I was quite inspired by Marck‘s full disclosure article X-List: Five Things I Do to Contribute to the Decay of Filipino Society. In it, he preempts his foray into political commentary by first publishing a list of personal practices of his that are, shall we say, “un-Filipino”. The thinking there is that it is better [...]
Money talks louder than politics
May 12, 2008 By 10 Comments
Cocoy is once again spot on. The reason politics occupies the limelight that it does is that economic activity in Pinoy society is so atrophied and impotent as to not provide enough clout to overshadow politics in people’s psyches. Interesting too, is what he said here: “the most basic thing is that anyone with resources [...]
Journalism vs Blogging – time to put Gramps in a museum!
May 7, 2008 By 2 Comments
Again I differ to Marck’s take on this whole blogging-vs-journalism in only one aspect. Marck says: bloggers pose a legitimate threat not only to circulation, but to the very existence of the newspaper and print media I don’t think so. Like the now-defunct myth of the paperless office that the advent of the personal computer [...]
“The Philippines” – a meaningless concept
May 5, 2008 By 24 Comments
I read Marck’s Tyranny and the Image with interest, specifically when it came to the passage: “politics in this country is not a “personality cult,” but a “cult of imagery”. I thought, well, in fairness to Pinoy society (and I’m a bit out-of-character here), the power of images had been demonstrated in so many forms [...]
The Philippines’ inconvenient truth
May 2, 2008 By 19 Comments
I checked out mlq3′s latest blog entry A Federalist appeal and am again reminded of the remarkable amount of debate going on about forms of government in general — specifically what form is best for Pinoy society. I maintain — consistent to my usual simplistic take on Pinoy society — that the key to Pinoy [...]
The Folly of Economic Dependence On Foreign Employment
April 25, 2008 By 2 Comments
Which does more damage to a child during his/her formative years, the lack of cash or the non-presence of one or even both parents because he/she or they are working overseas?
Every example of the *humblest* of Filipinos being able to extricate themselves from poverty by sheer hard work and discipline *within our islands* highlights the folly and destructiveness of our easy-way-out approach to national development by lionising OFWs as “heroes”.
Being proud to be Pinoy: Not as easy as we think
April 24, 2008 By 23 Comments
We cannot be proud of something that we don’t have, are not, or will never have, much less something that does not mean anything (like being proud for pride’s sake, for instance). To therefore understand why all these calls to be “proud to be Pinoy” seem to ring hollow nowadays, we have to revisit the [...]
Trust: The Key To Combatting Corruption
April 23, 2008 By 7 Comments
The public puts its trust in government officials to look after the best interests of the public.
A very simple tenet. Yet it is one that seems to elude the fundamental sensibilities of Philippine society. When was the last time you the Filipino reader rested assured that a Philippine government bureaucracy, bureaucrat, or official is doing its, his or her job properly
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