THIRD WORLD PHILIPPINES

Our country is purported to belong to the Third World sphere -- those countries which are sources of raw materials for the First World. But there are many other qualities of a third world country that can be gleaned here in our surroundings.

For one, you see garbage trucks running around at any time of the day with all its polluting smell filling up the road. No you don't see such scenes in the First world.

Two,  the markets are always dirty, seem never to have been cleaned at all. I once lived in London near a market and it was always cleaned with a large hose so that you would not be able to smell fish or meat at all.

3.  Many jeepney drivers still think that their vehicle is a private service and so drivers smoke in great abandon, or drive and swerve without thinking of their passengers' safety.

4. Tricycle fares may have been standardized, but in our barangay, the drivers charge so much. While in other barangays drivers wait to fill up their vehicles with two to five passengers, those in our barangay, only want one so that they can charge more. How about that?

5. Water bills go up and down. A jeepney driver complained to me how their bill went up to P6,000 but when he complained, it reverted to the usual fee of P300 per month. But the next month, it was P7,000 again and so he had had to go back to the water utilities office to complain.

6. My facebook account has been hacked. No matter how I complain, and try to reset my passwords, some one or a group are hacking it, so that it reverts to "try again." Why is our country run this way? The freedom to communicate has gone haywire. No this does not look like what the Jeffersonians envisioned a society should be, nor what Cory had said, we would be after the People Power movement.

I could mention more. But truly this business of being in a TW country can be very stressful. Folks, aren't you glad you are in some other country? If I get a chance to live again, I would like to try another country to be in.

peace an elusive commodity

Several times I have tried accessing my article on this title but then it always goes berserk. It turns out a  very bad alphabet all letters y. But last night when I reported it to the Fil-Am Forum group, I was able to retrieve it in my laptop and copied in usb. Unfortunately it is now going haywire again. I wonder why it has become so.

Folks a lot of people are watching everything I write. They are afraid of being talked about for their silly moves to run the world.

Surveillance has no room in a decent society. To descend to that level to retrogress.

TAMPERING WITH (ANGELINA'S) THE HUMAN BODY

by Wilhelmina S. Orozco

A great number of writings have been produced regarding the use of alternative methods of dealing with cancer. In the Philippines, a group has come up with one that combines allopathic and alternative approaches. One of its officers said that the results are positive, about 80% overcome their illness. However, one very important component of that is the development of a positive attitude towards healing. If a patient thinks that her illness will progress and that there is no more hope for her, then she will surely go and meet our Maker. But if she refuses to be bothered by the illness and instead focuses on what she can still do in this life, realizing her own dreams and always fixing her mind to that day when she would be free of the disease, then success is really on the way.

Now I feel sad that Angelina Jolie decided to have her breasts removed because of the "tendency" for her to acquire the disease as her relatives who had died of it. That was just a "tendency" and yet she jumped into the fire rightaway, as if competing with the disease so as not to take her life away. True to the movie roles she has given life to, Angelina becomes a superheroine of her ownself, not seeing her moves as highly destructive of her feminine body. Now she is even going to have her ovaries removed.

No, this is not the way we should deal with our bodies, we women. We need to see ourselves as whole always, our bodies as God-given, and therefore designed to be beneficial to our pursuits in life. Angelina must divest herself of all the advice of her doctors who I believe are knife-happy just so they could share the light she gives off in the world.

And that light, consists not only of the inspiring female roles that she has essayed on screen, but in real life, her charitable acts to the needy especially in Africa. Moreover, she has pulled Brad Pitt even to her advocacies.  Her life, which she has spent even adopting children from other races, is so unique for a highly-celebrated movie individual, that destroying all her breasts and next her ovaries is somewhat like smirching her political activist role in life.

No I don't believe that Angelina should allow herself to be cut up here and there when there is not even an ounce of illness in her organs. It is mind-boggling what she is trying to do with her body. Could it be a case  a kind of grief or guilt that takes on a different manifestation, and that is through self-immolation, a destruction of one's physical body?

