Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her men/women must really take Filipinos for fools.
They even made a show of looking like they are not being BFFs at an out of town Cabinet meeting, with reports saying “Mrs. Arroyo gave Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya and Presidential Management Staff Director General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. the”cold shoulder” because they are among those covered by the Supreme Court ruling that appointive officials running in the election ‘are deemed resign’.
A sixth Cabinet man, chief presidential legal counsel Raul Gonzales was absent simply because he’s already on the stump in Iloilo.
The truth is Arroyo has allowed her own electoral issues lawyer, Romulo Macalintal to help these Cabinet men and peddle the stupid premise that the SC ruling “is not yet final and executory.”
We want to clarify with the high court that there is a seeming conflict between two provisions of Republic Act No. 8436—one that says that those officials will be considered as resigned upon the start of the campaign period and that which says that any unlawful acts or omissions applicable to candidates takes effect at the start of the campaign period,
This argument is the hallmark of Arroyo reign: ramming through morally questionable actions simply on the basis of these being legal!
Hey, even now that the electoral bids of appointive officials are being sent to the dustbin the concerned officials are usurping their offices, peddling their influence, and displaying utter lack of delicadeza and respect for public sentiment.
Is it even any wonder that 7 out of 10 Filipinos DO NOT TRUST Arroyo???
Postscript:
As the week drew to a close 5 of the 6 thick-skinned personages sent in their resignation. Ha!
Popularity: 2% [?]
If some act is legal, doesn’t it mean that Congress (this one or a prior Congress) consisting of representatives elected by the voters of the republic decided for it to be so? More over, that while the law was being debated that the citizens of Pilipinas (and various organizations like the CBCP, the INC, the MBC, other groups) had time to voice their resistance to the proposed bills?
and who judges “morality”, the pope, the priest, “bro.” villanueva, cardinal vidal, or YOU? “judge not that ye be judged”.
Oh you are certainly most qualified.
Levity aside, Atty. Ben, outside of your ‘with blinders’ estimation of how great Mrs. Arroyo is, I wonder why it is you have not volunteered to be part of her team.
Maybe her regime would be doing a wee bit better.
I’m sure you won’t have any part in their corrupt transactions,
right.
I firmly believe that your commitment to morality and the law are exemplary.
LOL!!!
“This argument is the hallmark of Arroyo reign: ramming through morally questionable actions simply on the basis of these being legal!”
Ding, laws are the official, government sanctioned rules of morality, so I think your error is in presuming there is a different morality than what is enshrined in laws. If the laws are crooked, that reflects the standing morality. If laws are confusing and contradictory, that, too, reflects standing morality. In this case, it may be the morality of obfuscation so that illicit deeds can be made to appear legit.
At the risk of sounding like a carping foreigner, I repeat the theme I offered up elsewhere, drawn from personal experience, verified by the repeated violations of western norms (which simply do not apply here), cheating is an ethic in the Philippines. It is the morality, and it is the law, in the sense that the whole legal system is designed to avoid clarity and permit “badness” to escape through all the loopholes (like presidential pardons).
Joe
I’d like to say spot on, Joe. But your seeming wholesale assessment that “whole legal system is designed to avoid clarity and permit “badness” to escape through all the loopholes (like presidential pardons)” is a bit much even for someone like me who sort of prides his BS detector being in tune most of the time.
I am prodded to query how long you’ve exactly lived here and if in your encounters with “laws designed to avoid clarity and permit badness” you spoke out and took action to right the wrong.
I take it that not all your eggs are in the Philippine basket so if and when you determine you’ve had enough you have the option to pack up and draw from your fallback investments abroad?
I hold to the hope that our system, no matter how imperfect, can still be reformed for the greater good.
Ding,
Actually, I am impressed with what Chief Justice Puno is doing, and feel the Judiciary is vastly underfunded. Shifting money from Defense to Judiciary would be progressive, I think.
The Constitution makes clear that Public Trust is supposed to be foremost on the mind of legislators. The legal loophole is to just ignore it and talk about all the good things you are doing, like putting in C-5 is good for the people. Taxing books. Using Customs and Immigration as taxing agencies, negating the service orientation they should have.
I’ve been here 5 years, and will die here. I am not complaining, and think people misunderstand my loud look for the root sources of corruption. I don’t know how you get rid of the beast without looking at why it is there.
Sleight of hand?
Joe
Ding,
I was not going to post this out of some sense of decorum that people are tired of my yammer. But Bert has rather ticked me off by saying neither me nor my views are welcome here. So lump it. Far as I am concerned I am free to yammer within bounds of decency and you’all are free not to read it.
I fear you and Dean and Bert and Lila and others are trying to convince me that corruption is a simple aberration, easily gotten rid of with a little forthright executive attention. It is not an “ethic”. I would say, then, okay, you, the non-corrupt electorate, have voted in Arroyo in on the heels of Estrada, and you allow Villar to be within reach of the same desk. If these are the choices of an honorable electorate then it is a very masochistic electorate, indeed. Okay, Arroyo was a misunderstanding, but Villar . . . ??
I would add that the breadth of Philippine corruption is not just about greed. It is about need. There is no epidemic of greed in the Philippines, but there is an epidemic of need. That is the foundation of the “ethic” of a society that basically accepts cheating on the edges as okay. Need . . . not greed.
You can’t mandate good behavior when people don’t have food enough for the family, can’t get ahead by working honestly because “favorites” get the jobs to which they could aspire, or earn a daily wage that is so low they can’t do what they see others doing: buy nice clothes for the kids, have a good car or at least a motorcycle, go to the mall to actually buy something, and have a stable house with a real floor. Innate within each of us is the drive to become better – more secure, more capable, and, yes, holding more trophies, whether they be mammoth skulls or bank accounts.
It is not wrong to want decent things. So I don’t condemn the corruption ethic as “crookedly” wrong. But getting rid of it requires deep-rooted solutions, not hammers on television wielded by people in yellow shirts smashing big letters that spell “corruption”. Jailing Ms. Arroyo will not stop corruption in the Philippines any more than tossing Mr. Estrada out of office did.
Getting rid of corruption requires non-corrupt police or ombudsmen willing to arrest those who cheat. It requires open, fair, efficient courts that give people direct recourse when they are injured by unfair practices; an end to the nepotistic hiring that blocks skilled people’s career aspirations and assures economic mediocrity; slowing the birth rate to a level that job-creation can keep pace with; teaching kids to aspire rather than simply obey; and a vibrant, growing economy sparked by investment and competition brought in by foreigners.
People uplifted by accomplishment and by promise don’t usually cheat. It undermines their pride in what they have done and expect to do.
Getting rid of corruption in the Philippines is a 25 to 50 year project, not an overnighter. It is similar to what it took to get rid of racism in the US. Racism was once an accepted American “ethic”; it has now diminished to incidents, not ethic.
You can’t cure cancer with aspirin and a band-aid, or a hope and a dream. You take up powerful medicine and employ a good deal of therapy over a long period of time. That is where the presidential candidates are absolutely in gaga land, thinking they can do it by jailing a couple of people.
