Category Archive for: gobyerno

The burden of the unexplained has fallen on Presidentiable Jejomar Binay, mostly because he declared his intention to run for President so early. This opened him up to the ongoing Senate Hearings that have villified him and evolved from the Makati City Hall Parking Building II to his alleged involvement in deals to enrich himself via the various posts he holds: from head of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, to Housing Czar, to ex-Mayor of Makati. And so now there is nothing he might say that is not tainted by questions of graft and corruption, no matter how politically motivated these allegations are. And really, it would do the VP well to start answering these questions instead of brushing it aside and presuming that we don’t want answers. Let’s be clear about one thing: we want, and need, answers from him — and any Presidentiable — running in 2016. (more…)

Ever since this open letter from 2011 I have not found the energy to make patol Jim Paredes at length. Maybe because I just stopped following him on Twitter, and ignored his Facebook all this time. Maybe because the world is a more intelligent place if I do not have to listen to the Jim Paredeses of this world.

And yes, I was able to keep it this way even throughout this PNoy Presidency, when Paredes revealed himself to be nothing but loyal to this President, for reasons that are beyond me. No wait, it is not beyond me. It is actually quite easy to explain: when it comes to PNoy, Paredes has become irrational and unthinking, an enamoured fan, who thinks the world of this President, who cannot do any wrong. PNoy is also the best President EVER. And yes, that’s a direct quote.

paredes_july27 (more…)

Because apparently in order to run a nation, what is most important is who our parents are and how they brought us up. Apparently, the good that the parents stand for is necessarily the son’s and the daughter’s. Never mind that we are all more complex than that, and apparently for Grace Poe, never mind that so often throughout PNoy’s administration (and across Kris Aquino’s career), it has been said that his parents must be turning in their graves.

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I’ve lived in this country all my life, grew up commuting between Mandaluyong and Quezon City to go to elementary school, Mandaluyong and Pasig for high school, lived in QC near UP Diliman for college and the first jobs I held after graduation.

It took forever before I learned to drive myself around the city, and while that had its perks, I enjoyed taking the MRT to go see exhibits on Pasong Tamo, or whenever I needed to get myself to QC for errands. I walked when I could, up and down Shaw Boulevard, to the nearby neighborhood groceries, or to the malls on EDSA-Crossing.

Doing the arts and culture beat from 2011 to 2013, it always only took me an hour to get from Mandaluyong to Quezon City or Manila, to go to, say, UP Diliman or the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Add 30 minutes to that if it rained.

None of this holds true in 2015. (more…)

Say Chiz #Eleksyon2016

Because for whatever reason the President and the Liberal Party have no shame in telling us all that they are trying very very hard to get Mar Roxas and Grace Poe to come together as one team for the 2016 Elections, it also seems imperative that we point out who’s the biggest free rider of all: Senator Chiz Escudero. (more…)