History, Too Late

Almost everybody is saying that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is the most unpopular president of the Philippines in recent time.
They didn’t get enough of the ‘unpopular’ tagging but further up to all the superlatives to undermine the President’s image.

This has become a trend that even the common-tao on the street adapted and joined the misleading rhetoric to the Leader of the land and few who don’t agree remained mum about it because of fear that everybody might also turn on them because of the idea being identified to Gloria. It is better to keep silent than to be the target of inane accusations. Like in the office, you are in the group of gossipingly ganging up one of your colleague although you don’t participate neither you have balls to remind everybody the injustice it brought to your officemate because you just simply don’t want to be the subject of ridicule. Coward.

Future history’s perception to Gloria might be a good one is only a consolation because it is too late.

I will make that history now. I will not join the wagon of crab pulling down the President. If that is the trend, neither I follow because sometimes I don’t go with the flow especially if it is not of any worth.

Because she deserves her credits which are due now and there is no need to wait for the history to retell it. Sometimes history is crap when the present is defecated.

The President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s leadership is might not be that perfect to get the country go on but surely she is better than her three predecessors since 1986.

I compared Gloria to the first three Presidents before her because that is the only time I have the first hand information not relying from the history. What was going on during the leadership since 1986 to now is, I can tell fairly and square.

I did not expect on 1986 that the Philippines will be among the developed nations considering what it had been through before that but I expected a better one from what it had become thereupon after six years especially if the President had the liberty to totally change the constitution and no one opposed.
For architect, it is much easier to design for a new house than to revise an old design, or a lot easier to demolish the house and construct a new one than to carry out a major renovation.
That was the scenario on 1986, I may agree that the country then was like a wrecked of a demolished structure but without oppositions the new constitution of the nation was enacted. Meaning a new layout of the nation was laid on the table only prompt execution required. Only that it was not properly executed.
And I believe that this 1986 Constitution is only a Reaction Constitution to the Marcos administration, or a Transitional Constitution that only served the six years after 1986. It must be changed because we are no longer in the transitional era.

Cory Aquino as a transitional pivotal instrument was fine but to evaluate her leading of the nation was also a failure. The Philippines didn’t end up any better economically after her leadership. The only accomplishment is the “claimed” democracy from dictatorship.
I don’t know if this democracy can be “ulam” viand or can be a flavor to noodles. Imagine the Maggi, Lucky Me and Payless brands of noodles are “democracy” flavored. This way the masses will reap and taste the fruit of her over rated democracy legacy.

The 1992 Government was fine. I gave credit to President Ramos. The Philippines was less affected when the Asian crises engulf Southeast Asian countries. Note, he was also not a popular president with all the oppositions from left and right but he made the country on the track.

1998, here comes the very popular president but he blew it. He was not able to complete his term. During his time the Philippines was really in a bad shape. Estrada failed the country in a very short time.

In 2001 was the so called unpopular president came to being, embodied by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Perhaps she also felt her unpopularity; she turned this to perform her duty round the clock. The most vibrant, energetic and industrious President the Philippine has ever had.

When she assumed the office, the tourism industry then was down. Instead of using the government allotted fund in all legality (likely to be criticized by the leftists) to resuscitate the dying business by advertising in international televisions like the neighboring countries has long been doing, she went around the country and visited those tourist destinations and turned it out as free media coverage.

She executed many laws which are not popular to many, but she felt the country needs it knowing that these will make her more unpopular to the people. But she is a true leader as she really is, like a mother would make hard decisions may not in accord with the children but has to be done because it is for their own good. A mother won’t let her child to play in the middle of the street even with all the crying because she foresees the possible consequences.
Gloria showed it that a vision and will is always above to what is popular.
You would hardly see that to the past Philippine Presidents that were called “popular”.

Usually the masses would rate the President as good and popular one if they see physical changes and accomplishments through projects. Ordinary man would say “what good he/she as President, no roads and bridges built in our town”. But Gloria did, she built many airports, bridges and highways around the country even more than that the combined projects of her predecessors. Palawan alone, which is now the top tourist investment destination in the country has now three airports.
The masses seem oblivious about these physical accomplishments of the government because the media would rather highly publicize the nonsense controversies.

In nine years of Gloria’s presidency, there is a job generation of well over 800,000 annually while the past Presidents managed to attain less than 400,000 jobs every year. Who performed well to when it comes to empowering the citizen?

When the world crises were crippling every economy, developed nations kowtow to the situations. Gloria’s management made the Philippine economy resilient to this global worry. The country is the less affected as compared to other nations.

Now the present administration is handing down the country to the next President in good shape with a GDP of 7.3%.