To get rid of corruption, you have to enact laws and programs aimed at fixing the sources of the problem. But first you have to “man up” and recognize what those sources are.
Alas, I worry mightily, for I think all the doctors have fled to other lands where opportunity is richer . . . and only quacks remain . . .
Ahahahahaha. And if it sounds like a duck, it probably is one . . .
Joe
Joe Am: After having finished 4 beers each, I asked and this is what a cousin why Pinas is so backwards and why Pinoys seem to accept what is going on. Hindi kami iyon!!! he blurted. But many other Pinoys…. is how he started. Then:
You have to believe Pinoys-in-Pinas when they say that it is the other guys’ fault. Pilipinas presidential candidates have been groomed into those spots by the electorates and the community, but not by “MY” community but by the other group’s followers. It is a democracy, remember? “My kind” — we are the minority — “my” group wants someone else, not these candidates. But “the other guys” — they are the majority — they are the ones, they are the ones who have allowed these candidates to rise and now, they are senatorial- or presidential candidates. They were consistently working but what can “my group” do against their efforts? This is why “my group” is energized as we wait for anti-corruption action and promises of land reform. We are patient as we are energized in waiting.
Pinas needs jobs for Pinoys-in-Pinas. Pinas needs to create wealth to build a better tax base to better fund the courts and the schools.
Upnn,
Fascinating perspective. Thank you. And I suppose if one is just going to wait, it is best to do it with a few San Migs.
Joe
Pareng Ding,
I would add a third category having learned of its profundity only recently when I’ve just met people who fall into this category.
You should really add the AMORAL. People who are really less than immoral as they cannot distinguish between the two. These are the Hannibal Lecters, Charles Manson, etc.
Regards,
Dean
Manong Dean,
Thanks for letting me borrow the word “Amoral” I have used it, for joe’s comment below somewhere.
Dear Joe,
How I wish we’de meet soon. I can introduce you to some people who might change your mind or at least average down the ill-ethic index.
Although, having been recently a victim of a foiled carnapping (at least I hope it was just that), my own measure of the ethic “index” you mention just moved up.
Dean
Dean,
Glad the foil won.
I recognize I am harsh. I just can’t figure out why the beast is so pernicious and widespread, and have rather come to the conclusion that there are two categories: (1) the greedy, and (2) those who are trying to get ahead in an economy and system that largely seems designed to stifle them. In the latter are those blocked from aspiring to excel by favoritism in hiring, and those who work hard but whose salary simply does not allow them to progress. When the only way you can get a decent meal for the family is to cheat a bit, it becomes a battle of honor, and the need to eat is a pretty intense motive.
Let me be obnoxious as well as blunt. When people argue against foreign investment and engagement, and they argue FOR the continuing need to cheat. When they argue against birth education, they are arguing FOR the continuing need to cheat. When they argue FOR hiring and promotion of friends, family, and favorites into important jobs, they are arguing for the continuing need to cheat AND for mediocrity, which itself, spawns cheating.
Joe
Joe,
You kept on complaining of the ‘mud’, and yet you seems to be enjoying wallowing in it. Or, is it the foreign exchange rate that is too good to resist?
Bert,
No, Bert, it is not wallowing. It is looking at things from a western perspective and seeing root causes of corruption. If people have opportunity, hope, a career, they aren’t much interested in cheating.
You to me represent a big part of the problem. People are so proud of being Filipino that they can’t do the hard self-assessment that leads to doing things differently.
If you like having to deal with people who expect a little extra cash to do the job for which they are hired, and are paid, then keep things the same. I am simply not used to paying soft bribes for this and that, so it is a jolt. I am not used to getting cheated every time I turn around, so it is a culture shock for me.
And yes, the exchange rate is one of the reasons I am here. There are others.
Joe
Joe, If I have to dig the ‘mud’ of your people then tell you that you love being an American so much that it made you blind then I guess that would make us of the same kind. But I would not do that so my handicap. Just go ahead, say what you want of the Filipino people, then from time to time if I can’t help it anymore I’ll have to make a retort, Ok? Good.
And, Joe, just to be a little bit clear about this small thing going on in my mind, your country being the richest and the most powerful does not awe me a bit.
If you like having to deal with people who expect a little extra cash to do the job for which they are hired, and are paid —
Paying extra even when what is happening really is extortion — written off by Pinoys-in-Pinas as “being generous” or at minimum as “..making pakikisama..”.
After all, you can afford it… they will add. Not realizing that extortionists picked them as targets precisely because it is stupid to extort from folks who can not afford it. Also not realizing that you have to nip petty extortion early because “survival of the fittest” is in favor of one of the petty extortionists getting to elevate his game so 3 years later he becomes a government official.
JoeAm: the Pilipino worker who expects a 10% tip for doing the job per contract terms… maybe the job specs were vague (you thought the price includes the workers cleaning the work area after the job is done; the workers thought the walis-walis is extra).
Or maybe the workers believe that it is normal to cut corners and underperform. If underperforming by 10% is normal, then logical that performing to specs deserves 10% tip. Either that, or the Pinoys you met have superb pride that they really believe that they “walked on water” instead of just meeting the specs.
No different than a few folks in Chicago Illinois or Compton, California who expect a pay raise because for past 4 months, they have been arriving at their desk on time.
I see this happening often when a community/group of people can only think in two’s —oppressor or oppressed, poor or rich, right for all or wrong for all. A person who can only think overpaid vs underpaid do not know the meaning of that important middle-ground called “fairly paid”.
Bert,
If you lived in America, I would hope you would care enough about your country to engage in dialogue as to how to maker her better. America has many flaws, and your views would be welcomed as a part of the fabric of debate that keep her healthy and reasonably well balanced.
But that is not really the issue here, as I have said, and now find myself repeating.
The Philippines is my country, no matter what the laws say. No matter what history says. No matter what you say. No matter the color of my skin. It is where I live, where my kid will live and thrive, no matter what. I will teach him to read, have honorable principles, and engage in activities that care for others. These are the real riches.
Joe
Joe,
If I live in America as a foreigner then dig the mud of your people as you’ve been doing I think 1 minute is too long before I’d be whisked back to the airport for deportation if not lynched already by the Ku Klux Klan.
Bert,
Therein lies the problem. You don’t understand American values and the notion of free speech. If you are there legally, you can say whatever you want if it is in the correct venue (like, don’t run into a kindergarten saying bad words).
And why do you assume my motive is bad, just because you are embarrassed by the way some in your country behaves, and I have the audacity to state a truth? Or even a half-baked opinion that has as its core the aim of making people think.
You think thinking is bad?
Joe
Bert,
If you were to live here in America as a foreigner, you will learn to appreciate what this great Nation has to offer. The people in general are well diverse in sarcasms. You can throw a slander, they’ll slander you back. Of course, all in good intention. We Americans are well known for sarcastic remarks. So, hold to your horses.
Don’t worry, they would not deport you. It is what we call Freedom Of Speech.
As for myself and, experiencing the opportunities to live in both world, I have learned to adapt and accommodate the best of both world.