Maybe, Angelina needs a counsellor not those doctors who have a weird view of dealing with cancer.

ON CREATING HUMANE SPACES

by Wilhelmina S. Orozco 

Who are the worst victims of urban traffic? The drivers? The motorcyclists? The bicycle riders? Not at all. They are the commuters, the hoi polloi who are saving on transportation fare, who go through crowded areas just to jostle to get a seat on a bus or a jeepney. 

I have been observing people as I move from one place to another, from my home to Makati to present project proposals, or to a printer in Quezon City to have our magazine Regalo printed, to UP to have cheap xeroxing and internet that is only P10 per hour. Yes, this is the cheapest I can get in Metromanila but it has limitations -- no printing and connections are slow. You can count from one to twenty seconds. But nonetheless, puede pasar. 

Why more do I say that commuters are the worst victims? We walk through very narrow pedestrian lanes that are occupied by construction companies, or used as parking spaces, or by vendors selling cigarettes, mineral water and candies, 

And when we walk up to the MRT overground train station, we have to contend with 20 to 30 steps as the elevator is not working and there is no escalator. Can you imagine a paraplegic using the MRT? It will take him or her a half hour to climb, I guess. pregnant women with children will also have a hard time negotiating the stairs. Some girls with short shorts and boys appear to show off their skills at climbing up, rushing to reach the top for a date or just to compete with the slower ones.Then the senior citizens are truly the most pitiful lot. Not only do they slowly climb up the staircase; they also have to keep up with the crowd or else get pushed around, although the Filipino commuters is general are very respectful of the elderly. (I would like to say that when I am inside the trains and every seat is occupied, I manage to wangle a seat by telling a male or female passenger, "Excuse me, senior citizen. May I sit down? i can't stand too long on my feet." Readily they give up the seat which has almost always a sign at the back "Please give up the seat to the elderly. Also an announcement is always made by the driver to remind the passengers their duty to the senior citizens.

Then more and more high rise buildings are going up here. What I don't like in them, apart from the dizzying heights is their proximity to the roads. They are too close so that when you walk past them, it is as if they could fall down on you at anytime. At Sta. Mesa, there are towering buildings but they are about 20 meters away from Aurora Boulevard. However, the next residential tower is too close to the streets giving that eerie feeling that once the earthquake strikes, we could all be lying underneath its rubbles at any time. Is there no law governing the boundaries of high rise buildings? Why are building permit officers too timid to say no to owner-proponents of such edifices when these are supposed to last for years and years.

And so I would like to present a bill to aid the following needy sectors: the senior citizens, pregnant women and the disabled who live in urban areas and are experiencing those horrific circumstances . It shall contain the following:

1. All train stations shall have an escalator going up and going down. (Las Pinas city has a lot of them.)

2. Pedestrian sidewalks should be two meters wide. Vehicles parked along sidewalks shall be towed right away. 

3. Senior citizen payment counters should be respected at all times. Supermarkets that do not follow this shall be fined P5,000 pesos per violation. 

4. All streetlamps should be properly maintained. Local units should have citizen alert watchdogs that will inform officials if they are still working or not. 

5. Local units should spend 30 per cent of their annual budget for the maintenance of facilities that are used by senior citizens in public places. 

6. Supermarkets and malls should have toilets, at 1 is to 30 at every floor  and covering 200 square meters. 

 7. Every barangay should have a telephone or cellphone line and designated officials that will specially attend to the needs of the these sectors. Cases of violence, verbal or physical have to be dealt with right away.The need for transport should also be addressed by the barangay by these sectors.

8. The barangay has to inform the public how much the budget is allotted per year and the allotment for these sectors at a prominent place. 

9. All educational institutions should provide free tuition for those needy sectors who wish to enrol in their courses. The CHED, the DEP ED, TESDA and private educational institutions may designate the schools offering courses for free.

