Contrary to what contrarians say, citizens expressing outrage over House Resolution 1109 are voices in the wilderness, if the small turnout of gatherings and discussions, so far, is any indication.
To take the position that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with term extensions or changing the constitution is ignoring the context of Gloria Arroyo’s past few years in power. This position ignores the broken promise of not running for re-election, the Hello Garci tapes, the desparecidos, the journalist killing sprees, the manufactured ‘People’s Initiative’ for cha-cha some years back, the ZTE-NBN scandal, the invention of ‘Executive Privilege’ over major trade agreements such as JPEPA, the fertilizer funds scandal and many others.
To ignore the context in which HR 1109 has unfolded is intellectually dishonest if done maliciously and most unfortunate if done in complete ignorance. One may argue that there is no direct correlation between the scandals of the past to any intimations of “Gloria Forever.” But politics, as all study of human behavior, is not a science. We cannot know beyond doubt whether this resolution indeed plots to keep incumbents in power indefinitely. And so all we have are indicators – that is, behavior and actions committed in the past and unfolding in the present.
We may presume that this administration should not be judged guilty before the Court of Public Opinion without, as some quarters say, “due process.” As if our public institutions, and the processes they purportedly implement, are blemish-free. As if our public institutions and the rules they enforce have been equally applied to those who govern as well as those governed. As if our public institutions have and always will work for justice and fairness and are not liable to abuse by those who monopolize them. As if our public institutions were mere conveyor belts that say after Step 1 comes Step 2 comes Step 3 then Step 4. To claim such, displays blind ignorance.
I do not know that our opposition is driven by ‘fear’ – by definition an emotional reaction to something that may cause harm or hurt. But is this fear irrational? That is, without reason? Are we afraid, for no reason, that the Specter of Gloria Forever is haunting us?
By accident of nature, humans have evolved to have large brains. We learn. In the course of evolution, we have learned, for example, that when we place our hand on a live stove, it will hurt. We do not actually need to place said hand on said stove repeatedly to know, beyond a doubt, that each time, it will burn.
Popularity: 1% [?]
i think part of smoke’s issue about term extension is simple: if there is a firm/legal/binding commitment to NO term extensions, then alot of the moaning and groaning should stop. yes?
The resolution is purposely vague. It doesn’t say incumbents in the current government set-up. That provision will not apply if they have been successful in changing our system into the Parliamentary form.
I am hardly the first to make this observation. The reps who were manifesting their objection to the reso were saying it there on the floor.
As Fr. Bernas has said, what the law doesn’t explicitly disallow is permissible.
indeed, the current commitment is less than firm.
BUT, IF they were to commit, alot of the complaints would have less merit, right?
in other words:
What remains of the moral outrage once term extension is off the table?
Gabby there are two elements: mistrust given the track record of the regime, and the reality that whether its a CON-ASS or ConCon such body will have PLENARY powers.
By definition as as far promises or covenants go, you know how GMA broke her own vow not to run and then proceeded to steal the elections.
nandoon na ako ding.
but, there is a possibility (perhaps not likely, but at least a possibility) of a binding/legal provision that takes term extension off the table.
this particular bill has less than firm commitment, especially given what the proponents have been saying….
which is confusing since the text of HR1109 is clear:
NO Extensions to any sitting official, and the senators whose terms end in 2013 will be allowed to finish their term.
IF this commitment is carried forward, THERE SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM. right?
This just in Gabby:
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/164418/Pulse-Asia-Arroyo-most-distrusted-among-top-govt-officials
Gabby,
Ok, let’s say that beyond a doubt all incumbents have committed to not extending their terms of office in whichever government system.
This would mean that they truly want to change the constitution to improve the highest law of the land to make lives better for Filipinos.
Ok, let us assume that their motives not suspect, and they want to serve their constituents through their actions. Why then did they:
1. Forgo voting on pending bills that have already been slated in the HOR agenda? Bills that aim to “make life better” for us? CARP-ER made it, but RH didn’t.
2. Not go through the proper procedures in getting the resolution passed? See my notes here. You will agree that an initiative to change the highest law of the land demands extensive consultations, debate in the committee-level and debate on the floor? I hardly think that this merits only 4-5 hours on the floor.