As for the Klu Klux Klan, I am sure Obama has their knees knocking. Also, I am a proud Pinoy who is well armed at all times. It is our Second Amendment Rights.
Klu Klux Klan, would not come knocking at my door, or my “1911″ would present the resolution for their present. LOL!
I agree with you,Mario. Me and our friend Joe here are merely engaging in sarcasm. But he’s slandering our people and me not slandering back and so that’s sort of like I’m “holding my horse” already like you said though my ‘horse’is buckling already. Don’t worry, I know how to hold the reins and can gallop recklessly as well like Joe if I want to though I’m averse to doing that so I will not.
I am happy for you being happy there properly adapting to both worlds but I have friends and relatives in America being called grease monkeys by those fine and cultured society even if they are legally and fairly earning their keeps. I heard it’s not only proud Pinoys like you who need guns but everybody in that Utopic land, the exact reason for the necessity of that Second Amendment Rights you’re talking about. So, hold on to that Armalite, or, is it an Uzi? You might be needing it one of these days.
Joe,
I can’t help but think that you’re a person who wears white robes with a white pointy hat at night and burn crosses shouting “white power”. Just an honest opinion….of course KKK here is a revolution for equality not the inverse. lol.
I always try to think that US citizens are not war mongers themselves and it’s just their government. Then Joe Am comes along spewing forth mud and provocation to start one. I bet US citizens back home would be ashamed if they were represented by one such as you as many are already going against the flawed sense of nationalism that they are taught.
I gave you the benefit of the doubt, yet I know a constructive criticsm from a racist criticism when I see one. Even if you see a good trait of a Filipino, you wouldn’t acknowledge it since your mind is already set that the Filipino are inferior to their western counterparts. Your specifics and your intellectual reasoning just differs, but the conclusion somehow is always set up to point in that direction (biased!).
Edward,
Your comment is so absent of legitimacy I have no idea where to start. One nation’s warmonger is another’s security savior. As for racism, you are free to float on whatever cloud of happy juice you cook up.
Joe
To Joe Am: “Shaking the duff off from your sandals.”
I thought I read that what Jesus Christ told his followers about preaching the Good News included these : (1) to go into the neighborhoods, live among the people; (2) to bravely share the Good News.
Staying forever is not a requirement. Mentioned : (3) “…shaking the dust off from your sandals”. I suppose that some Pinoys have acted on this, formerly Pinoys-in-Pinas now living in New Jersey or Massachusetts, in Manhattan or in Sydney, in Brussels or in Florida, and everyone is happy with the reduction in preacher noise-levels.
The best citizens are those who become citizens by choice and not by accident of birth.
You are most welcome in the Philippines Joe. Don’t let people stop you from speaking your opinion if you have good intentions.
And I don’t really see the point of Filipinos taking offense when a ‘foreigner’ points out flaws in the native system.A flaw is a flaw and if it is not so then the natives should point to the contrary.
A country which sends 10% of its population abroad cannot be xenophobic. It must take advantage of what the diaspora has learned and seen and experienced and share it.
We are all foreigners somewhere at some points in our lives.
Nash,
Thank you. I really appreciate that.
Joe
Legitimacy hence the title immoral and legal. What is legitimate doesn’t always mean moral. I rebuke on the basis on morality and not on legitimacy. You’re still allowed to speak whatever you want, but do not complain if I want to say whatever I want.
“One nation’s warmonger is another’s security savior” or so what the government would like its citizens to believe. I would like to offer you a good read
A Thousand Lies: Lies Every Good American Must Believe
There is what you call being a “good” foreigner and a “bad” foreigner. Freedom itself is neutral, it can be good or be bad. Not all freedoms are acceptable.
Morality is derived from religion and customs. What is moral to one
tribe is immoral to another. What is illegal in the Philippines
is not illegal in other countries. Marijuana and Prostitution are
legal in Amsterdam. There are stores selling Marijuana openly. And in
the Red Light Districts. Prostitutes are displayed on the Show Windows.
Both of which are immoral and illegal in other countries. Morality
and legality are relative terms. It depends on the point of view of
the beholder and the laws of the land.
Marijuana and ‘openly selling’ it is NOT legal in Amsterdam contrary to popular belief. The Dutch simply take a pragmatic approach. This is the same principle in force in the UK.
The statistics also show that cannabis abuse is much lower in the Netherlands than in countries where cannabis possession is severely restricted.
fyi.
If they do it openly. And the authorities allow it. Legality
is not the question. It is legal/illegal, since they are doing it.And the authorities do not enforce the law.
Equalizer,
Legal prostitution and marijuana, perfect examples on whch morality and legality crash. Probably the worst crime is to impose western culture,laws and customs upon another country and say that these are superior hehehe
We are not talking about cultures. Superior or not. No
culture is superior to other culture. One is just different
from the other. Superiority is just a wrong mindset of
unstable people.
In practice and running the country, morality and the rule of law supplement and promote each other, neither of them can be executed with and neither should be overemphasized at the expense of the other.
The Philippines rule of law that I remember since the 80′s. “Feel free to do unto them what, in all probability, will never be done to you”. I guess that would still apply?
Nike has “Just Do It!” Pilipinas has “kung lulusot, eh di puwede”.
haha… i love people. it’s an enduring culture indeed and yet manage to have a great sense of humor. ding, let’s move on from Gloria. Let’s attack the other departments?
The picture painted here is not what Filipinos were. The tribal society suited them for they had plenty of food and traded with half the world as far as Arabia, until the white men came who tricked and robbed them of everything good including their soul. Now they are destitute, and the white men from across the ocean shouted: “you thieves and cheats.”
Macapili,
You say a lot in a very few words. Well said.
Joe
Hmmm, well, let’s see: And let us consider a person makes the judicious insight that some people don’t have as much money as other people, and it would be nice if they had more money than they do. To counteract this problem they propose that a group of kind hearted benefactors create an agency whose job is to forcibly take other people’s money without their permission (let’s just say, steal it), and give some of it to those they deem to be “in need.”
The “flexible administrative” would use the rest of the funds to stir up the recipients’ sense of entitlement to this stolen money, fund propaganda that tells the world what a great job their organization is doing, and gradually build a nice, profitable little business empire for the staff in charge, who make out like bandits earning far beyond what they could in other jobs, all the while being extol for their “public service.” Or, what so called good deeds…!
To me, it sounds FREAKING injustice.
Wake up Pinoy-in-Pinas. Your[my] own kind of people is stealing from you[us].
I was watching one of my all time favorite movies on the Turner network the other night: “Sergeant York”. I don’t know when it was made, but it is so old that the colors are black and white.
The story is about a religious man who is drafted into the army but is hesitant about going off to fight and kill. His compassionate commander gives him 10 days to go home and reflect on it, and York spends much of that time with his bible. He reads that man is instructed to “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s, and render into God that which is God’s”. Then he heads off to serve Caesar.
His unit is trapped under hellish fire from the Germans who hold high ground and heavier guns. York slips across a broad hill without getting hit (he considers it God’s will), works his way up the side of the hill, and uses his turkey-shooting marksmanship skills to take out three Germans in a machine gun bunker. The bunker is along the German trench line, and York hunkers down there and starts working down the line, shooting Germans like turkeys, so that the ones in front don’t realize what is happening behind, until it is too late.