10 School bus or jeepney services should be provided to accommodate them at schools, especially if they are night schools. 

11. Public and barangay libraries should contain latest books, pamphlets and brochures on how these needy sectors could avail of services without appearing mendicant. 

12. Social work officers at every barangay should visit the homes of these needy sectors and inquire with respect and sympathy about their condition; provide moral and physical support if necessary.The DSWD should announce the name of the officer to all the homes in the neighborhood, his or her phone number and hours of work. The service should be on a 24-hour basis. 

In London, senior citizens enjoy meals on wheels -- breakfast, lunch and dinner served them through bus service. Hot! A social worker also visits them daily if not every other day. Each home of the citizen has a phone line. The government provides allowance to them.

Many ideas could crop up among our Kababayan abroad as they can compare the facilities and services provided these sectors with ours. I would be happy to receive them as we are now in the process of creating humane spaces, not just running after economic gains.

* Painting by Claude Monet Le Pont Japonais a Giverny

MAKING WAR A THING OF THE PAST

by Wilhelmina S. Orozco 

Peace is very elusive nowadays  in this world. Wherever anyone goes or flies, I am sure they will encounter war. In the south, we have the AFP versus the Abu Sayyaf. In Southeast Asia, the Taliban versus the Pakistani government and the world; the Middle East – within Syria, the rebels the Syrian National Coalition versus the dictator President Bashar al-Assad.

                                    (Picasso's Guernica,reaction to the bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War )

A  report states that”  The authorities are accused of arresting democracy and human rights activists, censoring websites, detaining bloggers, and imposing travel bans. Arbitrary detention, torture, and disappearances are widespread.^[78] Although Syria's constitution guarantees gender equality, critics say that personal statutes laws and the penal code discriminate against women and girls. Moreover, it also grants leniency for so-called 'Honour killing'.^[78] As of 9 November 2011 during the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, the United Nations reported that of the over 3500 total deaths, over 250 deaths were children as young as 2 years old, and that boys as young as 11 years old have been gang raped by security services officers.^”

^{Would we say that evil is engulfing the world, that we cannot view any goodness op\verpowering the devil in the near future? To take a religious approach seems} 

too conservative and that we should make a sociological and historical assessment of what is going on before labeling people and events. But when we are faced with deaths everyday, surely there is someone there who wants to play God, and who thinks he can terminate the life of anyone, destroy the surroundings without permission from anyone. That kind of situation makes a mockery of the history of the United Nations in trying to create a peaceful world through the unity of all nations.

Yet, we can only sigh and wish that things would change overnight. But when we hear superpower countries siding with the Syrian president and not guaranteeing a democratic rule in Syria, our view of democracy becomes hazy and hopes are dashed easily. Why because those superpowers are economically entrenched and have the necessary and a wealth of  defenses to strengthen not only their own but even dictatorial regimes.

We remember very well after the 1986 election and Marcos, the dictator declared himself the winner, the USSR readily sent congratulatory statements without regard for the feelings of the people who suffered 14 years of dictatorial rule and who wanted him out of the picture.

So when we are faced with international politics, we in the Philippines seem to be just a dot in the atmosphere as “big brothers” are lording it over us. We are merely pawns and not queens nor even horses that could challenge the king’s position as in chess. And yet, our country could be the broadest exporter of labor power as even in Russia, our compatriots can be found working.

I think that the presence of the Filipino people in many parts of the world could help a lot in bringing about peace, if only our people were not so self-effacing. If only they could be proud of our country, of where they come from, of our own historical background whence we belong to the first country in Asia to say goodbye to a colonial power; then maybe, they could assert the need to preserve life. Is that not what our religions tell us? Life is valuable, should not be extinguished and everyone should have space in this world and survive for so long as they can and want.