Assuming that they do not want to stay in power indefinitely, our outrage should then be over how cavalierly these members of Congress have acted, how they have not consulted their constituents on whether we even want charter change, and how they have circumvented their own rules.
spot on!
in this case, i submit that your problem with charter change IS NOT about term extension alone.
it is far more fundamental: you dont like the House, and quite frankly, you reject constitutional change that emanates from the house. After all, if THIS HOUSE doesn’t pass (your) muster, why would be expect that ANY FUTURE HOUSE would?
if this is a faithful representation of ur position, then i can accept that. is it?
parenthetically, if they didn’t pass the RH bill, that doesn’t necessarily/automatically mean they don’t have the nation’s best interests at heart. again, this is a political issue — that is, some people hold your position; others don’t. thats the truth. (even more parenthetically, i agree with the RH bill — i merely concede that passing the bill is a political operation)
but thanks, at least i know your position as to what remains when term extension is off the table. meaning, procedural lapses.
a frank discussion is so refreshing and useful in understanding each other eh :)
Gabby, It is true I do not trust this House given how they have kowtowed to the Executive, aided of course by ‘emergency stimulus funds.’
I specifically do not like the constitutional amendment floated by Speaker Nograles about allowing foreigners 100 percent ownership of land, as I have expressed in Country for Sale.
If by some miracle we truly become a democratic polity, and ordinary people were able to breach the current political monopoly of the few, then I do not have reason to mistrust the House in the future, no.
@sparks
fantastic, bloggers should have a debate about the merits then…
Further, at least one of her own allies, Cong. Barzaga, has arrogantly admitted how proposing term extension is on his wish list.
Sparks,
I think Fr. Bernas makes a most interesting case:
that said, i think ordinary people find it difficult to understand what exactly is wrong. The technicalities takes time and effort to wrap yourself around it. Heck, I’d like to think I’m no slouch on the brain department but the intricate details of constitutional law— well requires someone who has specialized in it his whole life. For most Filipinos they are neither interested nor have the patience to study. We got to give them the cliff notes version.
Second, some people I’ve talked to seem to have come to the conclusion that this is a done deal. The word from the top has come down and what the President wants, the president gets. no more appeal, victory is the palace’s.
I think like the great book blockade, this can be won by a few good men and women. We continuously “educate” the public across the web. Since mainstream media seem to be joining this time around— get the message across via that vector too.
This will not be won by the number of people we field to the streets— though the sight of that makes great TV and I hate to admit does help our case. This can be won in the Great Hall of the Internet, in the backrooms were our War Cabinet plan moves, on the alleyway of Mainstream Media, and eventually on the trust we must put before the Supreme Court that they shall be wise Filipinos no matter who had appointed them to that position.
I think time is on our side. If HORs (why do i always pronounce that acronym as whores!?! my apologies to prostitutes everywhere!) start July they’ll need to deliver before November any constitutional amendment and Comelec has to approve before December correct? Naturally this will be blocked by the Senate and eventually raised in the Supreme Court and a decision has to be made before December. It would depend on what exactly are the changes to be made correct? All things being equal, HOR move slowly like lumbering dinosaurs, my optimistic view is that they don’t have time.
yeah, by all means, inform people. thats always a good idea.
I agree with everything you have said. Except the part about people going to the streets. If we have a recourse to inform each other and vent on the internet – a public space, why can’t other people do the same on the streets?
Now if anyone bitches about the inconveniences of rallies….why the hell won’t they bitch about all the other inconveniences living in this city entails? Like shitty public services and infrastructure?
Now THOSE are inconveniences that do not go away after a few hours.
Sparks,
1) classes have not yet started. no group to organized. 2) i don’t think ordinary people understand how absolutely important this is, 3) and we’ve cried wolf too many times with little to show for. i think ordinary people have rally fatigue.
I most certainly understand your frustration. They just don’t share our passion or understanding of how important this is. They like things like Sex Scandals, but not things that really matter. That’s why I’ve been thinking that this thing– will not be won by popular support. It will not be won by rallies (though it would be nice to have a huge one in support of anti-conass). Plans should be drawn up that would least likely to include the man on the street. This will be won by good people like you fighting the good fight.
Cocoy,
I had an interesting conversation with one such ‘ordinary person’ yesterday. I’ll blog about it soon, but let us not underestimate the capacity of ordinary folk to understand. While they may not know the details and technicalities – the bigger the bullshit, the easier to detect.
“I most certainly understand your frustration. They just don’t share our passion or understanding of how important this is. They like things like Sex Scandals, but not things that really matter.”
