By Boogie Boydon

Editor’s note: This article was originally written for Ang Bagong Pinoy by the author. He has given us permission to re-publish it in this blog.

A sense of despair is in our midst. A growing feeling of helplessness and hopelessness pervades our day-to-day lives with more and more Filipinos quietly and patiently simply waiting for an opportunity to bolt from what they perceive as a God-forsaken nation on the brink of collapse. The inability to muster enough numbers to mount another People Power is taken by some as a sign of growing apathy within our ranks. Some people say that the apathy is actually a reflection of heightened mistrust and lack of confidence in our institutions of justice, law-enforcement and governance.

In 1987, American essayist James Fallows wrote that we have a “damaged culture” and went on to say that “because of (this) fragmentation, this lack of useful nationalism, people treat each other worse in the Philippines than in any other Asian country I have seen …” People bristled at his seemingly callous conclusions then but now that we seem to be facing a blank wall in trying to explain why and how this “damaged culture” came about, we find that our history of successive colonization that gave us a frail and confused consciousness to begin with, coupled with the decades of psychological cues we have imbued along the way to what we are now, are worthy of a second look.

I belong to a generation who grew up thinking that our problems will be solved by a masked and flying crusader, a “Darna” within our midst who can solve all our problems without us lifting a finger to do it ourselves. And so we vote to office our varied brands of “heroes” and place our full hope in them, only to be frustrated when they do not live up to our image of a “Lastikman” or a “Captain Barbell.” We do not realize that the solution to our problems could have been within our grasp to start with if only we took it upon ourselves to participate fully in the task of solving them.

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Why, Conrado, did you say this: “Cory may have spoken with an inflection that little varied, but it was enough to make the prostitutes of Mabini Street freeze in their tracks and dream of a better life when they heard it.” Let me guess (and I mean guess) why. One, you mean to be literary (speech figure use). Prostitutes constituted wretchedness and the worst of them found hope in Cory. Two, Cory was so compelling even those whom we assume to be indifferent found Cory worth listening to. And three, why, we were
there (somewhere in Mabini) during those times when you and I were younger? Maybe we do have many things in common.

Ingming Aberia, Tacloban City, via e-mail

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By Niña Terol

Editor’s Note: This contribution has been posted in the author’s blog. We’re re-posting it here with her permission.

AND now we face yet another hundred-million-peso scandal, unfolding in real-time in the august chambers of the Philippine Senate, involving yet another fall guy who is now the country’s hottest topic (and butt of jokes) but who will later on be forgotten. The moment I heard his name — a few years ago, when my mom casually mentioned the name of the Rotary’s then-District Governor — I immediately felt that there was something fishy about a man named Jocelyn, who called himself Joc-Joc. I think that any public servant who respects his position enough should at least find a more suitable nickname upon assuming a position of great responsibility. Don’t trust a man who calls himself a joke — or, perhaps more accurately, a two-faced joker.

But I digress. This latest scandal to rock the Philippine shores — er, fields — paints yet another ugly caricature of this present administration and its cohorts and once again makes the Filipino nation look like a bunch of idiots. How can anyone justify distributing funds for agricultural inputs that are of the wrong kind, given at the wrong time, for the wrong districts? (And, oh yes, they were grossly overpriced, too.) I felt a brief moment of admiration for Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago when she admitted that, although she is an administration ally, Joc-Joc Bolante was simply “defending the indefensible.”
Former Agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Joc-Joc Bolante at todays Senate hearing. (Inquirer.net)

There is simply no way of getting around this. And we cannot let these corrupt, unscrupulous officials get away with it. If I were a guy, I’d say that “nakakalalaki na ‘tong gobyernong ito (this government is challenging my manhood–or something to that effect).”

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IN the spirit of fairness, Vox Populi is publishing the six-page manifestation of  Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri during the Senate proceedings on the fertilizer scam.

Zubiri inhibited himself from the proceedings to ensure a fair investigation. He denied allegations that he benefited from the fund and said news about it were “blatant lie.”

Zubiri stressed that he was also no “grateful stooge” of the Palace and denounced the Philippine Daily Inquirer for its two editorial pieces which came out on Nov. 2 and 12.

Click on the following to read “pdf” versions of Zubiri’s manifestation:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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WHY bother to make a video which shows highly similar opinions? For those who are highly aware of how corrupt Binay is, this is a video that is highly disconcerting.

Jas via INQUIRER.net VDO feedback

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THESE people better be smiling when they say things like that. They must be joking. As if we don’t have enough clowns in government. Our relatives in the Philippines are losing their jobs, so we have to send money to help them. Can’t they offer solutions instead of false reassurances? Will they please stop treating us like idiots?

