Category Archive for: pulitika

komentaryo

Lumad, first

Work kept me from visiting the Lumad Camp in the University of the Philippines Diliman early in the week. On Tuesday evening, their second night, I arrived close to midnight to bring a cash donation for the camp’s food fund and some medicines from a doctor.

Feeding 800 Lumad at P50 pesos per head is P40,000 pesos per meal after all. From the moment I heard that they were coming, this was what I wanted to raise funds and get donations for.

Thankfully, my network of real and virtual (i.e., social media) friends were ready and willing to donate, depositing varied amounts into my bank account and hoping it will help in any way. A writer-musician friend got the product he endorses to make a huge tocino donation, with some hotdogs for the kids to boot.

At the tail-end of the week, Art Relief (the heavens bless them!) was coming in to put up their mobile kitchen and feed the Lumad. Many food and water donations came in, too, throughout the week, and one can’t help but be glad that so many are rising to the occasion of the Lumad. (more…)

kultura

Poe and Pinoy cinema #Eleksyon2016

On election season, it is clear when we’re hearing nothing but pa-cute and pa-media mileage, not just because we must be critical of everything we hear, but because usually it is in these instances that candidates slip up, revealing precisely how little they know of the subjects they speak of, and how they presume — they imagine! — that we will believe anything at all that they say. (more…)

komentaryo

letter from China 1

A trip to China at this point in time can only be embroiled in questions about the crisis that is the West Philippine Sea dispute.

But also it is about everything that we know of China from third world Philippines, where global news means Western media, talking about China and Asia using a gaze that is far from objective, and always necessarily – and maybe inevitably – about protecting the interests of the world-power-that-be, i.e., America.

There is nothing like seeing Asia as separate from America, to realize that we might really only be understanding very little about the world. (more…)

komentaryo

The Mar Roxas site does an EDSA Uno #Eleksyon2016

marwebsite1

So I went to marroxas.com, to find out all the good that Mar has done, because all that’s in my head is what he did to Kenneth Cobonpue etal, and what he did, or did not do, in Tacloban post-Haiyan.

And what do you know, now I’m just flattered. Because I managed this project that was EDSA Uno Dos Tres, written by da Stuart Santiago, with cover by Mervin Malonzo, art by GU Stuart.

The MarRoxas‬ site sure does imitation well.

edsauno mar

komentaryo

The real state of the nation*

The President talked about the decreased number of poor based on the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) pegging the number of poor at 26%. According to Rep. Colmenares, this is based on a poverty threshold of P58 pesos per day.

This is to say that for matuwid na daan, a Filipino can live on P58 pesos per day.

That’s P58 pesos for food and non-food expenses, including electricity, water and housing, transport expenses, and sending one’s children to school. (more…)