So tell me, Cocoy, weren’t you also riveted by Haydengate? Who could help it because of the genius of our good senators — although we tried eh? Everybody who watched TV or had access to the net, from the socialites in Forbes Park to the basureros in Payatas shared the same titillation. Titillation is not exclusive to the masses. Or are your brain tissues/sex organs different from them? And your passion? What’s your basis for saying that “they” don’t share your passion for the good fight? Do you actually know them or did you at least try to get to know them? Their passions? Being silent doesn’t mean that they are apathetic or they don’t care. And I thought the masses have been stereotyped as an emotional, unthinking horde? So now, the so-called “thinking class” as represented by you, wants to wear the mantle of being “passionate” (hello Edsa Dos). Just splendid. You are in fact the very type of soldier that Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her minions is manipulating towards this frame of mind so she can win this war. By all means strategize but don’t be led by false premises for doing so.
Nope. There’s lot of adult shops in the hood where $9.99 can get 8 hours of hardcore action – with more variety. There’s also the Paris Hilton vid, and the Pam Anderson vids. Sa Madison Square pa lang, on 34th street and 8th avenue, dami ng nakahilera na shoppes.
Not to mention the retail mom-and-pop shoppes on every street corner that sell hardcores DVD in all the Big apple’s boroughs.
And there’s a multitude of Pay to View sites online that make Haydengate look like a PG13 flick.
for total titillation, go to Larry Flint’s Hustler’ club on 641 W 51st St, New York, NY or Plato’s Retreat or Tootsie’s Cabaret in Miami South Beach, or Mons Venus in Tampa.
Gabby,
If YOU were in the HOR, I’d take your word for it given the virginity factor.
But as far as those current in that trapo-populated Chamber, don’t hold your breath.
Cheers.
OK. you are saying that its unlikely that the NO TERM Extension promise will be carried forward?
then why not complain/lobby/protest at that point?
if THEY DO advocate term extension, then the protests have moral standing — after all, they promised ON PAPER not to have term extension, and they reneged.
Choices we make.
You are absolutely free to wait for them to consumate the rape while they tear off our clothes.
yes. i am free. yes, we make choices.
however, i was hoping for a little discussion :)
do you think rape is an apt metaphor? by equating this to rape, doesn’t it diminish rape?
Same mistake as the previous moronism where they likened this whole fiesta to the 9/11 massacre.
Comes across like a desperate appeal to emotion in the same way that low-budget Pinoy movies pull in a vacuous audience using the same kind of over-dramatised schlock. :D
@B0
this isn’t a pinoy phenomenon. politicians do this all the time.
whenever you disagree with an opponent, a not so subtle mention of HITLER , the holocaust, etc will always follow.
we should raise the level of political discourse as much as possible. but its VERY HARD.
It depends on the details – depending on what’s being amended – the act may not actually be rape, but CONSENSUAL.
Low turnout. :D
http://filipinovoices.com/this-is-filipinovoices
http://bongaustero.blogspot.com/
So what then if Gloria is president beyond 2010?
Is there some basis for the assumption that the Philippines will be a better country without Arroyo?
If so, let’s here it.
It seems the entire “outrage” is premised on Arroyo trying to extend her term. So be it then. But then first tell us:
What exactly is it about the Philippines that will be BETTER if Arroyo is no longer president after 2010?
or for that matter making it more general:
Is there a convincing causal link between whoever is sitting in Malacanang and the prospects for prosperity of the Philippines?
Let’s here it please.
Otherwise, I continue to find no clear BASIS for this “indignation” everyone is trying to encourage everyone else to feel about this whole ocho-ocho gig being a covert move towards extending Arroyo’s term.
I think we all just like to think that our troubles are Arroyo’s fault. The reality we seem to be unable to handle is that our chronic failure to prosper is something far more ingrained in our society than the nature of our governance.
- :D
Better yet, let me re-post this brilliantly elegant question on the matter of Pinoy presidents as determinants of Pinoy prosperity which I wrote about in a past article:
=========
How big a factor is a President, really in terms of influencing the course of progress (or lack of it) in the Philippines?
I mean, really.
First of all, I throw out this question to the FV community. Is there some kind of evidence or at least some kind of logical construct that convincingly describes some kind of causal relationship between (A) the character or even identity of the President of the Philippines and (B) the prospects of the Philippines achieving some semblance of sustainable prosperity?
Can we, infer from a value of A, what the probability distribution for a set of values of B might be?
For example, what many people claim to be a certainty can be expressed like this (using the conventions I loosely spelled out above):
IF A = GMA and Year > 2010,
THEN B = Disaster for the Philippines
or, for that matter;
IF A is NOT equal to GMA and Year > 2010,
THEN B = Prosperity for the Philippines
My question is this: Is there an A=>B relationship?