The bad thing Gloria’s leadership did that I can say; her government did not fight back to the media enough in its very successful feat of undermining the government image and the media’s wickedness of clouding the government’s perception to the public. Her government was not very strong to discipline the media to make a damage control. Media was the one blocking the rights of the public to information about the government’s accomplishments. Such a big irony when it is the one clamoring for the right to information. When the government announces its success backed with all the data the biased media would right away bash without supporting facts.

The media delivers with judgment.
It reports the “street killing” who involves innocent people without partiality. Good job. They made their job accordingly.
But when it reports about the “media killing”, it always ends up with line “during Arroyo’s administration”. Apparently it is blame to the government. Why? Big why.

For others information, some media men has gone out of their line especially those commentators, they would run their smoking mouth without bases. Somehow partly they are responsible of their death.
But what about those very innocent walkers down the street that was just ripped off of their lives. An OFW who just happened to enjoy wearing his blood invested gold necklace and doing nothing only to be gunned down.
The comparison here is; the media men somehow irritated somebody by his out of line blabbing but the innocent walker didn’t do anything harm to anyone.
Now you put the blame of media killing to the President.

The negative perception of the public towards the country is majority to be blamed on the media of its irresponsible reporting and partly to blame the government for not doing enough to reverse the mess the media has done.


Common attributes to the Presidents.

Ferdinand Marcos, Cory Aquino and Joseph Estrada were all popular Presidents. But they did not put the Philippines to higher and better level.

Fidel Ramos and Gloria Arroyo both not popular to the public but they did a good job. They made the country economically stable in the middle of economic woes. They have more challenges during their tenure but they shrugged it off.

Maybe Marcos, Aquino and Estrada became so complacent to their duty because they were riding on their popularity thinking that the public will be understanding with their performance. Result no better but a bitter Philippines.

While Ramos and Arroyo felt that they have to work more in trying to win the people because of their unpopularity. Indeed, their legacy is a better country and government. You can say the true leaders in character.



A new administration is coming and he is also popular in the persona of Noynoy Aquino.
Since he is popular, will he join the league of PPOFP (Popular President, Only to Fail the Philippines)? Will he be the next disappointment President backed by popularity?

We will see.

Country Swap

What if nations would agree to swap its citizen or its country?

First Rule: Rich country to poor country
Second Rule: Any country of the same or almost the same size geographically.
Third Rule: The required time is 10 years.

Participant: The Philippines and Japan

I just don’t know if the Japanese would agree to it but I am expecting that more Filipinos than Japanese will be excited about it.

From the President/Prime Minister or leader to the citizens has to move to the opposing country by themselves only, no wealth or resources must be transferred.


This is most likely to happen after the swap in 10 years.

Philippines (with the Japanese people).

First day, they organized themselves and proclaimed a good leader.

With the Japanese expertise in management and known for being among the most disciplined, made the Philippine like Japan 10 years ago from the time of swapping.

This time the country is paved with clean and safe road and transportation system. No crisscrossing over-head cable wiring on metropolis. Blighting structures that was once an eye sore across cities is now a manifestation of ingenuities with stunning futuristic design where every inch of it is telling the goodness of technology.
No trumpeting paunchy shirtless by-standers by the sidewalk noisily (as if they own the world) flocking on the bottles of liquor in the peak of daylight.
You are very much secured to pick-up the mobile phone while walking at the very busy street because you knew very well that it won’t pop off like bubble. You won’t feel out of nowhere, that something sharp poking your side just to surrender you telephone or necklace. A feeling of staking your life over an electronic gadget is already but just sad memory. But you would see those slightly used devices are already on the garbage bin because it is of no use anymore.

Pasig river doesn’t stench anymore, it is worth a siesta or a family picnic by its side. The historical Quezon bridge (by Gustave Eiffel who designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris) in Quiapo is worth a walking because you won’t see faeces therein anymore.

Every vacant and idle piece of land is planted with edible plants.

No place in the country is out of reach.

Dealing with the government agencies is very inviting because you are being served of
what is due.




Japan (with the Filipino people).

First Day, troubling to organized among them and couldn’t get a good leader, if any there is one, his/her office is always in the pit and will not be successful because of continued dark driven opposition from many sides. Others just simply don’t care.

Still, on early part of the swapping. The Filipinos would enjoy to the limit and exhaustion the abundance Japan has to offer.

Because of the Filipinos over confident management skills (his nature of changing the available best and effective solution just to claim that it is his own creation) and oblivious to self-discipline, Japan turned to what were the Philippines 10 years ago from the time of swapping.

While the Philippines has drastically changed to something vibrant as a nation over 10 years because of the Japanese people managing it, Japan also made a dramatically disappointing change to backward direction with the Filipino way of carrying out the nation’s fate. To bad one.

All the good things in Japan 10 years ago turned to nothing.

This is the Filipino way of standing firm to the word ‘opposition’ and ‘my own’, simply turning the good to bad and the best to worst just for the sake of opposing and owning it but dodging the repercussions.

