ON CYBER ATTACKS AND THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE

The difficulty of having a blog is keeping it up to date. But so long as we have this admin we can’t have a 100 % assurance of cyber-attack free emails or blogs. For example, just now, I can’t even open my Facebook account, nor go back to the inbox of my miravera2010 account. It takes so long, truly ages, to have the latter open again. And while in the middle of my miravera2010 readings, and then I wanted to open my Facebook email so I can get the security code for password, that is nowhere to be found. Somebody had been able to open my inbox ahead of me.

Cyberattacks are very real in this part of the globe. It is conducted by you-know-who and it is a great wonder how we have been able to have this kind of anti-intellectualisms in our midst. Cyberattacks are nothing more than tools to conquer the minds of victims, to make them shut up, to stop their freedom to express themselves, and to prevent communication with other people, whether here or outside the country.

In this regard, I do think that the international community must rise up in protest and have an international calling number for us to inform them that this is happening and for them to put sanctions wherever to stop such acts altogether.

An alert nation may be there, but a better situation is having alert neighbors fighting for us in this very basic problem of freedom of expression.



ON THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE

67 days before May 10. What have we learned so far from our political exercises? Every presidential candidate is hoping to win, that their campaign staff is united as ever to make them win, that Erap is drawing roves in his sorties, that Noynoy and Villar up there in the ratings, that Jesus is Lord movement leader Bro. Eddie Villanueva is gathering his forces quietly and boasts of 20million members; that Nicky Perlas is not letting up in his campaign; that Dick Gordon has been offered to retreat in exchange for some deals; that Jamby Madrigal may not be in the ratings game but still moves about. Gibo is beset by rumours that his VP, Edu Manzano is abandoning the ship.

One thing that is very obvious in this presidential campaign is that the candidates are going to where the masses are. They know that the latter will not settle for a virtual image, or to see them only on screen on tv but would like to view them up close and personal. We are still in that era of the “touching public” so much like their touching the Sto. Nino or the Black Nazarene statues.

Does this augur well for us in terms of political education? Not much really because some people could be used to being seen around and could pose a plastic front which the public might not be able to grasp right away.

Secondly, going around means the candidates have to have a retinue of supporters which then could exacerbate the funds in terms of transportation, lodging, meals, and honoraria apart the tarpaulins, the posters and whatever other paraphernalia would be given away.

This means that the pegged cost per voter is not realistic at all, nor is it being followed. How could presidential candidates say that they are only spending P5 or P10 per voter when the campaign is on full gear until May 10.

My only wish is that the candidates would simplify their campaigns and spend the rest of the money to feed our people, those who are having a hard time making both ends meet, especially in terms of getting three square meals a day. There is just too much money going on for t shirts, caps, chalecos, and tv and radio ads that go on every hour.

I do think that the Comelec must put its foot down and limit the tv and radio ad spendings to 5 minutes per day or 30 seconds per hour for ten hours a day. In this way, the candidate would be seen only once within the hour, and not every 15 minutes. I think the handling of political ads should have a discipline. We cannot always follow that laissez-faire policy and say that we should not curtail freedom of expression on broadcast. The limit is supposed to give the viewing public a breather from highly repetitive contents that are just plain ego-boosting for the candidates and would not benefit the public in a large measure save to remember the candidate. It would be a lot better if the candidates would issue educational political books, or films themselves that they could give away to groups for viewing.. In this way, such would be worthwhile keeping and would be useful even beyond 2010. In other words, let us limit political propaganda and settle for educational materials that can bring about a better informed, and educated citizenry instead of their being held captive by ephemeral political material