Think for a minute of the implications of the answer to this question. Because, if there is none, if there is no convincing answer to this question, or if a debate about whether such a relationship between A and B exists gets drawn out over comments ad infinitum and never gets resolved convincingly, it brings to light this SIMPLE question:
WHO CARES IF GLORIA ARROYO IS STILL LEADER OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE AFTER 2010?
=========
So ano ba talaga? Are we willing to face the FUNDAMENTAL nature of this latest of ocho-ocho-isms we are seeing today? :D
OK. lets play.
the problem is political confidence. without confidence in philippine institutions, there will be widespread issues both internally, and externally (how other countries treat us)
if the sitting president is seen to manipulate the charter change system to extend power, then that tells people that any political outcome is possible for the sitting president — i.e. constitutional constraints DO NOT apply to you.
this is a BIG problem, and the admin should do everything by the book, to eliminate the impression of railroading.
the easiest way to eliminate it, is to just wait for Chacha to happen under the next president. (i would add, tho that sparks’ doubts won’t be eliminated — she doesn’t like the HOUSE at all, so for her, this wouldn’t matter)
the fact that the admin is pushing to do in before 2010 (the hard way) also helps give people the wrong impression.
this sort of thing doesn’t happen anymore in any country in recent history, so if it happens in the philippines now, that would definitely be “pa-urong”.
GabbyD:
The argument against Cha-cha will be recycled by a different crowd.
A decisive leader will draw the line at a certain point and say, screw it, let’s do this – and force the issue.
gabbyd, since when after marcos did filipinos have “confidence” in their government? cory, ramos, estrada, arroyo. can you name any of them who had not been subjected to “alis diyan” rabble rousings? anti-government action has been a favorite hobby of the filipinos, especially the ex ruling class and their brokers who find themselves on the outside looking in. it’s always “kami naman, tama na kayo”.
sparks, what do people like you do for a living? you all seem to have all the energy and time to take marching orders from political has-beens, red flag-waving, headband wearing radical ideologues, disgruntled turncoats, politicking religious and military types, and media elements looking for ratings, subscription, advertisements, and the sensational but mostly less than accurate depiction of the issues of the day.
street protest may be likened to cooking adobo. without complete and correct ingredients, it will not come out right. the cause must be worthwhile and sensible. otherwise, it would be nothing more than an annoyance, if not outright nuisance.
@bong
i’m not sure what you mean. yes decisive leaders “decide” (hehehe), but this isn’t about that. this is about confidence in philippine institutions.
thats very important!
@bencard
two things:
1) this is about confidence in philippine institutions, which goes beyond any one administration. The presidency means more than GMA, or anyone.
2) i disagree with your main thesis. i think that while many people have tried to oust presidents (via a coup for example), they were able to protect philippine institutions and repel these attacks.
disagreeing with an administration is FINE. thats part of a free society.
we are all free to have political opinions, and i’m personally fascinated with the variety.
but bulldozing philippine instituions to establish one’s political point of view helps no one.
about sparks, wow, bencard, thats an awesome back handed compliment! :)
i’m impressed… its like, wow, your job affords you with loads of free time… to do crap things… :)
i don’t know what her job is. but i like your hirit! :)
Manong Bencard,
What I do for a living? I guess you haven’t heard this?
oh, so that’s what it is. i think r. pacifico has a term for that (lol). nothing like doing what you like to do and getting paid for it. i bet the other “warm bodies” brought there don’t fare as well, huh?
Manong Bencard,
Would you like me to publish my CV and all my other credentials as well?
FV contributors know who I am in person :-)
But thank you for your…interest and curiosity. Rest assured I am doing all this citizen bullshit for free.
I only worked for advocating Reproductive Health specifically. And our legislator members run the gamut of the political spectrum don’t worry – admin and opposition both.
“Let’s here it please.” ?
hahaha, we all mix up our letter eh :)
I meant of course “let’s hear it please”. As Primer say, it must be some kind of “virus”. :D
It appears that GMA is pushing for change. However her thesis is not yet well defined. Until the premise is clear there is no clear contradiction.
She will keep all guessing while she tries to marginalize each and everyone arrayed before her. She will use money and fear to dissipate the so called opposing forces. By the time she is through her most unwitting ally, Leah Navarro, will be left of the opposing forces.
Hear, hear.
GMA has mastered the Art of War and the tenets of Machiavellism.