He kills about 25 Germans and single-handedly gets several hundred Germans to surrender.
When his commanding office says he is perplexed as to how York could willingly kill so many men, York humbly shrugs and says something like: “Well, I saw men all around me dying so I figured I’d better stop it.”
“You mean you killed the Germans to save lives?”
“Yep.”
The moral, eh? Just because a blog comment is offensive does not mean it is not intended for good.
Joe
joe,
Better to have earful and ears to listen, than to expel a mouthful of venum. Your right joe, the Filipinos need to react with such compassion, you never know, they might just strike the devil out.
Your emphasis are well construed. Arrogance at times, but I view them as an “eye opener“. One must learn to accept the reality on their premise and, not to indulged with amoral environment. Or else, you tend to forget what’s immoral.
Voicing out your opinion is what I call “Freedom of Speech” You can not revoke that, from any individual. I truly respect and, to exercise this rights.
Mario,
Thank you. Even my three college-age daughters point out that my arguments are, ummm, shall I say overbearing. That is a word that will get past the moderators here. The other words they occasionally use would not pass muster.
I work on it, but my old brain seems to think it knows everything.
Joe
Joe Am, should you be interested in making bets on a few Pinoys-in-Pinas
who want to better themselves the old-fashioned way — by earning it –
then check out KIVA.ORG (micro-lending) and the small enterprises
(farming, baranggay stores, tricycle operators, fishermen) being helped.
I’ve “touched” over two hundred already. The process is simple —
point-and-click via internet. I have zero-losses, not a single of my
micro-loan to a Pilipinas enterprise has gone bad.
Here is the link (full link… though filVoices moderator may modify a bit before they publish my blog comment).
http://www.kiva.org/lend?queryString=philippines&status=fundRaising&gender=All§ors=All®ions=All&sortBy=Popularity
Upnn,
Thank you for the referral. I will look it up, for sure.
Joe
metro-Manila based entrepreneurs (Patricio Mangubat???) may check out Center for Community Transformation Credit Cooperative (CCT). I know that KIVA helps provide loan-funds to CCT to help CCT can parcel out more micro-loans, to lower the interest rates charged on loans, or both. Some of the KIVA-aided loans are in Pasay, Caloocan, Bukidnon, Negros, Isabela and other areas of Pilipinas.
@ Joe,
Re your “I fear you and Dean and Bert and Lila and others are trying to convince me that corruption is a simple aberration, easily gotten rid of with a little forthright executive attention. It is not an “ethic”. I would say, then, okay, you, the non-corrupt electorate, have voted in Arroyo in on the heels of Estrada, and you allow Villar to be within reach of the same desk. If these are the choices of an honorable electorate then it is a very masochistic electorate, indeed. Okay, Arroyo was a misunderstanding, but Villar . . . ??
I would add that the breadth of Philippine corruption is not just about greed. It is about need. There is no epidemic of greed in the Philippines, but there is an epidemic of need. That is the foundation of the “ethic” of a society that basically accepts cheating on the edges as okay. Need . . . not greed.
You can’t mandate good behavior when people don’t have food enough for the family, can’t get ahead by working honestly because “favorites” get the jobs to which they could aspire, or earn a daily wage that is so low they can’t do what they see others doing: buy nice clothes for the kids, have a good car or at least a motorcycle, go to the mall to actually buy something, and have a stable house with a real floor. Innate within each of us is the drive to become better – more secure, more capable, and, yes, holding more trophies, whether they be mammoth skulls or bank accounts.”
Fear unnecessary, if not misplaced.
I’d be among the last to simplistically assert that corruption is a simple aberration.
I know how CORRUPTION is rooted in social injustice, real or imagined.
My conviction on the matter IS exacty the raison d’etre for this post.
Ding,
And the challenge seems to me to be how to deal with social injustice within the framework of the laws. People object to my proactive recommendations — double the Judiciary’s budget, pass a Fair Employment law — because the critical analysis that leads to those steps is that . . . critical . . . and therefore I am smoking dust or a racist or certainly over-staying my welcome. But I hear ZERO from these folks as to how, practically and legally, to end the social injustices, and corruption. I hear “surge the gates” is all.
There is a big silent void around here about WHAT TO DO, but a lot of noise complaining about foreigners who think critically.
Joe
mistr Joe Am: The call to surgethe gates has lost its appeal. deQuiros may still be chanting to surge, but the chant is drowned by the silence of “let us move on” people. One way to interpret “let us move on” response is “let us focus on stability — I need to earn a living” along with “..there is sanity in follwing the rules of the Cnsitution — let’s do that one!”. “Chaos bad….. stability good so I can continue to earn a living” is also shown by the OFW’s saying “.. I can’t linger to demonstrate against Malacanang or Congress. EDSA-EDSA is laos na. I need to get to my job in Abu Dhabi — I have a family to feed.”
That is among the “What to do” proposed by Pinoys-in-Pinas. Focus on working and making a living even if the job is in Abu dhabi.
Joe,
Methinks the manner by which you’ve seemingly been huffing anf piffing with smugness thrown in is what has riled several of MY countrymen in this thread.
Your proposals are certainly worth considering.
But the high horse you appear to be riding on diminishes.
Be well, po.
In my opinion, it is a mistake to perpetuate the thought that it is okay to be corrupt and to break laws when one is hungry. The reason is very simple — there is plenty of evidence that many folks have more integrity than others, many folks can hang onto the self-pride of living honestly despite the pressures of poverty. Begging is a humbling experience, but there is more pride in being a beggar than in being a thief. To suggest that the beggar had been foolish and that she should have joined those who broke down sooner (from need kuno!) to break into another person’s home to steal is… well, foolish.
“Corrupt” maybe too harsh a word for hungry people who steals. When victims loot after a deadly earthquake because they are going hungry, these people steal but are not necessarily corrupt. The word Corrupt connotes a state of being a recidivist.
It is nonsense for the middle-class of metro-Manila to say to the extremely poor of Payatas or Tarlac or Pampanga that they are allowed corruption and breaking the law because of their extreme poverty. This is my opinion. To be kunsintidor, to practically encourage more and more people to break the law whatever their justification is to invite anarchy. Anarchy is deadly because the speed by which the rot can spread, and the amount of violence and damage that ensues becomes unpredictable. In other words, it behooves all the members of the community to prevent the onset of anarchy.
One possible action-sequence — to tell a very poor “… oh, yeah, you can behave stupid because you are so oppressed” and you then say a Hail Mary to be followed by a retreat into one’s gated community so that if that very poor steals from someone, then it won’t be from you.
Maybe better is to include commending those who hang onto their pride of living life according to The Good Book as well figuring out ways to be helpful.
My thoughts, my belief — that the spirits and sense of goodness among Pilipinas very poor remains intact where they will be insulted and angered if you say to them that corruption lawlessness among them is okay.
i agree.
Well said, very well said.
