miniZibaldone

Sun.Star Cebu's  Carvajal: "April fools" SO FAR the debates have not paid more than incidental attention to the issue of political dynasties. It is unfortunate because the monopoly of power by political  dynasties is the soil in which corruption takes root and thrives. Any candidate, therefore, that argues for political dynasties, as Jejomar Binay and Bongbong Marcos  do, is good as arguing for the perpetuation of corruption. It is not a coincidence that we are the least progressive of our Asian neighbors and we have been ruled by political dynasties since the First Republic under Emilio  Aguinaldo. Vietnam, which liberated itself not too long ago from their neo-colonial political dynasties, has already overtaken us. And I won’t be surprised if  Myanmar that has just liberated itself from absolute military rule will soon outpace us in economic growth and development. So, when is this country going to liberate itself from political dynasties that have exclusi...

The Freeman's  Lastimosa: " Kaguliyang sa numero" Naproblema ang pipila nako ka higala nga may magsige og panawag ug text sa ilang mobile phones nga maningil sa utang o mangaway nila. Dihang nireklamo sa mga  kompaniya sa telepono, gipasabot sila nga posibleng ang mga tawag para sa mga kanhi tag-iya sa ilang mga numero. Tungod tingali sa kabarato sa SIM cards, nga mahimo  kang mag-ilis-ilis kada semana, mahimong nahutdan na ang mga telco sa mga numero nga gidestino sa National Telecommunications Commission nila. Dako ang kahigayonan  nga ang karaang mga numero nga wa na gamita maoy ilang gipamaligya ngadto sa bag-ong subscribers.   [kinatibuk-ang lindog] The Inquirer  "The Millenials" In the entirety of their young lives, the millennials have known only of the dysfunctional brand of democracy that has allowed corruption to thrive in the government.  They feel frustration and hopelessness because of the unending voices of discord that expose co...

Philippine Star  "Recipe for conflagrations" This is the season for renewing business permits, and the hawkers of fire extinguishers are again busy with their moneymaking activity rather than the work for which they are being paid by taxpayers. Combined with the inadequacy of firefighting capabilities and low public awareness of fire prevention measures, you have a recipe for more deadly conflagrations.   [full text] Sun.Star Cebu "Burying Marcos" If the sacrifices of the victims of the Marcos dictatorship are to be extolled, wouldn't it be awkward if the perpetrator would be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani? That is the essence of Poe's stance, which is a roundabout way of saying no. But she couldn't say it because she was dealing with a big bloc of voters loyal to the Marcoses—an act that exposes a chink in her leadership armor.  Although to be fair, some other presidential bets possess that leadership flaw.   [full text] Mindanao Times   ...

Philippine Star   If Filipino voters are showing a strong preference for candidates with authoritarian tendencies plus the only son of a dictator, one of the reasons has to be the  perception that democracy is not working for the country.   Those who suffered during the oppressive days of one-man rule can only shake their heads and sigh that people who support politicians with an authoritarian bent don’t  know what monster they are trying to revive. Beyond warning that Filipinos should be careful what they wish for, however, those who want to nurture hard-won freedoms  should address the public frustrations that are giving rise to a longing for discipline and the kind of leadership that gets things done and brings peace and order.   [full text] Sun.Star Cebu  MARCELO Garbo Jr. has gone a long way since his assignment to Central Visayas in 2011 as director of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7, which is based in Cebu City.  Garbo, who is set t...

Philippine Star   Those who lived through that dark period in the nation’s history lament that Filipinos, particularly the youth, appear to have forgotten the struggle to end the  abuses of a despotic regime. But young Filipinos don’t have a short memory. When it comes to martial law and the struggle to end a dictatorship, the memories simply  aren’t there. Thirty years is a long time, and a generation has grown up with no personal experience of the days when people lived in fear of their own government.   Freedom, it is often said, is like air – taken for granted and missed only when it is taken away.   [full text] Mindanao Times   In the ever widening urban sprawl, the need for green spaces has taken a more urgent need no matter what real estate companies claim. We are still blessed with nature  but this cannot be sustainable if we turn a big portion of our land to buildings and other commercial complexes. For  residential areas, open sp...