In fact, the role of the Syrian rebels in wanting to overthrow Assad who has held power since 1971 is akin to our own struggle against the dictatorship in 1986. Marcos held power from 1971 and was booted out in 1986. In this era, Assad is holding onto power and has managed to get the nods of Russia and China which then brings me to this point. Latest reports say:

“Russians had recently delivered the advanced S-300 surface to air missile systems, weapons that could help his forces fend off western efforts to establish a no-fly zone over the Middle Eastern nation engulfed in a civil war that has claimed as many as 90,000 lives. Russia and Iran have been supplying arms to Assad, including Kalashnikov rifles and anti-ship cruise missiles. But a shipment of S-300s would raise the stakes in the area, and Israel has threatened to take military action if those shipments are made.” (Fox-news report)

Why are these two communist countries so eager to support a dictatorship? Why do they insist on making the world a nervous wreck, teetering between life and death: “are we going to live till tomorrow or not? How long will that war be? When will it end? Will it spread to our grounds?”

Those questions are legitimate especially when asked by children, those vulnerable beings who are victims of adults playing with guns and arms like toys.

I think that any war in any country should be the legitimate concern of everyone. Just because a country is several thousand miles awayis no reason for us to turn a blind eye to its consequences. Everyone should be afraid, should experience terror, should raise hell should any individual or country for that matter starts to use guns or even drones to annihilate a person or a people. Shouldn’t we?

I was asked once, what we should do with drug pushers in a jeepney. I said they deserve to die only because it is very difficult to arrest them without sacrificing the lives of our police officers, and because they have destroyed the lives of their victims already. But come to think of it, I think that their  presence should make us think of more humane ways of netting them and making them truly reformed individuals in humane societies. A province in our country has even elected a drug-connected leader, one would say. But that is a very great exception. Maybe fears of how far the powers of that leader could go have been sown to make the people there vote for her.

But going back to Syria, I think that we should really pray for the civil war to end there soon. I pray that the presidents would soften their hearts and let not only reason but sympathy and empathy towards children and women be activated so that war would be a thing of the past in this millennium and beyond.

FORMAL VERSUS INFORMAL SCHOOLING

by Wilhelmina S. Orozco 


SO MUCH BRUHAHA ABOUT FORMAL SCHOOLING NOW.

June is always a very grand time for all of us. Parents are sending their children to school Businesspeople are busy offering cheap school supplies. Transport vehicles are presenting cheap services to school children. Schools are busy refurbishing their surroundings, after getting the permit to raise tuition fees.

But it is so demoralizing for those who cannot go to school, or who cannot find a job after graduating, or who just cannot hack formal schooling.

Why can't we also put so much importance on many other things in our life? I am not anti-formal education. In fact, I did finish it well, and am able to write and accomplish many tasks because I was able to hone my skills well, and absorb the essential things on how to think, abstract and apply theories in reality.

What I am against is when there is a reduced emphasis on artistic achievements and an overblown propaganda about local tv and movie stars who cannot even release any inspirational statement at all.

Actually, our people view TV and the movies without knowing that these are informal media for learning. Yet, these media hardly have any uplifting values. I watched an afternoon drama and waited and waited to hear some wise statements. Pero nada, nada. Dialogues went on and on about a girl's losing her boyfriend, a father's dark past impinging on his daughter's contravida stance towards another girl, ad nauseam.

By the way, in that recent issue about the degrading comment of Vice Ganda on the size of Jessica Soho, I think that it is high time to put standards on who could host on tv. The MTRCB must gather all tv bigwigs and make them promise or pledge to make their tv hosts undergo a seminar on ethical broadcasting. You see Folks, anyone with a good face, and proper connections could land a job on TV. But recent events, including that highly corrupt way of Willie Revillame in making a child do the macho dancing in his show urge us to have hosts with moral standards. And this can only be done if government cultural authorities use this as a leverage in giving permits to operate.

Culture is a very important part of any society. If we let it go down the drain, we shall have plenty of gangsters and opportunists making cash on women's things, on children's vulnerabilities, and people's ignorance, among others.