My tiff with Joe is different. I’m not saying that he’s wrong by saying that ours is a corrupt culture, we can all shout here in FV everyday, we can chorus, like, everybody now, “WE ARE CORRUPT, WE ARE CORRUPT, WE ARE CORRUPT, WE ARE CORRUPT!”, It will not change a thing. We’ll be just insulting ourselves. His incessant complaint and insult of the Filipinos, and that include me and all of you, was the thing I considered his ‘wallowing’ in mud since he seems to be enjoying his stay here among a people he thinks is dirty. What compound my problem is the fact that I don’t want to say the same thing of other people even if they’re dirty too. But that’s my problem.
Bert your view is resonant.
I am copy-pasting below macapili’s very moving statement, that any ‘foreign occupier’ who will say the Filipino is a culture of cheaters and thieves will find that ‘blowing into a mortar” will find his eyes full of chaf. If only for this statement, I think that macapili is a true Filipino patriot.
“The picture painted here is not what Filipinos were. The tribal society suited them for they had plenty of food and traded with half the world as far as Arabia, until the white men came who tricked and robbed them of everything good including their soul. Now they are destitute, and the white men from across the ocean shouted: “you thieves and cheats.””
Bert,
I agree with you that shouting “corrupt” is useless. So are empty headed promises that are made whilst people campaign. That is exactly why I started digging and probing for what really might be done, with the social infrastructure, to actually get rid of it. But you shout me down and say I am insulting Filipinos and want me to go back to the US.
So you don’t want to hear about corruption, and near as I can tell, you don’t want to try to do anything about it either.
And I am sorry Ding finds this view “resonant”.
I find it depressing, that pride blocks critical analysis necessary to get to the root of things.
Joe
Bert,
As you will see under Macapili’s comment, I too found it very profound. The only thing missing was, well, set aside history as done with, and accept responsibility from today forward. Like, man, be independent by refusing to hang problems on others. Set out to fix ‘em.
Joe
Joe,
If you think I “don’t want to try to do anything about it” then either you’re not reading me or you’re reading me wrong. One example: Me and the people want to elect a president who is clean and has integrity, one who has no baggage around his neck hindering his duty to govern cleanly and effectively even as you’re advocating for one who has a shady character. The people knows what they want, knows what to do, I trust them if you don’t.
What pride were you talking about? I don’t want you to go home, I’ve enjoyed your sound commentaries, I will not even go to the extent of telling you to stop your tirade against our cultural defects. Who is me to tell you anything what to do or not to do? Just don’t expect me to enjoy your insults on my people.
Yes, Joe is living on the principle of the Orwellian “double-speak”.
He says that he is for the good of this country yet all I could hear is destructive criticism (sweeping generalizations, biased) and couldn’t even accept the mistakes of the US Gov’t objectively like they’re perfect.
Edward,
When your words are based on wrong assumptions you come up with wrong conclusions. If you would read extensively what I write here on FV you would know that I indeed believe the US is flawed, especially in the political arena, and at times I have gone into a rant about those flaws. So I don’t appreciate you wrongly telling readers otherwise and using that as the basis for discrediting my remarks in this blog thread.
THE U.S. IS NOT THE SUBJECT OF MY COMMENTARY in this blog. And to get to constructive ACTION, it is essential to think CRITICALLY to understand the dynamics of what is occurring. Thinking critically is different than bias or racism or even criticism; it is more like the constructive process of tests a doctor would do prior to making a diagnosis. The outcome of my thinking is to suggest pragmatic things like doubling the budget for Judiciary and passing a Fair Employment Act. How you and Bert can see this thought process as anything but constructive is beyond me. You must have significant neuroses is all I can figure out.
Joe
What’s your opinion on two people, one rich one poor btoth who stole a sack of rice. Should they receive the same punishment? :D
The good thing I really like in this country is that our conscience still works and are not limited to laws. Moral laws considered being a higher law than that of normal laws.
I would like to copy the saying of Anarchists, that what’s the use of laws when bad people break them, and good people don’t need them?
UPnn grad,
Let me add in to your thoughts. Could it be, there may indeed be some members of the public who have not realized the connection between coercion and public policy and who are completely unaware that there are any parallels between these policies and the actions of common criminals.
What if, this is an honest error, then it is an error of knowledge, not morality. On the other hand, it can scarcely be said that this error of knowledge is widespread in most cases, members of the public are well aware of the coercive nature of the policies they support.
Further, it is no caveat to their wrongdoing that they did not go out and take the loot themselves as would a common criminal, that it was merely given to them by their benevolent political masters. For it is this very bulk of members of the public who support the redistribution that is occurring.
UPnn grad,
Ahhh…! Furthermore, leave Pampanga alone, O.K., salamat. LOL!
UPnn grad,
I find it very pleasing reading Ayn Rand’s Novels. I find her very much, or certainly most vitriolic on attacking [anarchism]
In her article on “The Nature of Government,” from TheVirtue of Selfishness, she states the following:
I do agree with JoeAm. My perception is that corruption is pervasive in the Philippines, pervasive to mean that at least twice a week “…an elementary school school student will notice an act of cheating or extortion or petty thievery or laziness” be it in his own house, among his neighbors or in his school or in his church.
I do not think, however, that there should be a revision to the 10 Commandments so that extreme poverty merits exemption from the “thou shalt not’s”.
GMA’s program — 4P’s (a copy or programs in place in Latin America and other countries) — addresses the burden of poverty, using money from foreign donations and from taxes paid by citizens of Pilipinas to not only help the very poor with children but to give them an incentive to be more responsible parents (vaccination and de-worming of children, attending parenting sessions, keeping children in school instead of using their young bodies to work to earn a living).
“The poor need help!!”, some politician looking for votes will cry. The poor have choices in addition to choosing between various candidates. A group calls out — “Join us as we blow up cell towers and burn public buses because when poor we are allowed!”. Another group’s response — “Don’t stay in bed unless you can make money in bed!” or “As you make your bed, so you must lie in it!”.
A government program responds — “We will help you if you remain good citizens and good parents to your children!” with a flat-out reminder that the help is only for so long, in fact the amount is for less than P1,800 a month — and the parents still have to figure out on their own how to raise more income on their own.
OIther folks say a hail mary a month and then retreat into their gated community with their wallets opening up only when the Ondoy-of-the-year visits.
Someone said “..it takes a village…”
The citizen (or foreigner) who brings jobs for Pinoys-in-Pinas paying fair wage for honest labor, how come there are so few of you????
The “model” that has always seem to work across history is this. That the middle-class is critical — jobs, jobs, jobs. Grow the middle-class as percent of the population (middle-class who used education and skills to obtain fair-wage for their honest labor (doctors, teachers, store-owners and similar merchants, repair services, lawyers, government employees), middle-class who were not at the mercy of the oligarchs for their salaries) grow the middle-class and the nation is strengthened. What Pilipinas needs are more citizens (and foreigners) who create jobs for Pinoys-in-Pinas, jobs that pay fair wages for honest labor.
People are starting to believe that legality is the basis of everything moral thus many laws these days are passed unquestioned and are the main basis for doing something. Some laws that are legal yet obviously immoral like gambling, torture (U.S. stil considers this justifiable of security), pre-emptive wars (too paranoid).
