Posts

Life after elections

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Two days after the midterm elections, the air still crackles with comments and complaints about the conduct of the democratic exercise—mostly revolving around the disconnect between Comelec’s claim of the “successful and peaceful” election and the voters’ contrary observation regarding the 600 malfunctioning vote-counting machines (VCM).   Whether our bets won or lost, we will all continue losing if we dismiss these irregularities as “normal”, especially since the deals with Smartmatic have long been under question.   These are worse than mere “technical glitches”, because it’s human beings, not machines that close deals leading to such unfortunate developments.   And like it or not, they sow doubt and suspicion in the mind of voters.   Would you not smell something fishy that the malfunctions and the delays in the transmission of results, et al, would be explained away by a simple “Java error”, or “walang signal” in the area?   Or by the claim that the SD cards were “defective”

'Ningas-kugon'

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  Are Filipinos that forgiving or are we simply forgetful? In our Social Studies (in the 50s in my case), we were taught about the destructive habits or attitudes of the Filipinos—the Manana Habit, Talangka Mentality, Filipino Time, Ningas-kugon, Colonial Mentality, etc.   I was too young to care, but being a conscientious pupil, I retained what I learned.   Especially the very graphic explanations of the teacher about the “talangka” (crabs) pulling one another down to clamber to the top of the bucket, and of dried cogon grass bursting into flames and just as quickly dying out.   Ningas-kugon: short-lived enthusiasm, as grass fire Over the years, many disappointing experiences with fellow Filipinos would convince me that those bad habits we heard about in elementary school somehow do have basis in fact.   In our country’s current socio-political situation, for instance, the Ningas-kugon mentality reigns supreme.   Scandalous incidents of national importance would hog the head

A letter lights a candle in the dark

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Sometimes my email inbox yields something so precious that I feel it must reach as many eyes and ears as possible.  One example is this one sent to me by my dear nuns at the Sœurs de la Famille Missionnaire de Notre-Dame convent in Cannes, France.   It is a letter from a priest, addressed to a journalist.  I believe it is what we sorely need to hear these days when media and various bashers seem all fangs and claws chasing after the Catholic Church.  After reading this letter in its entirety, you might agree with what the Soeurs say of it, “What more can be added?  All is said!”  So allow me to print the letter here, Google-translated from the French—perhaps awkward in some parts but clear enough, with sentiments fully captured. “Dear Brother Reporter: I am a simple Catholic priest. I feel happy and proud of my vocation. For 20 years I've lived in Angola as a missionary. I read in many means of communication, especially in your newspaper, the amplification of the theme of

The one choice we must make

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There is only one forked road we have to face,. Even for the “most religious” among us, it is not that easy to latch on to God’s every word as we go through the hurly-burly of our daily life.   Almost everything in our environment—especially in the metropolis—tells us that earning a living ought to be our most important concern, and that all our waking moments must revolve around it.   And to be effective at earning a living, we must be and acceptable to the world, because our face, our appearance, is our calling card.       Advertisements reinforce this idea in telling us how to start our day: they nudge us to drink brand-X coffee if we want to be alert and productive from nine to five, to shower with brand-Y soap so that we’re germ-free all day, to use brand-Z deodorant in order not to offend the noses of fellow train passengers, to wear this or that style to project power, to drive this or that car, etc. etc.   Media reinforce the dream that advertisers sell, lionizing “succ

Duterte to found a new religion

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Davao City, August 7, 2018—What had been mere speculation weeks ago is now a reality: President Rodrigo Duterte is determined to found a new religion.   Making a surprise appearance today at the ongoing 4 th National Catholic Media Convention in Davao where his daughter, Davao City mayor Sarah Duterte-Carpio failed to show up to give the Welcome Remarks at the Opening Mass on August 6, the president announced to the 141 Catholic media practitioners from all over the country that he is, indeed, bent on founding a new religion. Bishop of Pasig and chair of the Episcopal Commission on Social Communications Mylo Hubert Vergara, was attending a meeting with Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles at the latter’s residence when Duterte popped up at the Mergrande Ocean Resort where the annual convention is being held.   To the surprise and delight of the media people present, President Duterte held a no-holds-barred impromptu press conference, and said, “You are in Davao, you are all my gues

After ‘stupid god’, what?

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I’ve been asked repeatedly about my take on the “stupid God” issue, and all I’d say was, “Maybe I’ll say it in one of my columns.” Initially I dismissed the remark as I would his typical outbursts—something issuing from a form of verbal diarrhea that the president apparently has been suffering from.   His foul language is legend by now and so what’s new?   Bothering would be stooping to level of a stupid remark—“Hindi na pinapatulan yan!”,   I’d say, and add that we can expect worse pronouncements from him as long as he lives.   But when someone tried to drag me into voting for the “better shepherd”, I said, Oops, time to speak.   Instead of just jumping into the fray, I think we should step back and examine where our zeal is taking us. Mr. Duterte’s “stupid God” remark disturbed the believers’ beehive,   and the bees, taking offense, went abuzz with fervor—some more noisily than others, many inclined to rabble rouse, and a few poised to sting with justifiable anger and heart-

Building, building, building

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While we are all kept agog over sensational headlines about continued killing of “nanlaban” suspects, “anti-tambay” arrests, corruption in high places, Dengvaxia damage and denials, the contentious TRAIN law and the rising cost of everything, politicians’ bickerings, celebrity squabbles, and trending presidential antics (just a fortnight ago, it was a scandalous kiss in Korea, now it’s his “stupid God” remark), China is still stealthily building, building, building fortresses on reefs in our territory.   In, our, territory! For more photos, visit:   http://www.inquirer.net/specials/exclusive-china-militarization-south-china-sea Photographs released exclusively by the Philippine Daily Inquirer in February this year are alarming, to say the least, and if they fail to make you seethe with righteous anger, chances are you’re one of those ashamed to sing our national anthem at movie houses.   The authenticated photos, taken from an altitude of 1.5 km., clearly show such islands now s