Giving up?
In Gloria’s dreams.
I have to admit it’s been a while, a little less than a month since I last wrote an entry. Summer sorta got in the way and I have a family to spend time with. We went home to the province and went on out-of-town trips when the kids aren’t sick. It’s nothing serious, just the usual colds and fever and are manageable with Tempra.
Anyway, I came across this blog entry and I was reminded by my previous entry here. A parallelism can be drawn because if you really think about it, arrogance has no room in public service. Hello, it’s like tolerating your yaya or maid to be arrogant to YOU, the Amo. Where else can you encounter such things but only here in the Philippines!
Arrogance in public SERVANTS is like the biggest misnomer of all. I think DILG needs to re-educate its public servants of their true calling, that it’s actually humility that they should display. After all, it’s our money that they’re spending.
Self-inflicted Crisis
While having a late breakfast this morning, I caught the TV program Mornings @ ANC . Coincidentally, Marieton Pacheco was reporting about the present rice ‘crisis’ while the yayas were feeding the girls. After the report, one of the yayas related her younger siblings in the province have been getting 1 kilo of rice rations and grocery packs with Pacquiao’s name on it, EVERYDAY since January this year. She added that even the children of the agency owner who lives in Quezon City have also been receiving rice rations. She also told me that her siblings’ Principal at school have been hoarding sacks of rice and boxes of noodles intended for these students. That part doesn’t surprise me at all, I bet the principal idolizes Gloria as far as corruption is concerned.
DepEd in its website states there are more or less 12 million elementary students enrolled in public school for SY 2006-2007. Given these, let’s do some mathematical operations, shall we?
12,000,000 elementary students
x 5 kilos of rice a week
x 12 weeks (Jan-March period)
————————–
720,000,000 Kilos of Rice distributed since January 2008
Before you pro-Gloria start wagging your tongues, let me just say that I am not hitting the program itself. I think it’s a big help to the majority of filipinos who receive these rations. Who knows how many millions of Filipinos are subsidized by these and politics aside, they must be grateful. I’m just wondering why this was implemented when there is a pending crisis. I’m sure Gloria’s advisers knew and were adequately warned ahead. It’s odd to know that they pushed through with the program at this time when they know they won’t be able to import more to replace what was distributed.
My question remain: was this a self-inflicted crisis? A desperate act to wag the dog?
A Virtue
…patience is.
The Cynical Filipino
I wrote “Reflections” a few weeks back after contemplating on the Pinoy’s current state of mind and why, even after the blatant cheating, stealing and lying, you don’t hear the majority ranting and raving about it. The rage is simply not there, which made me realize that there must be really be a collective spiritual and intellectual crisis in our midst.
I do not understand the apathy, but I am trying to find a glimpse of understanding.
Amid all these happenings, Brian Gorell happened. In all instances, we should be like him. Somebody he trusted cheated on him, lied to his face, stole his money and hell hath no fury like a person’s intelligence insulted this way! He put up a blog and turned against his ex-lover. He is enraged. He wants to get back what was supposed to have been stolen from him and unless the Ex pay up, the blog will continue to run, and the high society ’secrets’ will cease to be… secrets. Meanwhile, the Pinoys went crazy over it, blog traffic was incredible in today’s standard for a personal blog. Some even left comments to commiserate, support, offered sympathy and best wishes. Nothing wrong with that, really.
But the way I see it, what happened to him is simply a microcosm of what this nation of Filipinos needs to do, now. You see, the collective Filipinos are in Brian’s shoes: cheated, lied to, stolen from by the person he trusted, in our case it’s Gloria and her government. But while he created a storm with his revelations and his fight to get back what was stolen from him, we did nothing of that sort.
Another observation. Take a hard look at Brian’s case. He’s a foreigner but he gets more sympathy than this country could ever get. How can we rant and rage to give him justice when we couldn’t even stand up against the real thieves and cheats in our own backyard? I am not saying he doesn’t deserve to get his money back, in every respect he should and must and with it, his sense of pride and self-esteem.
But if we can rally behind a foreigner against our own kababayan who he alleged to have duped him, why can’t we do that for the country and the future generations? If we could believe his allegations, how come it takes a lot more evidence and time to believe the exposes and investigations against gloria and her cohorts?