Edward: None of the laws passed by the US Congress go through without scrutiny and questioning by congressmen, lobbyists, political interest groups, religious groups, atheists, agnostics, American Indians, Indian-Americans, Filipino-Americans, Latino-Americans, etcetera.
You can even the say the same of laws passed by Pilipinas Congress. Reproductive Health Bill a good example — still under constant challenge. Even that law which motivated COMELEC to say that Kris Aquino, Quezon 3, deQuiros and other media personnel should go on leave from their jobs if they want to be active in the May2010 campaigns. There is always months, even years before a bill becomes law, there always is time for the CBCP, the university deans and law professors, for the media, for other congressmen to challenge a bill paragraph-by-paragraph.
It is understandable if you didn’t know when bills get transformed into laws — technically, you had delegated the monitoring and thinking of the pros-and-cons of bills to your congressman and senator when you voted. You had delegated the monitoring and thinking about bills and laws when you paid your taxes which were they used to provide funds to University of Philippines Law School, or when you “sent money” to ABS/CBN and other media when you watched the Discovery Channel or paid for a newspaper.
Of beggars or thieves,
’tis best to be neither. But people are full of rationalizations as to what they must do if the cards are stacked against them, so if they are poor and have a hard time making it, they become either beggars or thieves or suck it up and remain honest and hungry. My point is that there would be not so many beggars, not so many thieves, and not so many hungry if some of the systemic blocks against ambition and good intent were done away with.
I speak from the dissonance between what I have lived, in the US, and what I observe, in the Philippines. In the US, you are encouraged to be independent, essentially taking up a willing separation between parent and child in the interest of self-determination at the age of about 18. You go to work, you go to college, or you join the army. The job market is structured to reward achievement, with hiring done on the basis of competency; regular performance reviews are conducted, bonuses are paid for high achievement, and the system routinely routes the best people to the most important jobs. Discrimination for any reason but job qualification is banned by law. The US has many interest groups representing everyone from old people to gun owners to handicapped people to gays. They agitate for social progress by publicity and litigation. The courts re-define social rules and moral values as these interest groups sue for progress, and win.
You can always find exceptions to these generalized patterns, but it does not negate the fundamental way the US social systems nurture and reward achievement.
The Philippines does not prize a systematized career flow; being friends, family or favorites are the criteria for a lot of important jobs. Kids are taught to obey, not aspire; the legal system is not an effective avenue of litigation for social change; and the birth rate ensures the economy rides on a horrendous mass of people living on wages that will never allow them to have a retirement fund, good health care, or send their children to college.
Now you can argue that a foreigner has no standing to say these things about the Philippines, but in the end, the facts speak for themselves as the sum and substance of what Filipinos are capable of doing, have the will to do, and do do.
Joe
to Joe Am: The current administration — Government Republic Pilipinas is actually doing some things that are recognized both by the United nations and by academics to be good programs to change the motivation of the very poor. One of the focus points is education. Stated in the negative, an illiterate population is doomed to perdition. Stated positively, a highly educated person has a better chance of finding a job. [the job may be truck-driver--Saudi Arabia, English teacher-- Thailand or Unix-programmer:Singapore]. GovernmentRepublicPilipinas has a formal commitment to the United nations Millenium Development Goals with regards education. GMA’s 4P program is intended to at least save the children. Pilipinas poor would pull out their children from school so that the children become extra horsepower extra “meat” extra muscle to earn some pesos for the family household. 4P gives money incentives. As long as the destitute family keeps the children in school (plus vaccination and deworming and other things) then the household gets about P1,600 a month. Repeat — 4P program is intended to save the children. The adults — they are adults, the responsibility is theirs to free themselves from the poverty trap that had snared them. To this end, GovtRepublic Pilipinas has the micro-loans to help capitalize those who want to grow their sari-sari store or sewing-machine tailor shop.
Pilipinas has anti-poverty programs. The problem is that the anti-poverty programs only reach a small fraction of the poor families in need. Reason : Pilipinas is so poor that Pilipinas can not help all of its own poor. The population is so poor that the tax base is narrow. No tax base, then the tax collections are insufficient to fund all the important public projects. After teacher- and soldier-salaries and retirement checks are paid and after payments for foreign debt interest payments and principal reductions and after paying for Trillanes travel expenses, then the 4P program does not have funds to reach Biliran. Life is tough.
[Maybe Caritas or other privately-funded NGO's have teams in Biliran, I do not know.]
Upnn,
Thanks for the information. And I think your comment above about how the middle class is so important to fuel economic well-being is very important. Sparks did an analysis some months ago that suggested the Philippine middle class is actually shrinking.
Joe
This article written seventy five years ago traces corruption in public office back to its roots: Cacique System in the Philippines.
to macapili: that “cacique”-blog post said some things about Americans:
“These caciques will continue in power as long as there is not an awakened public sentiment and a courageous public opinion against them; as long as the percentage of illiteracy is not reduced . . .
This apparent tolerance of injustice which has lasted for many years; this serene contemplation by a patient public of the abuses perpetrated upon the masses by the ruling classes, and that philosophic calm which has always characterized the Oriental in moments of intense moral struggle, received a severe jolt upon the arrival of the Americans, and the inculcation upon the minds of the younger generation of Anglo-Saxon ideas and ideals together with the enunciation of certain principles of square deal which greatly counter-balanced the autocratic tendencies of a former administration.
“The process of the social evolution, however, since the advent here of the new civilization, has been slow and painful. The implantation of the public school here has materially improved conditions, but has not completely eliminated certain archaic ideas and insane moral codes . . .
You’re right, but only with a “jolt”, because the export dependent agricultural economy did not provide significant livelihood alternative for those caught in the web of the cacique system, resulting in what the author called the slow and painful “process of social evolution”.
macapili,
History is instructional, but it is over with. Done. Irrelevant in large measure except as a way many look for excuses, thereby avoiding any responsibility for today. The bigger challenge is what, practically, pragmatically, tangibly, reasonably, really can be done, within the laws, to change the means and motives of the great masses of people who don’t have a lot of opportunity today.
Joe
Yes Joe, if it’s the fault of the Americans, let’s move on, but if it’s some other country let’s dwell on it with detail and provocation hehehe, biased.