Sure let us emphasize formal education but let us also see how other media are working on the minds and emotions of our people.

The best thing really is for us to work towards a golden age of TV and the movies, not materially but spiritually and morally.

GOODBYE TAIWAN

by Wilhelmina S. Orozco

The recent killing of a Taiwanese fisherman in the sea that is being owned by Taiwan and the Philippines has brought about monstrous consequences. Our compatriots are bearing the brunt of that great mistake in Philippine naval history. Then the snail-pace reaction of the government on how to appease the Taiwan people has been giving us added problems -- our vulnerable compariots do not have any jobs waiting for them should they be deported back to our country.

Folks, our problem is the mindset of our officials. They tend to think macro all the time. They talk about laws, treaties, etcetera when one solution could be for Pres Pnoy or his representative to go and visit the family of the victim, console with them and offer his one-year's salary as abuloy for the dead. Then he could give scholarships if ever the victim has any more children who are studying.

Taiwan, though a progressive country, with their citizens leading modern lifestyles, is still feudal when it comes to human relations. They think tribally. "Aha, one of us was killed; let us avenge his death by hitting their countryfolks here."

Now this is he reason why unbridled technological development like what is happening in Taiwan is not the way for us to go. It breeds dehumanization if not maintains tribalism because it does not touch nor raise the consciousness of the people on what is a humane socio-cultural response to development.

We also see here that the Taiwanese people who hit our compatriots have not heard yet of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, and so they are going on a rampage over there, abetted by the Taiwanese media which also has questionable foundations.

Taiwan is just a neighbor, Folks. And their anger could reach us at any time. Maybe even the Chinese businesspeople who are importing goods from them should do their share. Let them pool their resources and contribute to assuaging the feelings of loneliness of the family over the death of their kin.

Before the Spaniards came to our shores, our people were already trading with the Chinese.In fact, in the history book of Fe Mangahas, which was recently launched at the National Historical Commission, she writes there about the three routes that pass through the Philippines. One is the Silk Road which brought goods from Asia to Europe. There were no hassles in trading there, no acts of aggression as to who can use the routes. It was just plain trading: I have goods here and you have too; so let's exchange.

Unfortunately, greed set in some time in the historical past and so territorialities and boundaries were set up, thus bringing about rigid controls and building of social and economic classes that have antagonistic interest.

Maybe we should accept it if Taiwan wants to say goodbye to our compatriots and let them come home. Then let us take the time to read our history again and find out where we could give the world a better and humane  look at international relations where economic needs are concerned.

POLITICAL POWER, STEPPING STONE OR END IN ITSELF?

by Wilhelmina S. Orozco

How should we treat Political Power, a stepping stone or an end in itself? Should we use it to further our personal and/or social aims? Should we use it to be known and for everyone to kowtow to us because of that power to spend, to appoint, to select, and everything else connected with the position?

Some officials I think go into politics without knowing the deeper meaning of political power. They may have watched other people, usually their relatives handle political positions. They must have seen the power he/she wields and how the people surrounding them almost kneel before them. For example, when looking for a job, people would be swarming into the office  of a senator or a congress rep for an endorsement. When seeking help to pay for hospital bills, they trek to the same office for what would come out later on as a drop in the bucket of the huge PDAF that the official gets every year. Others seek the sale of tickets to a concert or an advertising space in a cultural event. Still some seek scholarships for some academic schools 

But really now, what is the purpose of political power? Those mentioned above are just sidetracks to the real aim of being in the legislative or the executive branch. I recall Apolinario Mabini who was the Brains of the Katipunan. Though he had a frail body he was able to research and write on what government should be put up by Emilio Aguinaldo. Until his last breath, the American military officials were so afraid of his intelligence that they sought to exile him and later on, upon return, to confine him to a place, where they could watch who would be visiting him and getting influenced by his revolutionary ideas. 