The answer came to me from where else but my trusty best friend, a book.
In the Foreword of his book, Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People he enumerated the present society’s Challenges, Blame & Victimism as one of them. He wrote that
“…the children of blame are cynicism and hopelessness. When we succumb to believing that we are victims of our circumstances and yield to the plight of determinism, we lose hope, we lose drive, and we settle into resignation and stagnation”.
He added that so many bright and talented people feel this and suffer the broad range of discouragement and depression that follows and that the survival response of popular culture is cynicism:
“Just lower your expectations of life to the point that you aren’t disappointed by anyone or anything.”
I believe this has got to be the best explanation of this pitiful condition.
Sad, but true. Now, my next question is how do we get back our collective sense of pride and fight the cheat, the liar, and the thief like Brian did?
The Fall of the Last Bastion of Decency
Am talking, of course, of the government’s cheapest trick so far, using the great SC to hinder the truth from coming out.
I have to be honest I don’t get Romulo Neri. He’d sacrifice people’s time, effort and money to prevent the truth from coming out! What kind of mentality is that? When it’s so easy to just spill the beans, tell the truth, say what he knows and damn the consequences because at the end of the day, it’s all for the greater good!
You have to ask the highest court of the land to decide whether you can tell the truth or not? And the Supreme Court actually decided to his defense?
What has this country gotten into? Eversince Gloria illegally became president, the worst traits in a human being surfaced!
Oh, when will we see the light at this very dark, dank, smelly tunnel?
Reflections…
It’s the holy week and what better time to slow down, relax, and reflect-about God, our life as Filipinos, and about our country as a whole- but at this point?
Since I launched the gloriaresign petition and blog a lot of people, friends and strangers, have intimated they have also forwarded my petition to their friends and colleagues. But they swear they couldn’t believe the indifference and pessimism they got from most of them. My knee-jerk reaction was well, this is a democratic country everybody is entitled to their own opinion.
But when I reflected about this particular state of our political life, I just shake my head in sadness. This has not only become a political issue for me, but an emotional one as well. It’s a sad thing to witness and realize that most of my countrymen have so much apathy and pessimism in their hearts. Mainly, they worry about who to replace Gloria when she resigns or ousted, but they are NOT worried about the fact that Gloria is a cheat, a liar, and a thief. They’d rather have those qualities for a president that be faced with a task of demanding accountability and choosing another (hopefully) rightful leader.
To realize that most of my countrymen do not see the blatant insult of this administration to their intelligence is trite. Every single time the administration assert their supposed ascendancy to anyone else, they step on our person-hood as citizens of this country. And every time this happens, and most of us accept it with no reaction whatsoever, this country is degenerating every goddamn second!
Why can’t they understand that in order to move on properly, sins should be accounted for, punished, atoned and forgiven but not necessarily, forgotten? Why can’t they realize it is the duty and responsibility of every Filipino to demand for truth and account for the lies of our leaders, elected and appointed? What does it take for Juan dela Cruz to stand up to his calling and prove to the rest of the world that we are indeed, worth dying for? Where is the pride of the citizenry? Why have we stooped so low as to accept a cheat, a liar and a thief to lead our beloved country?
Most Filipinos today also say it’s a useless exercise to demand Gloria’s resignation since she will only be replaced by a leader who will just rival, if not surpass, her thievery. My view on this has always been this: our leaders, past and present, who sinned against us should not be forgotten. They should not be forgotten because they are our collective lesson, our learning, and our reminder that we can do better next time in choosing our future leaders. It’s our collective spirit as Filipinos that will lead this country to where we want it to be, fifty or one hundred years from now. To where, I can only say that the future is bleak.
I may already be dead by then, but here’s hoping my actions today will redound to the benefit of future citizens of this country. I can only wish the same for the rest of us.
1 VS 94
We reached the 94th mark for our signature campaign today and yes, we have a long way to go to get the 1million sign-ups calling for Gloria’s resignation. But patience is our virtue, unlike Gloria who couldn’t wait to get her hands on what’s rightfully ours, practically giving away our islands and sovereignty in exchange for her retirement money. Oh yes, she’s working hard…she’s working hard to fill her coffers with our hard-earned taxes and commissions from illegal deals. She’s so thick-skinned and terribly shameless!