In “Pagkatuklas ng Ating Lupain”, Sofronio Calderon said:
“Kung wala ngang istorya ay di natin mababatid ang ating kahapon, ang ating kamakalawa at ang dakong una. Kung wala ngang Istorya ay hindi matatalos ng tao ngayon, na yaong mga unang tao ay may natituro sa mga taong sumunod sa kanila at yaong sumunod gayon din sa sumunod hanggang sa dumating sa atin na nagtuturo naman ngayon sa mga sumusunod… Ang Istorya ng sariling lupain ay siyang pumapatnubay sa mamamayan sa isang magaling na pag-iingat at katalinuhan sa kasalukuya’t hinaharap niyang kalagayan. Isang halimbawang aking mababanggit ay ang kararaan pa lamang himagsikan, na palibhasa’y minana natin sa ating mga kanunuan ang asal na mapagtiwala dala ng pagtataglay ng wagas at dalisay na kalooban, ay inugali pa ng ating mga tagapatnugot sa panahong kararaan, na nakipagkayari sa mga amerikano ng walang ano mang katibayan, na hindi naalaaala na ibang lahi tayo at ibang lahi ang kanilang kinayari. Ngayon nga’y ipalagay nating wala tayong kasaysayang gaya ng inilalathala ngayon ng aking amaing si G. Felipe G. Calderon, na kinatatalaan ng mga ganitong pangyayari, ay di malayong maulit uli natin o ng ating mga anak o inapo ang gayon; nguni’t yaong mga nakatalos at nakabasa ng mga ganyang kasaysayan ay di magkakamali at magiingat na.”
I can translate if needed.
We can talk of the differences of cultures, the advantages and disadvantages, of the rich and the poor, and their levels of happiness and satisfactions. It’s a given that their is a cause why the poor is poor and the rich rich, and it is the quirks of nature that everything and anything is not on the same level else it’s going to be a flat universe. What the heck, beggars and thieves and cheaters are not confined in the Philippines. And the bottomline is, the Americans as a people, for all the vaunted claims of America being the richest, can’t claim a higher level of happiness and satisfaction than the people of poorer nations.
Bert,
So you advocate poverty to make people happy? Sounds a little like the Catholic Church speaking . . . that immoral bastion of presumptuous higher thinking and spiritual goodness gone bankrupt.
I have no statistics to prove you wrong on the happinessometer, but I can sure tell you that poor people get jealous and clammy when one of their own comes into money.. So they evidently don’t feel ALL THAT HAPPY about where they are, obviously.
And why do you keep trying to divert attention from the issue by bringing up America? The subject is corruption and building opportunity in the Philippines. It is a definable issue. Good minds can wrap around it as an issue and come up with pro/con arguments that need not tell the writer to “go home”.
I commend you on you taking your vote seriously. That is indeed doing something constructive. I am personally interested in tangible ideas for dramatic change, probing, thinking, getting enlightened where I am wrong, and throwing out ideas that my brain, which operates independently from my own psyche, self-determines. It is original thinking, full of flaws and at times intelligence. Its intent is wholly good.
You are happy with muddling along with millions of your country-mates stuck in poverty with no health care, no retirement fund, substandard education, and about zilch-negative opportunity for improvement. That’s fine. There are many like you.
I am not that way. Nor do I have to be. Your attempts to browbeat me into mediocrity and lack of caring make me more determined than ever to press on.
Joe
When meetng people who do not share the urgency, with people who do notwant to help you, it is probably wise to leave them be. Find others.
There should be others.Maybe bettr chances finding peopl with similar intrests among NGO leadershp in metro Manila.]
the Pinoys who share your sentiment about doing some things different in order to improve their lives — those will include the OFW’s who have decided on risk (and adventure) and left the familiar — their buddies, their cousins and parents, neighbors of decades if not longer — to pursue jobs in Lebanon, Australia, in Abu Dhabi, in Hongkong, elsewhere.
Mike H,
Good observations.
I admire the people who go overseas to fulfill their aspirations. I hope there are ways to get more career paths going in the Philippines, as I do think it is good for those who are inclined to compete. That said, I know what Bert is saying about people without means being happy in many instances, and perhaps the American style dog eat dog clambering for “more, more, more” should not be pushed on them.
The other thing that came to light yesterday was my wife’s comment that, once someone “makes” it successfully, then all his family and friends climb on his back, dragging him down. I need to digest that . . . the family bond, the family burden . . .
Certainly Philippine culture is different than American, and it is not my place to impose American on anybody. So Bert is also right on that point. However, I can argue for steps that I think would create more jobs and less corruption as an individual who happens to live in the Philippines.
Regards,
Joe
Corruption exists everywhere.
It happens in Switzerland (bribes,recently), Denmark (couple of years ago), in Sweden (bribes, forgery), in Japan (bribes), and currently happening in the UK (expense accounts).
What sets them apart is what happens when one is caught. Prosecution, forced resignation, and fines and/or imprisonment follows.
Why is corruption in the Philippines rampant? I don’t believe it’s cultural because ALL humans can be tempted.
It is rampant because we are overpopulated and there is no incentive (positive or negative type) to prevent corruption.
And so our humble role as pundits? To name and shame (because the internet does not forget)..and so when Gloria Arroyo’s grandchildren are old enough to google their mother, the top hits involve the words ‘corrupt’, ‘liar’ etc. Baka kahit papaano mahiya sila…
the grandchildren will just realize that their grandmother had a lot of inept enemies who could not shoot straight. they had eggs on their faces, again and again.
macapili,
Salamat sa iyong pagbahagi sa kamulatang marapat na umusbong as patuloy na pagyamanin.
Batid ko at ramdam, gayo mo, sa sadyang mtaming marapat na itama sa ating kinasadadlakan.
Ang tinatangka kung unawain ay kung marapat na animo pakyaw and pag-aglahi ninuman sa mga Pilipino na animo ay walang kabutihan sa buidhi.
Di ko matakpan an aking mga tainga upan di marinig ang puna ng taong sasandali ito naninirahan pero ang akala’y kaya na niyang husgahan ang mga kayumanggi.
Ding,
Maraming salamat. Alam mo bang masarap basahin ng mga sinabi mo. Kaya nga laging nasa tabi ko ang sipi ng “Florante at Laura” at paminsan-minsan ay pinadadaanan ko ang mahiyas na mga pangungusap ni Balagtas. Para bang nagkakaroon ako ng panibagong pagnanasa na gamitin ang Pilipino. Nalulungkot nga ako kung naririnig ko ang mga nagsasalita sa TV na ang ginagamit na mga pangungusap ay parang galing sa pusali. Sabi nga ni Mamerto Paglinawan ang Pilipino raw ay tunay na mayaman dahil mula sa isang ugat na salita, halimbawa, “puna”, ay magagawang humabi ng napakaraming karagdagang pananalita. Ang sabi pa nga, ang wika raw, pati na ang pagsulat, ay siyang sumasalamnin sa kaluluwa ng isang bansa. Tayong mga Pilipino ay may sariling wika at panunulat (ito ay iyong tinatawag ng Baybayin na ngayon ay tanggap na bilang isa sa mga pamantayan ng “unicode”} na siyang natatanging tanda ng ating kamuwangan. Kaya malaki ang aking paniniwala at pagasa na aahon tayo sa kinasasadlakan dahil sa may mataas na antas tayong pinanghahawakan.
Mac
I’m Ilocano and Kankanaey who can’t understand deep Tagalog. Pilipino is basically Tagalog and does not really encompass the whole of the Philippines and most of us who live outside katagalugan, don’t really speak it that well.
That is not to say some of us don’t want to understand Filipino to a higher level, it’s just that it’s too tagalog.