Philippine Star “The Philippines is 400 times the size of Singapore, 350 times that of Hong Kong, eight times Taiwan, three times South Korea. In the 1930s to 1970s our country was in Asia second only to Japan. Asian countries saw Manila then with highest potential for development as financial center. Manila became the seat of the Asian Development Bank. “Then what happened? Corruption, criminality, climate change, poverty, pollution, incompetence, too much politics quickly brought us down. [...]  For three elections now, computer experts have been dissing the vote-counting machines of Venezuelan monopoly supplier Smartmatic. Reliability of the gadgets is doubtful. Worse, the Comelec ignores the safeguards set by the Election Automation Act of 2008. Worries abound that the multibillion-peso thingamajigs can be used to cheat a close presidential contest. Sensing things coming to a head, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines is striving to intervene. Election 2016 not...

Philippine Star   There’s some good news as the nation marks Forestry Week starting today and hosts a five-day international gathering to mark the event. Studies conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization show that the quality of forest management in the Asia-Pacific region has generally improved, resulting in growth in planted and protected forest areas along with an increase in forestry products to meet growing demand.  [full text] Manila Bulletin The US-ASEAN Summit may have drawn considerable attention in the light of the ongoing South China Sea maritime dispute with China. But the economic plans discussed at the Summit, particularly the US-ASEAN Connect, may have been the most important important part of the two-day Summit in California last week. Along with the ongoing ASEAN integration process, the new US economic initiative could help bring about the long-awaited inclusive growth that will touch the lives of the masses of our people.  [full text] ...

Philippine Star   In the Philippines, the communist New People’s Army has been reduced to armed extortion. It has aggravated poverty in the countryside by scaring away investments in  areas where jobs and livelihood opportunities are most needed. The NPA has become a public pestilence in the areas where it has destroyed power transmission and  telecommunications towers. Its leaders, who refuse to go home for fear not only of state forces but also of their own comrades, have sought refuge in one of the  world’s most liberal nations.   [full text] Sun.Star Cebu  [That's] where the hypocrisy of Osmeña's statement surfaces. He claims to “care” about the City's credit record and yet he is widely believed to be behind the decision  of the BOPK councilors to sit on SB 1, using as reason the case filed by lawyer Romulo Torres questioning the legality of the recent sale of SRP lots, part of whose  proceeds the mayor wants to use to fund SB 1. ...

Philippine Star   That scandal and several changes of BOC heads have not put an end to the rampant smuggling of almost everything from frozen meat to rice, onions and luxury vehicles.  Outside Customs zones, local political kingpins themselves are widely suspected to be leading smuggling rings, bringing in through coastal communities a wide range of  contraband including motorcycles and even guns and prohibited drugs.   [full text] Sun.Star Cebu  Yet anyone who stands for election, especially a presidential election, needs to give up expectations of privacy on most matters. Information about whether a  presidential candidate is physically and mentally fit for such a sensitive and taxing position should be disclosed—the public’s right to know being paramount. And the  candidate who volunteers to disclose such information would be doing potential voters a service.   [full text] Cebu Daily News The problem of informal settlers has grown s...

Inquirer  on absent Congressmen Chronic absenteeism is a valid ground for dismissal from work, according to the Philippine Labor Code. The Supreme Court has upheld this law by stating that habitual  neglect of duties, which includes frequent absences without duly approved leaves, is a just cause for terminating employment. [...]  By that standard, Manny Pacquiao should have been dismissed by now from his supposed work as the elected representative of Sarangani province to Congress. [...]  Another habitual absentee was Negros Occidental Rep. Julio Ledesma IV, with a record of having showed up at the House only seven times. [...]  The current petition by some 27 civil society groups for the Office of the Ombudsman to look into the habitual absenteeism of House members deserves public support, because this gross and blatant neglect of duty appears to be something the House leadership itself is unable to correct. [full text] Sun.Star Cebu  about survey ...

Inquirer  on Filipinos and literacy Only one in four adult Filipinos is considered financially literate, or understands basic concepts such as interest rate, inflation, savings and debt. This fact  highlights the difficult task of both the government and the private sector in expanding public access to financial services. [...]  According to a survey done by international credit watchdog Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, two-thirds of adults globally are financially illiterate, with only  one in three, or 31 percent, showing an understanding of basic financial concepts. [...]  Among the Southeast Asian countries included in the survey, Singapore has the highest financial literacy rate at 59 percent, and Cambodia the lowest at 18 percent.   Vietnam is the only other economy to score lower than the Philippines at 24 percent. [full text] Sun.Star Cebu  on HIV/AIDS Despite the clash of policies and strategies, stakeholders must focus on a s...