Anyway, thank you to all who has signed up so far and who have forwarded the links to their friends and family members. You have all done a great thing for our country and for the future of its citizens:
1. Sheryl Martinez 2. Goldy Chan 3. Ariel Poserio 4. Ed B. Umali 5. Nathaniel G. Cruz 6. Rolando Dolatre 7. Oscar Paul Valle 8. Renato Rivera 9. Danilo A. Ysmael 10. Benito L Agustin 11. Mark 12. Jose G. Cariño 13. Dante Villena 14. Avel Marcellana15. Yolanda Eklund 16. Manong Noy 17. Dante Briones 18. Von David 19. Nicolas Kramer 20. Bimbo Isidro 21. Roberto Ocampo 22. Gladiola V. Rosales 23. Herminio Agag 24. Snafu Manuel 25. Roserwin Hilario 26. Antonio B. Olaguer 27. Jon Banaag 28. Engracio del Rosario 29. Paulo Glorioso 30. Lilia A. Tan 31. Manolo Rosero 32. Leo Ayeras 33. Roman Imperial 34. Agnes de Veyra 35. Jimi Cabrera 36. Jay Lacsamana 37. Abel 38. Leah de leon-Villaran 39. Neil Pacamalan 40. George Anthony Gaddi 41. Gerardo Pedrosa 42. Devin Monteverde 43. Cabbie 44. Alex V. Alberto 45. Urgie F. Faderogao 46. Miyako Izabel 47. Mari 48. Ariel Aparejo 49. Joy Coronel 50. Anna Malihan 51. Froilan Mencias 52. Saldi Diaz 53. Ma. Carmel Bollozos 54. Hernando Rey Jr 55. Eugene Claravall 56. Macky Ramirez 57. Ime B. Alampay 58. Nilo Imperial 59. Alan D. R. Luzuriaga 60. Fitzgerald Claravall 61. Efren Natino 62. Rolly Aragones 63. Tinay Palabay 64. Des Sarmiento 65. Robbie Galang 66. Amanda Bueno 67. Fred Morante Gaspar 68. NOE 69. Cesar Torres 70. Carol Josette Javier 71. Dino Martin Earl Javier 72. Nilda M. Villegas 73. Lolita LLedo 74. Emiliano Garchitorena 75. Cocoy Zonio 76. Gino Carlo S. Villamor 77. Cecile Angela Adrian-Ilagan 78. Charles Bautista 79. Janis de Leon 80. JM Nepomuceno 81. Roel Manuel 82. SONNY 81. Arman Y. Tolentino 82. MAY 83. Agustin Montealto 84. Ricardo Gonzalez 85. Obidio Rous III 86. Rommel Ebon Cagbay Jr. 87. RX 88. Isaias T. Tolentino 89. Eujane Fajutagana 90. Freda Editha Contreras 91. Cecile Buensuceso 91. Rhea C. Tejada 92. Gloria Diaz 93. Mariane Olivares 94. Susan V. Tagle
Forward the link to ensure a better tomorrow for our children and the future of our beloved Philippines.