That’s okay, you’ll learn. Though my parents are Tagalogs, I grew up and studied in the north and speak Sambal. Pedro Bacuneg, an Ilocano poet, wrote an Ilocano-Spanish dictionary using the Tagalog alphabet. Aurelio Tolentino, one of the great Tagalog writers of the commonwealth era, was a Pampango.
the problem is apart from kundiman (which is beautiful) where else can we learn conversational tagalog to a high standard?
the tv soap operas which dominate are hardly the stuff of high culture.
i like tagalog swardspeak though because it is inventive and alive.
perhaps tagalog to most of filipinos will just stay as conversational language.
thenashman,
If you’re really interested here are samples:
1. Andres Bonifacio’s Tagalog translation of Rizal’s “Mi Ultimo Adios.”
2. Emilio Jacinto’s “Liwanag at Dilim”
3. Artemio Ricarte’s “Sa Mga Kabataang Pilipino”
4. Franciso Baltazar’s “Florante at Laura”, which I already mentioned above. (Rizal brought a copy with him to Europe.)
5. Modesto de Castro’s “Urbana at Feliza”
6. Lope K. Santos’ “Banaag at Sikat”
7. Amado V. Hernandez’s “Ibong Mandaragit”
8. Sofronio Calderon’s “Ang Dating Pilipinas”
9. Pascual de Leon’s “Buntong Hininga – Mga Tulang Tagalog”
10. “Ibong Adarna” (Corrido at buhay na pinagdaanan nang tatlong Principeng magcacapatid na anac nang haring Fernando at nang reina Valeriana sa cahariang Berbania.
[Maynila: Imp. J. Martinez, 192?]
Tunay.
At buong saya kong napagtanto na kaya ‘macapili’ ang gamit mong matalinhagang pangalang panulat ay dahil ang kabuuan nito’y Maka-Pilipino.
Mabuhay ka.
Hoy, galing yan sa Macario A. Capili. Nagkataon lang.
Ganun man, kabayan, saludo akong ganap. :
“So you advocate poverty to make people happy? Sounds a little like the Catholic Church speaking . . .”-JoeAm
No, I advocate that people respect other people’s culture.
“I have no statistics to prove you wrong on the happinessometer, but I can sure tell you that poor people get jealous and clammy when one of their own comes into money.. So they evidently don’t feel ALL THAT HAPPY about where they are, obviously.”-JoeAm
Please speak for yourself, Joe. I am not jealous and clammy of your riches, poor as I am.
“And why do you keep trying to divert attention from the issue by bringing up America?”-JoeAm
It’s not me, it’s you, I just responded. Here’s proof:
“I speak from the dissonance between what I have lived, in the US, and what I observe, in the Philippines. In the US, you are encouraged to be independent, essentially taking up a willing separation between parent and child in the interest of self-determination at the age of about 18. You go to work, you go to college,…”-JoeAm March 1 at 9:31 pm
“I commend you on you taking your vote seriously. That is indeed doing something constructive.”-JoeAm
Thank you, Joe!
“You are happy with muddling along with millions of your country-mates stuck in poverty with no health care, no retirement fund, substandard education, and about zilch-negative opportunity for improvement. That’s fine. There are many like you.”-JoeAm
Yes, Joe! I am happy in my homeland, with my people! Aren’t you in yours?
“Your attempts to browbeat me…”-JoeAm
Joe, please read again my comments then your comments, understand them. You’ll find that between the two of us, I’m not really the bully nor the browbeater.
CHEERS, Joe :)!
My neighbor who came home the other day said she refused to be petitioned because she did not want to live in the US. “Mabuti na itong padalaw-dalaw lang, kasi malungkot doon.”, she said. Here, she would call a friend and their barkada could go to pancake anytime and talk and laugh all day. “Doon”, she further said, “wala kang makausap at wala nang ginawa ang mga tao kundi magtrabaho maghapon, at pagdating pa sa bahay – luto, laba, linis. Araw-araw yan.” Perhaps, happiness has no universal meaning. Who appears very neat, clean and healthy may not necessarily be happy, while pictures taken of kids scavending in garbage dump are all similing. BTW, Filipinos figure highly in a survey of the happiest people in the world. Strange this “happiness” is.
macapili,
Let me add in a little something to this puzzle. What a wonderful human being we really are. Not in general, but as a whole human species. It does not matter what you are, or who you are, you must enjoy every minute of it, whether the lack of it, or Bless with it. This is the true nature of a human being, to enjoy the life to its fullest.
Here is a gal that I know, who travels the world and enjoys every minute of it. Whether it be in the third world country, or a Blessed one at that. She is a typical American who does not criticize their cultural background, but judges them as a human being. She is funny and, has beautiful sense of nature. Too bad, she didn’t get to travel the better part of the Philippines, due to “Ondoy” onslaught. But, she manage to travel. Her and “S” got to see, what our Nation is really like. They have enjoyed it for the most part. She also, has a BIG HEART
Not all Americans are the same, that includes me.
Or anyone else…!
Click on her site [HERE]
I gathered she lost a camera to a snatcher in Manila and broke her two front teeth in a freak accident. Surprisingly, she still hopes to come back to see Cordillera, Bohol, etc. I know a Fil-Am relative who missed her flight at the height of Ondoy, was marooned at the airport, became so furious, cursed everyone and swore never to come back again. Yeah, you may be right, happiness is how you make it.
Bert,
Nice response. Good points all around. Cheers back.
Joe
“When meetng people who do not share the urgency, with people who do notwant to help you, it is probably wise to leave them be. Find others.
There should be others.Maybe bettr chances finding peopl with similar intrests among NGO leadershp in metro Manila.]”-MikeH
Oh, the urgency is there, always the urgency. We have to get out of the rut we’re in. It’s so easy proselytizing and moralizing in blogs, and hurting people, the armchair pulpiter if you may, than doing the actual nitty gritty of actualizing something good for the country and people. I doubt these armchair pulpiter have what it takes to go swim against the murky current on the ground. Mike H is right, the NGO is the easier part of doing it, I’ve been there, still there. But, the real works, the dangerous part, takes a bit of a sturdy, determined, and strong constitutin to involve oneself with. When all else are failing, will the armchair pulpiter ready to beat the pavement and “storm the gates” if necessary?
My oh my, I can hear knees quaking already, hehehehe.
‘constitution’, damned keyboard.
Let’s read the danger signs:
1. GMA running for congress.
2. Her cabinet running for congress.
3. Sudden surge of party list running for congress.
4. GMA supporters in old congress running for congress.
They are all running for congress. Only means one thing: this is a blitzkrieg.
You know the name of one of their party lists? ‘Ang Galing’. Ang galing mangurakot.
Kuya Ding,
You know the name of one of the candidates? Magtatagal. Gloria Magtatagal Arroyo.
Dear Macapili,
Tama ka. Plan B lang si Teodoro.
Dean
Manong Dean,
Seriously nga one omen is her clone could pull the rug from under NoyNoy if he and his team don’t shape up.
Joe,
You are parsing me incorrectly with “I find it depressing, that pride blocks critical analysis necessary to get to the root of things.”
I say again the very point of this blog entry is for Filipinos NOT to accept corruption as a way of life.
Am I clear???
I’m done with this thread.