Inquirer  Grace Poe and presidential candidacy disqualification Disqualified from the presidential race by the Commission on Elections’ Second Division, Sen. Grace Poe isn’t about to throw in the towel. She is pinning her hopes on the Supreme Court, reminding the nation that her late father, Fernando Poe Jr., won his own case for Filipino citizenship in that tribunal. [...]  The Comelec ruling throwing out the senator’s candidacy rested not only on grounds of citizenship—that she is not a natural-born citizen because she was a foundling—but also on a quite unrelated fact: that by allegedly writing on her certificate of candidacy that she was a resident of the Philippines for “6 years and 6 months,” she does not fulfill the constitutional requirement of a 10-year residency for a presidential candidate. [full text] Sun.Star Cebu  on the Rule of Law and Grace Poe “Rule of law” seems to have become the forgotten principle as presidential contenders jockey for politi...

Inquirer  about VFA and justice system A pity we don’t protect our own as zealously as the Americans protect their soldiers. The issue is that a crime was proven beyond reasonable doubt to have been  committed against a Filipino citizen, in her own country. Conviction should carry the penalty that would have been meted out to a Filipino; the convicted should  suffer the same sanctions as Filipinos convicted of the same crime would suffer, regardless of “the conditions inside Bilibid.” [full text] Sun.Star Cebu  on Duterte and presidency THE candidacy for president of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and the subsequent controversy he whipped up over his supposed cursing of Pope Francis during a  traffic gridlock caused by his visit to the Philippines in January seems to have put a different spin to the current electoral discourse. The question on what kind of  president the country needs at this stage has been put to the fore. Duterte, after all,...

Inquirer  about Duterte and presidential elections Log on to Facebook and chances are one would come across a number of posts from defenders of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos waxing eloquent about “the golden era, the  prosperity, the peace and order”  of the martial law years. Given the bad grammar, the flawed logic and the rampant name-calling, one would be tempted to dismiss such  posts as the work of trolls and hacks intended to advance the political stock of the dictator’s son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who is running for vice- president. Except that the recent ascendancy of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, whom one recent survey pronounced No. 1 among the presidential aspirants, gives one  serious pause. [full text] Sun.Star Cebu  on Cebu councilors and budget This has become a ritual in the Cebu City Council in the past six weeks: a member identified with Team Rama delivering a privilege speech during the regular session  aski...

Inquirer  on  Imelda Marcos and wealth It was 1975, the fourth year of martial law, and Ferdinand Marcos was at the zenith of his power. All his opponents were in jail, Congress had been padlocked, and media offices were either shuttered or under new management by his cronies. [...]  While belonging to a distinguished clan, her family was not known to be particularly wealthy. Where did all that fabulous new wealth come from? There could only be one logical explanation: The Marcoses were using the Philippine treasury as their private account, and on such a scale that they would. [full text] Sun.Star Cebu   about Duterte, presidential elections, and criminal law DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has declared his candidacy for president in the 2016 elections, although the Commission on Elections (Comelec) still has the final say on that.  [...]  “If I become president, I advise you people to put up several funeral parlor businesses because I am aga...

Inquirer  on  Mar Roxas and presidential elections Ex-Secretary Mar Roxas is the first candidate for president in the post-Edsa era to run on the promise of specific program continuity, and he is not shy about it. [...]  Other candidates have campaigned on the basis of promised reforms, of course; but no one, not even Fidel Ramos in 1992, could present himself or herself as the avatar of continuity. Whether this is a winning strategy for Roxas—Mr. Aquino’s losing vice presidential running mate in 2010 and his survey-challenged preferred successor in 2016—remains to be seen.  [full page] Sun.Star Cebu   about the International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu The IEC is among the major global activities in the calendar of the Catholic Church and the number of Catholic Church faithful it gathers is huge. Besides, it is not often that a local hierarchy or a country gets to host it. Consider, for example, that the last time the Philippines hosted the IEC wa...

Inquirer  on  Duterte and presidential elections For months on end, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte kept the public guessing, claiming a lack of interest in the No. 1 post as well as fatigue and a wish to retire. [...]  Now, barely a month later, he announces that he has “crossed the Rubicon” and is firmly in the running. He says he changed his mind as a matter of principle because he cannot stand the decision of the Senate Electoral Tribunal to junk the disqualification suit against presidential candidate Grace Poe. He invokes the law, saying that the Philippines under a president who is not a natural-born Filipino is a violation of the Constitution. [...]  That politicians continue to try the tricks in the books does not bode well for the nation’s future. And neither does the sight of voters lapping up the bombast and drama, the fireworks and swagger that politicians offer in lieu of a platform. The circus has truly come to town. [full page] Sun.Star Ce...