It is what you think. She can be defeated…Marcos was a
formidable Politician. He was defeated. She does not know
the strategy and tactic she will be facing. Once, she become
a Dictator. We still have good cards at our disposals.
Like every other instance in Pinoy history, Filipinos are so fragmented, disorganised, and clueless that they are chronically OPEN to being suckered into just about ANY kind of unfair treaty.
Arroyo is merely THE LATEST of shrewd politicians and businessfolk who will profit from Filipinos. When she goes someone else will replace her and continue to profit off a people too vacuous to find any real alternatives to such a sad circumstance.
huh? so now its unfair? ano ba tlga ang opinyon mo?
Inspired by the indie film dubbed, “Pera-perahang lata” by my associate, Ms. Rianne Hill Soriano which is about workers in a tin-can making factory deriving little income from the fruits of their labor.
I become inclined to call Congress in quite the same sense – “Pera-perahang Kongreso”, assuming ‘money politics’ is part of its intellectual culture, where supposed-to-be honorable men and women derive aweful ‘earmarks’ from the fruits of their “l” – for loyalty.
I am not sure, but indeed, Skinner may well be a prescribed therapeutic approach for ‘lawmaking fatigue’. I am confused.
20 years of voting for the same a-holes into congress and you’d think people have wisened up.. BUT…. :lol:
well, its also the same set of people running. cant vote for people who aren’t running
no really, there were lots of good people who ran – but the CDE group has clearly stated what it wants – MORE IDIOTS.
really? i’m curious: who are these good people? how do we know they are good?
The Kapatiran fielded people with solid credentials, ala la ngang pambili ng boto :lol:
Same same with Raul Roco.
whoa… if we are talking credentials… lotsa people have credentials. everyone is a lawyer (or something). what makes kapatiran’s (whoever they are) credentials better than anyone elses’?
Raul Roco… yeah, i supported him. but i thought we were talking about congress?
GabbyD:
At the congressional level, there are people who have the same qualities as Raul Roco.
These candidates don’t stand a chance as the DE groups in your locality will vote for someone with largesse – a local GMA, a local Erap, a local FPJ.
In case you didn’t notice the family names of the congressmen, they sound like a roll call of Marcos’ KBL.
You are one of the beneficiaries of “money politics”. What a swine…
Benny, benny, benny. I didnt know you liked herring.
Is there some basis for the assumption that the Philippines will be a better country without Arroyo?
No there isnt. If you read the post, part of the thesis is not that the Philippines will not be better off without Arroyo; the thesis is that the Philippines will be worse with Arroyo because of her track record.
Who is / who are driving the plan — plan for a country with GMA out of Malacanang?
And what’s in the post-implementation section (when GMA is gone):
— who wrote the section?
— who’ll be running the show?
— what’s the plan?
———–
Are there others (in addition to the DannyLim-model or the revolution-model) that address the June 8, 2009 at 7:04 Gabby comments?
well, its also the same set of people running. can’t vote for people who aren’t running.
The plan is business as usual – transactional politics – starting on Day 1 of the presidency.
BongV: I agree with what you said.
The plan is actually how it is supposed to work, which is that the population elect representatives into Congress based on the track-record of the candidates plus what the candidates promise to do. Elected representatives vote their individual conscience (which may be shaped with a modicum consultation with the voters).
Representatives do not hold-mini-elections in their districts and then vote according to “plurality counts”. This sentence is really naive — the representative should ask me first before said-representative casts his vote in Congress.
Part of the process also is this :
the voters of metro-Manila can NOT select who should be the representatives from Laguna. Well, I guess they can, if they pool their bank-accounts together to buy voter-loyalty in Laguna.
It is a challenging process with less than a handful of shortcuts (to include “Manipulated surge-the-gate” and the DannyLim model).
Manila voters select their own reps.
People from Laguna select their own reps.
Those are the rules of the game called representative democracy.
what track record, jeg? compared to whom, cory, estrada? pitting arroyo against some unknown entity that will materialize in the future is disingenuous and unfair. better a devil we know than one we don’t, as the cliche goes.
Bencard: weren’t you just exchanging “pleasantries”( or at least ‘so you’re still true to old form’ notes) with cvj ?
It is our choice not to have any Devils. If you allow your house
to be inhabited by “Devils”. It is your choice. To us, we will
Exorcise any “Devil”.Any gender of “Devil”. We dont accept to be
ruled by any “Devil”, real or imagined…
Yes Hayden, and if this one turns to be another devil incarnate, then he should be kicked out again. Bencard speaks cliches and foolishness
what track record, jeg?