How Patriotic is the New President?

1. Choosing a ribbon over a Philippine map in his suit.
Was asked to choose from the two ‘barong tagalong’ for the day of his proclamation, one was designed with ribbon image and the other was with the image of Philippine map. He selected the ribbon design because he found it more appealing than the Philippine map, really.
What’s wrong with it, of course nothing, no big of a deal. Just that, the President would choose the ribbon symbol was something most of the Filipinos would not do. I understand that it was all of his paying a respect to his mother, after all he became the President had not because of his mother. But doing that, is he now the President of the Republic or the President of his mother.

2. Snubbing the Philippines Independence Day celebration to attend a wedding.
He said he was not invited. You are now the President, it goes without saying that by your own initiative you must had appeared in the National Day which is a celebration of your own country soon will be under your governance. Maybe you are not a President of the Republic, but the President only to your few friends. Just hard to think, that a president would desert a remembering of National Day over a wedding day of his friend.

3. He doesn’t like the Malacanang Palace (the official house of the President)
Of course he knew it; right from the very start of the campaign that whoever will win the election has to reside at the Palace.

If he doesn't want the palace, what is the use of it, we might as well demolish it.
Malacanang Palace is a symbol of country’s power, now he has resentment about it. He wants to stay while working as President at his mother’s house. Is he a President of the republic or the President of that village?

I don’t know what will happen now, with all the issues besetting the country plus the new President personal issues.

Those personal issues of him are the sign of a ping-pong ball leadership. Hard for him to face his own, what more the national’s.

This is the same scenario of the ousted Estrada administration. His principle was founded on clean and honest governance but because of weak leadership, the friends took advantage resulting to the fall.

I strongly wish I totally am wrong.

We will be in one boat under his steering for six years but we can help him to paddle in synchronize. Again whining, excuses and vindictiveness will not be of help.

Good luck to all of us.

Olympic from Pork Barrel

The last 2008 Olympic Game carried out in China was believed amounted to 40 billion dollars (not verified because of lack of transparency on the side of government), the most expensive and the grandest Olympic ever, one way of China’s saying “here I come, the mighty giant”. Indeed, it was really true. They did it with flying colors.
The coming 2012 Summer Olympic to be ushered in United Kingdom (its 3rd time and with one as cancelled was the 1944 Olympic because of World War II), hoping to retell and remind the world of its power and influence that encompasses the history to present.
England is very candid from the get-go that their hosting of this huge event is not as expensive and grandeur as what China did. The English will pool the much possible financial resources only to one eight of what had spent from 2008 world China meet, or maybe even less than 5 billion dollars. Talking of power, England doesn’t have to prove anything, history says it.

What about Olympic Game somewhere in Southeast Asia, this is a part of the world with a population of half billion and yet no Olympic not even a clue in the near future.
The Philippines in particular just to be more specific of Southeast Asia. Hosting the quadrennial game is, accept the fact, all about money. Money is of a very big consideration. But how? Pork Barrel!

The Philippine Congress; the lower and the upper house are budgeted with two hundred thirteen billion seven hundred eighty million pesos (P213, 780,000,000.00) every six years for its Pork Barrel and that is 4.6 billion dollars, already the projected budget of England for the 2012 Olympic Game. The Philippine could prepare, bid or apply 20 years before the schedule, by then 17 billion dollars will be ready. Is it reasonable to spend the money for such sporting event, why not, anyway the congressmen and senators spending their pork barrel to fund commissioned construction of barangay basketball courts and have their names painted big in it. Instead of those small commissioned projects why not use the whole amount to one such big event like Olympic to build huge sports venues with futuristic and eye-catching design that will turn to a landmark forward on thus good for tourism.
Because trust me, I am sure, you would not prefer to have those pork barrel funded basketball courts and waiting sheds as the background for your photo op.

With the pork barrel I think the Philippines could undertake an event like Olympic, just that I am not so sure if the Philippines is by merit can qualify considering its sports performance in international arena. Still no gold in Olympic history, secure first the very first Olympic gold then the talk about it will be on the table. Meanwhile the Pork Barrel must be remained untouched at the coffer.

Unsolicited advice, the new President should make an executive order or the congress put this into law, that at the beginning of the new administration the fund for Pork Barrel must be directed to one bank account named “Project Olympic” and it cannot be used for other purpose. This is a very Filipino attitude, nursing a piggy bank for future but single purpose use.

One thing is sure; it is much harder to get a consensus among with the gentlemen and ladies at the Senate and House of Representatives to let go of their pork barrel than to host an Olympic game in the Philippines.

A Puffing Noy

For Noynoy Aquino to say that smoking is the last of his remaining freedom, so he should be spared from those who are pestering him telling that he should wean from it, is not really of him being an statesman. Bop bop on your head! You are now a president!

