own father nearly disowned her for having the same problems again and again. It is only her mother who cannot resist her grandchildren that truly gives her the support she needs -- food, and advice which she does not follow as it would mean separating totally from her husband.

Elma (not her real name) used to work for a millionairess who bamboozled her with work from morn till night -- taking care of her businesses, and then of her grandchild after work. How much was she supposed to earn? P5,000, not enough to pay for her needs including the education of her child.So she resigned and is jobless now. Her child goes to school with 20 pesos at times, and eats snacks given by a rich classmate. But Elma knows that education will free his child from hunger when he grows up; thus she invests in it, giving him that moral support to carry on.

Why did Elma become poor? Her family used to be very rich -- they used to own a thriving grocery in the province. What happened? The New People's Army taxed them. Her father gave in. Then they were taxed again and again until the amount being asked was equal to the investment in the business. Her father said no. The following day, their grocery was burnt to the ground. Her father now refuses to start another business. Useless, he thinks. He just relies on gifts from their children who are working in Manila and abroad.

The problem in the Philippines is JUSTICE. No matter the mindset if justice is low or nil outside the home, outside the community, outside the town, outside the province, then the so-called Filipino mindset will forever be a question mark. What should we believe in? Pray, pray hard. It is the only way we can keep our reason and our body together.

to be continued....