Seriously? She doesnt have a track record?
And the ‘compared to’ part is a red herring. The post was talking about Arroyo. And as I pointed out to benny, we can’t predict the future, so his question doesnt make any sense in the context of the post, but we can examine empirical observations gathered in the past.
OMG, bencard is having a “senior moment” until here? my mother, retired aunties and uncles are enjoying their travel around the world. They dont care about politics anymore. They just want to enjoy life and share what they have accomplished thru community outreach and volunteering in the Philippines. I wish our lawyer can do the same? When I will retire, I will guide my people and teach them what I have learned. I promise I will not insult people and that would be in 30 years. :) such a gap and it’s not even funny. hehehe
She got away with the Hello Garci Tapes. She thinks, she can get away
with this act to grab for power.
An observation, if I may make.
In all honesty, Atty. Ben, I am sure you must be an honorable man,
But why is it that your preferred mode of replying to theses you don’t agree with, specially when it about you BFF, is to insult and browbeat?
BTW among the recent Presidents, it was Cory Aquino, bless her soul, who was not bedeviled by questions about her personal integrity, outside of her favorite diversdion – friendly mahjong sessions, and the arrogance and untrusting character of her ES at the time, Joker Arroyo.
The military adventurists did try several times to unseat her, but the people never supported them.
And when it was time to step down, Cory did relinquish power, oversaw relatively clean election even though the key loser, Miriam was exactly that – a sore loser.
Ramos, too, tried Cha-Cha toward the end of his term, and failed.
Finally, for the record, I agree the Constitution needs a tune-up.
But that should be initiated transparently… perhaps as the first order of business of the next President unless extra-legal events intervene.
In fact I think humbly that all the current wannabees should be asked todo so – initiate moves to call a Constitutional Convention, a properly elected one so we can, as I said, give the fundamental law a tune-up.
Or, to ask the wannabes, if they were to suggest an amendment to the constitution, what will it be, lay your cards down, I will listen, and if it makes sense to me and you have shown yourself to be a person with integrity, action, and vision – by all means, take center stage. lead, i will follow.
ding, you know i “insult and browbeat” the message, not the messenger, unless i get insulted and browbeaten for my effort.
in all fairness, though, i agree with most of what you said there.
Okidoki.
“Castrated by vacuous argument for the sake of vacuous argument”?
One criticized ‘who frequent than frequent …”.
In both cases, the rule is – no two similar words should be found in the same sentence. Take your pick?
I suppose the previous copy editor died and Primer has decided to take on the role. Awfully decent of him.
(Seriously, man, knock it off. Please, I beg you.)
Why carry a mental baggage, ding?
Your observation is what it seems. Connie must be right. DJB must be right. JCC must be right. Who else?
Prime,
You are free to draw your conclusions. You can be assured though that while there may be differences, civility and decency in my dealings with you will remain.
Aren’t you being choked? Isn’t the air now suffocating? Haven’t the lines now been drawn? Do we know what this all mean? Something is emerging. People are playing gods. We have become worthless. We are accused of lacking is communication skills. We are being doomed in our command of the English language. They question every word you use, every idea that troops out of your brains, every feeling you wish to share, every dream, every vision.
God damn it.
They have become the moral metricians. The political scientists. The chair of the English department. The college deans of law. Claimants of expertise that put Bernas et al to shame. They have built the edifice of the ‘new enlightenment’.
They are not one of us. We are pawns, straws, artisans.
We must be shamed, we must be doomed, we must be crashed. Talk about FV? Come on…
speak for yourself. who are “we”?
Is there a convincing causal link between whoever is sitting in Malacanang and the prospects for prosperity of the Philippines? Benigno..
Of course there is a DIRECT causal link. The person who sits in malacanang is our leader. A leader will Inspire, enligten, motivate, strategize , plan, act, build, institute, produce and incite. She has sworn to improve the lives of all filipinos. A leader doesn’t just organize people to get results, she infuses her followers with a noble purpose. A leader doesn’t push , she pulls. A leader does not extend her term but resigns and give guidance to others. She does not insist but inspire. A leader leads the people to a goal.
A leader does not lose followers and supporters. With the current SWS survey, im not sure if SHE is sensitive and conscious about her own people. SHE sounded like you benigno… :)
By any accident, is that point true that benigno is Malacanang’s __________, (can anyone just please fill the blank?