Supporting his statement like an stubborn child (as an indicative that he won’t stop within the six years to come) that he has to keep smoking specially now that he is a president because it entails a lot of pressure. Well, all Filipinos including him are aware that the job of a president is a no joke or maybe we are taking it literally as a joke, really, because by joke you can run for president and by another joke you can vote the candidate for the highest post. What a joke! Joke, joke joke! We are now a land of jokes. We should change our citizenship; Filipino to Joker. When someone asks your nationality, you say Joker. Funny, I am a Joker.

So our president is a smoker, what is the big deal. Here is the deal. If you are a president of a company, you can still get things done even if you come to office riding on a horse puffing a Marlboro and still appear to everyone as you being cool. But if you are the president of a nation, you will not go a distance to tour the palace while riding on a wooden horse because your heart won’t permit it because of smoking.

Of course it is a tremendous pressure up there if you were to execute national decisions if to talk the President’s trepidation but that would not be enough as an excuse. Many chain smoker Filipinos who are working in Saudi Arabia turned cold turkey despite of the pressure of works and culture shock adjustment. Perhaps if Noynoy find it so hard to halt his smoking, he can work first at Saudi Arabia as one of the OFWs before he serves the leadership. No doubt after a contract of two years he would hate the tobacco.

Noynoy Aquino has been telling everybody that he is such an obedient son to his mother but not in smoking. He defies his mother. If no one successfully convinced him to refrain from smoking, not even his mother whom he only followed, during his highschool, college, congress and senate days what more now that he is now the most powerful human in the land. Like “eat your heart out” even a hundred people power revolution won’t change my mind.

I don’t care if my neighbor could smoke a number of packs of cigarette daily but I don’t expect the same to my president. It is like you expect your family to love you but you don’t give a crap if the family next door hate you. This is all a matter of expectation; it varies from the ordinary citizen to the leader of the land.

Good luck to the Department of Health. It is a big challenge to reinforce the advocacies against smoking if the President of the land is an example of “Mr. I can’t follow now”. This government agency will not have enough credibility to tell the citizenry about avoiding the tobacco if the president himself is an avid patron of it.

Overseas Absentee Voting is a Crap

Overseas Filipino Workers doesn’t need this “voting” that they are peddling as a privilege or service being proffered by the government.

The recent turn-out of the overseas absentee voting is definitely a waste of time and money or in other word totally a crap. In every 10 Filipinos who currently are working abroad only one participated in the overseas absentee voting. Many reasons can be enumerated; lazy and irresponsible Filipino, precinct centers are not very accessible or it is worth a fortune to pay the fare just to get to the voting stations, day-off from work is not enough, information dissemination is very weak because many remains oblivious about it and still a lot of alibi and reasons to be written, but these are all irrelevant. Because from the very first moment they sat foot on their country of destination they put aside the politics including the so called ‘right to suffrage’, this is not of an important matter anymore.

The government is just wasting a huge amount of money only to accommodate this overseas absentee voting which has no sense of practicality at all. It is annoying that the Filipino workers abroad are being convinced that taking part in election by choosing a leader is a service that has to be grabbed.

To the very few Filipinos who are clamoring to accommodate them in voting, you should stop because your thumb mark is of a very little value compared to the money required to accomplish this enormous undertaking, the money which would have been useful to send those Filipinos (who are stranded in very difficult situation) back in the Philippines.

Anyway, the number of the entire overseas workers is not a command vote to elect a president. There will be always a president after the election even not counting the votes of the Filipinos overseas.

I don’t want this privilege right at this time and place, I will be more happy if the people in the embassy is smiling ear to ear with good morning to assist you. Their being friendly and warm is more important than the service being bragged to your face called “vote”.

Mother’s Son (Anak Ka Ng Nanay Mo)

Noynoy Aquino said that proposing a parallel manual count for the coming election is a “motherhood statement” but many are disagreeing because it rather complicates things. Perhaps he is taking it graphically and literally. When he said “motherhood” he means “mother” because since this electioneering started he’s been banking on his mother. Because of his mother the media has been inundated with his name. He was pushed and decided to run for president because of his mother. He went to the same church where his mother gone, to ask for guidance. In his party convention to officially declare his presidency, it was the same place (Club Filipino) where his mother sworn to office as president.

He is such a lucky son and it is perfectly alright to be proud of your mother, but being proud of your mother doesn’t mean you can run for president.

“I would rather prefer the Philippines to be run by a bastard president with a strong will and vision than a president who got love so much from the parents but such a weakling”.

Watch out for this, come 9th of May is Mothers Day, Noynoy will be busy more than ever to show the love for his mother in front of camera, another opportunity to lure those emotionals, means additional votes.