Victor Mamawal, Purono Park, Queensland

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Jejomar Binay is qualified and has the experience to run as President. As mayor of Makati, he is viewed by political analysts as quite successful in terms of honesty and as a transformational leader able to bring more revenues .We have tried Senators and celebrities but all of them have failed. We have tried popular political figures, excellent orators and debaters, a young generation of well-known political clan of the past — still dismal failures.Maybe Binay is the right man to lead our country. Can he sustain the greedy appetite of people who will be serving him if he wins? The lure of temptations to enjoy the spoils are so strong — the same fate that Cory experienced. The vultures are just around the corner ready to devour every centavo of Juan Dela Cruz. Anyway, let us give Binay a chance.

Captin Dimasalangca, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental

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WHEN do we get to read that banner headline in the INQUIRER.net just like what your previous banner headline declared, “Black in White House” last November 6?

Indeed, “Change has come to America.” When will that kind of change come to the Philippines, if at all? The answer to those questions might be the Filipino saying “pagputi ng uwak” (”when the crow becomes white”). And to think that we all thought that it was the Philippines which “is a place where all things are possible” — maybe in negative and more than positive ways.

If we reckon the American change from U.S. President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation for Negro slaves in 1862, then it comes to 146 years before there is a “Black in White House.” Will it also take that long before there is a “Moro in Malacanang”? Maybe much longer or probably never. At least, in the case of the Emancipation Proclamation, it was not declared “unconstitutional,” unlike the initialed but unsigned final draft of the GRP-MILF Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.

Ah, the American Dream of the Filipino. This of course reminds us of the Filipino leader (and later President) Manuel L. Quezon’s famous nationalist line “I would rather live under a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by the Americans.” In riposte to which, many ordinary Moros are now saying “I would rather live under a government run like hell by Moros than a government run like hell by the Filipinos.”

Soliman m. Santos, Jr., Cubao, Quezon City, via e-mail

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THE country needs one like Senator Miriam Santiago who has the courage to talk firm and correct without any inhibition. It could only be a pretty bleak future that lies ahead for the country because of all those filthy government leaders starting from the top. The Philippines as a nation is rich in natural resources and bright people should be given a chance to rise and prosper by removing all those leaders who have nothing but steal the country’s wealth. I hope that those remaining intelligent people there should come together and get rid of those who cause the country’s collapse. The recent reports on feltilizer scam, the Moscow money issue with Philippine National Police people, the Manny Villar highway scandal .etc – everything has something to do with money and is a big shame. So I enjoyed the hearing held at the Senate when Miriam directly jumped at those involved, Bravo Miriam!

Francisca Maurer-Gutierrez, Allschwil, Switzerland, via e-mail

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IT IS very disappointing to see that Joc-Joc Bolante needed to find refuge in the premises of St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) in order to avoid examination by the Senate. To the rest of the society, his condition may seem serious, because the attending physician Dr. Saavedra, and SLMC’s spokesperson chose to use technical words to make Bolante’s medical condition sound serious.

I am writing this feedback in order for the rest of the readers know that the entire SLMC fiasco is a big joke. Only a small number of Filipinos who could understand what is being described here and our understanding is based on our biomedical background. The aim of this letter is to clarify the entire Bolante medical condition and that I, for myself, am not fooled by such medical terms, and would gladly explain to the rest of the readers what this shameful event is all about. Bolante is physically fit to go to the Senate. The medical conditions Bolante is said to experience are all PRE-EXISTING, meaning he has had these conditions months before and has lived with it.

His need to go to the Senate with these conditions will definitely not worsen his medical condition and even less likely to be a concern for his life. For example, his “atherosclerotic arteries” are a concern by SLMC officials, but look at the thousands of Filipinos walking down the streets with the same atherosclerotic arteries. Now we get this report that Bolante has a “Helicobacter pylori-caused peptic ulcer”– sure, I have that too, and I’ve been suffering from GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) because of that but I’m still doing more physical and mental activities than I am suppposed to do in a day.

Maybe tomorrow, the physicians will mention this disease to make Bolante’s condition sound serious. To mention that the physicians performed the 2D-ECHO and ECG mean that these diagnostic tests were performed to determine any discrepancies in Bolante’s heart function. But guess what? The results are all normal. The normal results from the stress test are enough proof that Bolante is strong enough to go to the Senate. I am tired of hearing such pointless reasons to save Bolante from going to the Senate. As for Bolante himself, I’d like to say, “Hey– do what you have to do as a Filipino who still cares for his home country. Show your face at the Senate and please speak the truth.”

Rhea Vallente, Winnipeg, Canada, via e-mail

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