Far From Neutral Notions - Philippine politics, culture and stuff

If you haven’t read UN rapporteur Phillip Alston’s report yet, head on over to MLQ3’s blog, he’s posted a PDF copy. Of particular interest is paragraph 12, page 5:

The Secretary of Justice, and his colleagues, were perplexed at the proposition that prosecutors, whose role is absolutely central in the Philippines justice system, had some broader responsibility to take steps to uphold respect for human rights. Instead, their role was seen as a passive one.

Alston also took notice of the military’s “order of battle” against hundreds of groups and individuals who have been classified, on the basis of intelligence, as members of organizations which the military deems “illegitimate”, and finally noting that:

When a significant number of individuals killed in incidents implicating the armed forces or police are also listed on an order of battle, it raises serious questions about the appropriateness of this practice.

[…]

There is a passivity, bordering on an abdication of responsibility, which affects the way in which key institutions and actors approach their responsibilities in relation to such human rights concerns.

Indeed.
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No, not those babes. Shame.

I’m talking about an article from the GMANews.tv site, on kids’ reactions on the political ads saturating local TV. Some of my favorites:

“Political ads never really work. The Filipino people already know who they will vote for. The politicians just waste their time and money on putting their faces all over the Philippines. They can just use the money to start projects that we can benefit from. The ads on TV never say how they will help make the country better. They should think about what they say and keep their promises.” ~Bianca

“Ang hindi ko nagustuhan ang kay mike defensor dahil wala naman siyang ginawang kahit ano, na dapat siya ang an gating iboto. Ang nagustuha kong advertisement ay yung kay migs zubiri dahil pinapakita na siya ay sumasama sa rally ng mga tao. Ang tingin ko sa political advertisement ay dapat gawin nila ang sabi nilang ginagawa nila sa political advertisement.” ~Julio

“Ang pinaka gusto ko sa kanila ay si Manny Villar. Kasi sinabi niya na hindi dapat magabuso ng mga babae. Ang ayaw ko naman si mike defensor. Dahil wala siyang ginagawa sa advertisement niya. At ang mga tao ang nagsasalita sa advertisement niya.” ~Mia

“Pangit yung kay Chiz Escuderro dahil ‘corny’ ito at old school. Pero kahit maganda ang iba dapat hindi lamang binabase ang boto sa ganda ng advertisement o dahil ginamit nila ang kantang Bumtarat, tarat. Kailangan ipakita nila ang mahal nila sa kanilang bayan at dapat may tiwala ang mga tao sa iyo. Para sa akin ang pinakamaganda ay ang kay Kiko Pangilingan dahil maganda ang kanta. Pero sa totoo lang naaasar ako sa mga political ads.” ~Mica

Ah, kids say the darndest thing

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Ok, here’s the deal: the last pair of shoes I own are old school Adidas campus sneakers that have long since given up the ghost, their soles (get it?) rotting in shoe hell. Ever since my ingrown nails flared up some ten odd years ago, I’ve been a tsinelas-or-bust guy. And because of mom’s ingenius idea to coordinate with all of my known relatives when it comes to giving me gifts, I have become a walking, talking, true-blue Lee Pipes endorser. On the upside, every shirt they now give me for Christmas or my birthday fit perfectly, and outside of kinky underwear (oops) I’ve never had to buy a single article of clothing in three years. The downside? Well, they’re all Lee Pipes, and outside of kinky underwear (oops again) I’ve never had to buy a single article of clothing in three years.

I also don’t have a single pair of slacks to my name. That still fit, anyway.

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Kermit the Frog’s rendition of this Johnny Cash classic.

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Halfway through “Akap”, I hear a click, and a whirr. My first roll of film just ran out — I only had 24 exposures on that one. Biting on my cigarette and trying not to fall, I reloaded as fast as I could — not easy considering the sheer number of people jostling me — and I was able to set up just in time for “Taralets”. I just lost myself, merrily taking shot after shot. With the possible exception of Barbie Almalbis, is there a cuter band chick than Imago’s Aia de Leon? Nanggigil ako, sobra.

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I know a thing or two about losing it — and I’ve seen my share of people who are bat-shit insane — but things like these always leave me in shock: Armando Ducat Jr held almost 30 children in his day-care center hostage for close to ten hours, in protest to the current political situation.

Inasmuch as I can definitely see myself going postal — particularly with the way this regime is handling things — I draw the line at innocent kids. At innocents. At people, in general. Fine, seeing as I get scared shitless even just looking at a gun, my going postal would be a pretty funny, short-lived affair indeed. Drastic, but funny. That’s why it never ceases to amuse me when people label me as leftist or left-leaning; I have more than enough bones to pick (pun intended) with the NPA and their violent shenanigans. Change, reform: I’m all for that. Taking to the hills, levying “revolutionary taxes”, being violent nuisances? Do not be absurd.

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As traffic generation schticks go, nominating myself for the Philippine Blog Awards was a pretty nifty idea, altho it’s not as overwhelming as I thought it would be. Go figure.

Of course, I never counted on being a finalist for three categories: socio-political, design and best free custom theme (from my ill-maintained Outside Looking In pseudo-tech blog — although I didn’t nominate this one, but thanks to the one who did, whoever you are). And right here, right now, I want to extend my apologies (and props) to those I whom I took a slot away from in the socio-political category, particularly those whose blogs I regularly read and believe should be there instead of my wise-ass entry:
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That’s how I’d describe the state of the nation under GMA.

• Congress has just doubled it’s Pork Barrel allocation — with some 3+ billion pesos being diverted from the retirement funds of government employees.
• Hundred thousand peso desktop machines that my old Sempron can run circles around.
• Fifty thousand peso lampposts.
• An apathetic middle class.
• An opportunistic upper class.
• A fatalistic lower class.
• The Marcoses and Atong Ang bribing the government with multi-million peso deals and calling it “settlement”. Is it any wonder some dumb general would want to get in on the action?
• An Opposition that’s only marginally better than the administration.
• The government and military suppressing the people’s basic rights — again.
• A blatantly biased Commission on Elections.
• Extra-judicial killings.
• Rampant drug use — and no, I don’t even consider marijuana under that statement.
• A Justice Secretary with no real concept of Justice.
• A National Security Adviser that places said security under risk.
• Ronaldo Puno.
• Mike Arroyo.
• Gloria Arroyo.
• The Marcoses.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg — who knows what’s gotten past the scrutiny of the media. Damn, this is depressing. No pretentious essay this time, it’s 4AM, and I just wanted to make a list of reasons why I’m so drained. It can get so overwhelming, sometimes.

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I’ve been trying to fight a recent bout of homesickness, but several things happened that just reminded me of how much I miss home.

Last night I got a package from my dad; he’s transferred his Fortune subscription to me, and he sent me an mp3 player. And to get an idea as to how much that means to me, let me tell you two things about me: I love to read, and I love music. And I love free gifts

Then, there’s this Inquirer feature on my aunt back home. The mere mention of bagongon is enough to make my mouth water — it’s been months since I last had some, and as good as some of the food is here, it can’t hold a candle to genuine home cooking. My home, anyway. Read the rest of this entry »

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