Despite the difficult circumstances he existed in, Mabini was able to come up with a body of works  He wrote the pamphlets "El Verdadero Decalogo'" and "Ordenanzas de la Revolucion,"  inspirational books for the Katipuneros fighting the Spanish colonial powers at the time.

"Mabini also wrote La Revolution Filipina, giving the raiso d'etre for the conduct of the revolution against Spain and that against the American invaders. 

So why do we mention Mabini now? He had a vision for the country, for saving the people from political opportunists, even Filipino officials-revolutionarries. In other words, his consciousness was solely for the Filipino people, and not for any personal ends. Hence, even today, we consider him a worthwhile hero, alongside other heroes and heroines. 

What we have now after the death of our martyrs are their legacies, their pamana to the race. They leave us with lasting wisdom and historic behavior that catapulted our country into the first in Asia to achieve independence from colonial powers. 

Now we ask, what legacy can we expect from our present crop fo leaders? Will they carve their own destiny and leave a lasting mark in our history or will they be just copycats of previous leaders, not creating any dent at all in our consciousness and a progressive change in our lives as a people? 

What is the meaning of political power to them?

Abangan! 
 

EXPOSING MEDIA POWER IN ELECTIONS

by Wilhelmina S. Orozco

Media power is very evident in the results of the midterm elections. Grace Poe (daughter of Fernando Poe, Jr.), Loren Legarda of Channel 2 before (#2) , Joseph Estrada, Lucy Torres who won as a Congress Representative from Leyte, Coco Pimentel (7th) who keeps a radio national program and whose father is a Sunday fixture in another radio station, and movie actor Aga Muhlach governor of Camarines Sur. Film candidates, Poe and Estrada got plum slots - number one senator and mayor, respectively.

Winners who know how to use media like Allan Peter Cayetano (senator), Cynthia Villar (10th) and Chiz Escudero (3rd) who probably has a media agent that knows how to exploit his tiff with the parents of his beloved, also won handily, landing in 3rd, 4th and 10th slots as of the moment. 

What are the traits of a media-savvy candidate? They do not hesitate when speaking; know their subject matter, are clear in pronouncing words, and know how to tickle the minds of the listeners/audience. In other words, they are schooled in appearing in public, whether through a medium or in person. 

How much is a tv spot? In one station alone, a 30-seconder costs almost half a mIllion. But some candidates were able to make themselves seen and heard almost everyday since the start of the campaign period. Multiply that by just 30 days, and that would come up to P15,000,000. Where will a candidate get that much money to pay for his or her exposure? Surely a way to democratize media exposure should be found to make sure that money will not be the measure of victory at  the polls and that no candidate will be able to monopolize the use of a medium just because he/she has got the funds for it. 

Fernando Poe, Jr. during his presidential campaign was also able to use the media and his public meetings had thunderous applauses. He lost, not because he was less media-exposed but because there was cheating. Unfortunately, instead of putting a closure to his protest, the tribunal hearing the case considered it moot and academic when he died under questionable circumstances, to my mind. I think the government owes it to every voter to show who really won in the 2004 presidential elections. No such thing as moot and academic where the people's WILL is concerned. Philippine history should not have gaps in terms of writing the history of how people vote and who we vote for as president, or any other position for that matter. 

I would even suggest now that a DNA testing of the body of FPJ be done in order to know the real cause of his death. So many causes were bandied about -- centering much on something innocuous. But to my mind, the real cause is still political. The wife of a policeman told me that some ten persons did him in when he was hospitalized. Unfortunately, that wife has died of lupus and we cannot get anymore personal testimony from her.

And so, the saga continues with the ascendancy of Grace Poe to power. How effective and influential will she be in the Senate among her colleagues?  Abangan!

Being elected to any government position does not mean possessing the position and earning a lot for sitting in it. The raison d'etre of being in government is to serve, serve and serve the public more. In fact I would proffer that government service should be a 24-hour commitment so long as there are poor, hungry, and homeless people.