The quest continues…
More Names
1. Sheryl Martinez 2. Goldy Chan 3. Ariel Poserio 4. Ed B. Umali 5. Nathaniel G. Cruz 6. Rolando Dolatre 7. Oscar Paul Valle 8. Renato Rivera 9. Danilo A. Ysmael 10. Benito L Agustin 11. Mark 12. Jose G. Cariño 13. Dante Villena 14. Avel Marcellana15. Yolanda Eklund 16. Manong Noy 17. Dante Briones 18. Von David 19. Nicolas Kramer 20. Bimbo Isidro 21. Roberto Ocampo 22. Gladiola V. Rosales 23. Herminio Agag 24. Snafu Manuel 25. Roserwin Hilario 26. Antonio B. Olaguer 27. Jon Banaag 28. Engracio del Rosario 29. Paulo Glorioso 30. Lilia A. Tan 31. Manolo Rosero 32. Leo Ayeras 33. Roman Imperial 34. Agnes de Veyra 35. Jimi Cabrera 36. Jay Lacsamana 37. Abel 38. Leah de leon-Villaran 39. Neil Pacamalan 40. George Anthony Gaddi 41. Gerardo Pedrosa 42. Devin Monteverde 43. Cabbie 44. Alex V. Alberto 45. Urgie F. Faderogao 46. Miyako Izabel 47. Mari 48. Ariel Aparejo 49. Joy Coronel 50. Anna Malihan 51. Froilan Mencias 52. Saldi Diaz 53. Ma. Carmel Bollozos 54. Hernando Rey Jr 55. Eugene Claravall 56. Macky Ramirez 57. Ime B. Alampay 58. Nilo Imperial 59. Alan D. R. Luzuriaga 60. Fitzgerald Claravall 61. Efren Natino 62. Rolly Aragones 63. Tinay Palabay 64. Des Sarmiento 65. Robbie Galang 66. Amanda Bueno 67. Fred Morante Gaspar 68. NOE 69. Cesar Torres 70. Carol Josette Javier 71. Dino Martin Earl Javier 72. Nilda M. Villegas 73. Lolita LLedo 74. Emiliano Garchitorena 75. Cocoy Zonio 76. Gino Carlo S. Villamor 77. Cecile Angela Adrian-Ilagan 78. Charles Bautista 79. Janis de Leon 80. JM Nepomuceno 81. Roel Manuel 82. SONNY 81. Arman Y. Tolentino 82. MAY 83. Agustin Montealto 84. Ricardo Gonzalez 85. Obidio Rous III 86. Rommel Ebon Cagbay Jr. 87. RX 88. Isaias T. Tolentino
Forward the link to ensure a better tomorrow for our children and the future of our beloved Philippines.
The quest continues…
Day Three
Thank you all for signing up! Today we have more individuals sharing our sentiments. They have also realized the urgent need for change in the leadership as each passing day becomes more and more unbearable having Gloria there when she has lost all moral, political, economic ascendancy to lead.
1. Sheryl Martinez 2. Goldy Chan 3. Ariel Poserio 4. Ed B. Umali 5. Nathaniel G. Cruz 6. Rolando Dolatre 7. Oscar Paul Valle 8. Renato Rivera 9. Danilo A. Ysmael 10. Benito L Agustin 11. Mark 12. Jose G. Cariño 13. Dante Villena 14. Avel Marcellana15. Yolanda Eklund 16. Manong Noy 17. Dante Briones 18. Von David 19. Nicolas Kramer 20. Bimbo Isidro 21. Roberto Ocampo 22. Gladiola V. Rosales 23. Herminio Agag 24. Snafu Manuel 25. Roserwin Hilario 26. Antonio B. Olaguer 27. Jon Banaag 28. Engracio del Rosario 29. Paulo Glorioso 30. Lilia A. Tan 31. Manolo Rosero 32. Leo Ayeras 33. Roman Imperial 34. Agnes de Veyra 35. Jimi Cabrera 36. Jay Lacsamana 37. Abel 38. Leah de leon-Villaran 39. Neil Pacamalan 40. George Anthony Gaddi 41. Gerardo Pedrosa 42. Devin Monteverde 43. Cabbie 44. Alex V. Alberto 45. Urgie F. Faderogao 46. Miyako Izabel 47. Mari 48. Ariel Aparejo 49. Joy Coronel 50. Anna Malihan 51. Froilan Mencias 52. Saldi Diaz 53. Ma. Carmel Bollozos 54. Hernando Rey Jr 55. Eugene Claravall 56. Macky Ramirez 57. Ime B. Alampay 58. Nilo Imperial 59. Alan D. R. Luzuriaga 60. Fitzgerald Claravall 61. Efren Natino 62. Rolly Aragones 63. Tinay Palabay 64. Des Sarmiento 65. Robbie Galang 66. Amanda Bueno 67. Fred Morante Gaspar 68. NOE 69. Cesar Torres 70. Carol Josette Javier 71. Dino Martin Earl Javier 72. Nilda M. Villegas 73. Lolita LLedo 74. Emiliano Garchitorena 75. Cocoy Zonio 76. Gino Carlo S. Villamor 77. Cecile Angela Adrian-Ilagan 78. Charles Bautista 79. Janis de Leon 80. JM Nepomuceno 81. Roel Manuel 82. SONNY
You can do your part by sharing this crusade with your friends and family. Let us all be counted, for our country and for our children’s future.
Yes, the quest will continue…