 

ELECTIONS AS TRANSITIONS

by Wilhelmina S. Orozco 

After Monday, May 10, 2013,  evening, we will have had a half-picture of how the Filipino people have voted. We will see who are most important for them to lead the country: will they be the persons who exhibit truthfulness in their actions? Will they be those who have had sterling accomplishments in terms of good governance? Will they be the rich ones who can afford to buy votes? 

So many questions to ask. So many answers needed to see the political profile of the Filipino people. But does it really matter? 

To some ordinary folks, the corrupted, those who buy votes are the best to be voted upon. A few would believe in surveys and say "kung sino ang kilala, ok na." Still others refuse to go with the tide and say, they have chosen who to vote and they need not fill up the rest of the ballot. 

Thus, we can see that our voting behavior cannot be described fully, nor systematically yet. We are in this transition to seeing elections as a truly important method of shaping our government -- peopling every important position with candidates who would fulfill their promises, and who would do the utmost to raise the lifestyle of the people, their living conditions.

Our honest elections happened in 1998 when Joseph Estrada was elected as president. After that year, everything went downhill. We lived through two administrations of a fake president. It was only in 2010 that we got a real dose of what a people's elections is. Maybe it was not perfect, but still the people until now are happy with their choices. 

Sometimes, I fantasize as to what our country could have been if Miriam Defensor Santiago had become our president in 1992. I am sure we would have a very exciting time with her, what with her colorful language and sometimes impulsive acts -- borne of a legal mind. Maybe 80% of ehr acts would have made us a country of note. 

Unfortunately, she lost after a series of brown-outs rendered the counting of votes a tedious effort. Her protest against cheating in the elections was rendered moot and academic because she ran in 1995 and won as senator.

It is possible that protests will happen again after Monday, after elections. The tribunals involved in resolving political cases should develop newer methods of dealing with protests and resolve them in the soonest time possible. It is unhealthy for the members of the tribunals to make the protesters wait for years and years before they would render a decision on the cases. Also presidential, senatorial and congressional  protests should always be decided upon in a month, and not more. The positions are highly important in running our country and hence protests with regard to the legitimate occupation of such require immediate attention.

What should be the role of the military in this case? Should they be used by persons whose holding on to the positions is being questioned? Should they harass those individuals who protest so that they would back off and not"rock the boat" so to speak? I think these are unhealthy acts just the same, unhealthy in terms of making our democratic space work. 

I hope that the people would be more discerning of who to vote. This morning I was told that purok leaders in District 1 of Quezon City are already receiving their share for use in getting votes. Unfortunately, "inuuna nila ang mga kamag-anak nila na mabibiyayaan, hindi ang taumbayan." In this view of my source, she seems to to be saying that this is the system and so the system should work in favor of everyone. 

I really cannot speculate as to when we could have a very accurate and bias-free method of electing officials. Some quarter say education is the key. But this is not simply education -- it is moral education. Now can we eat that as Bertolt Brecht would ask in The Three Penny Opera. Can we eat morals?

 As I have continually harped on, our society must offer each individual a chance to be powerful not just in the field of politics but in every aspect of life. Why should we give so much emphasis on political positions as the be-all and end-all of things? The government -- the cultural center of the philippines, the national commission on culture and the arts -- must think up of ways of making all artistic endeavors as highly important for pursuing, and insure that the funds are democratically dispensed to deserving individuals and groups, not because they are close to the powers that be. The science agencies should also insure the same -- make science as a worthwhile endeavor to help humanity. Even farmers/fisherfolks should feel that their occupations are highly important to nation building and should be recognized by the government. 

Politics should be viewed as being entered into to solve the grave problems of the country, and not as a field that would make individuals shine in society. I think that some of the candidates have that traditional view, which is why we call them trapo, because they view positions as a glittered job that would make the people kowtow to them. 

Is anyone reading this? Are they listening? 

Folks let us bring flashlights on Monday and help the teachers complete their job. Have a peaceful and bloodless week.