Populus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur

People want to be fooled, so let them be fooled. (translation for the title)

                               (photo taken from internet)

This is what I can say to people who came to the Ayala Million People March that was attended by less than three thousand people.

If there was a message that can be gleaned from that rally, it was the rejection by the people of mercenary activism and the career activists who led the rally. People did not just stay away from it, they watched with hostility and contempt, wary and suspicious of the organizers true intent.

One of the organizers even withdrew her support for  the rally at the last minute calling some of her fellow organizers users.

For so long and in the spirit of freedom of expression and free speech, people have tolerated the noisy disruptive antics of the professional militants mostly from the left. Now however, people seem to be more discerning and refused to be used or fooled by them.

There was one strange thing at the rally though. The golden pig that was supposed to symbolize the hated pork barrel had lost its nose and so did not really look like a pig. What happened? Instead of symbolizing the pork barrel, this animal aptly portrayed the militants who simply want people to conform to their version of  reality.

Alliance of the Dark Forces

   (original pictures sourced from the internet)

The Pork Barrel Scam did not come to light on its own. It was exposed because people wisely voted for a basically good man who appointed upright people who did their jobs dutifully and courageously. It is therefore the height of irony and malice if some people now assail the President for speculated abuses and misuse of funds under his office instead of hounding those who are implicated by evidence in the scam.

It seems that there are three groups who are engaged in this sinister enterprise and all have spurious motives.

The first group is the militant left which is committed and determined to bring down government by all means and at all cost in the hope of seizing power.

The second group is composed of the plundering politicians and their allies who would like nothing more than to muddle the issue and burn the house down as a way of getting away with their crimes.

The third group is the tainted churchmen who could not find it in their hearts to forgive and reconcile with President Aquino not for any sin he committed but for espousing the matuwid na daan vision that exposed the bankruptcy of their morality.

The pork barrel scam has gone beyond the issue of corruption into a morality battle between good and evil. The public should be discerning and reject these three groups if they ever want to see anyone punished for the pork barrel scam and to have a truly clean government.

Sex Scandal

Minsan habang nasa isang inuman ako, naging pulutan ang paksa ng sex video. Marami kasing lumalabas na ganito ngayon.

Meron yatang mga tao na kusang naglalabas ng kanilang sex video - may kapartner o wala. Pero karamihan ng mga sex video, lalu na ng mga sikat na personalidad, kumalat ng walang pahintulot ng mga sangkot rito.

Para sa akin, wala akong paki-alam sa kanila. Mapanood ko man o hindi ang video nila, bahala sila at walang epekto sa akin kung ano man ang magiging pagtingin ko sa kanila.

Pero sa mga taong nanonood ng mga video na ito at sinasabing malaswa o masama ito, gusto ko sana silang tanungin.

Una, pinilit ba sila na panoorin yong video?
Pangalawa, nasaktan ba sila o naging masama ba sila sa panonood nito?
Pangatlo, gusto ba nilang paki-alaman din ng ibang tao ang kung ano ang ginagawa nila sa kanilang pribadong lugar?

Siguro para sa ibang tao, naakit silang makapanood ng sex scandal ng mga sikat dahil ibinababa nito ang mga taong sikat at ginagawa silang kapantay ng mga hamak at ordinaryong tao.

Manood na lang sila kung gusto nilang manood nito, pero hwag na lang sana sila maghusga o mamintas.

PEACE Ball

Simple lang ang bolang ito na maaaring gawin mula sa kawayan o rattan. Ito ay bola sa loob ng bola na nakapaloob pa ulit sa isang bola.

Ang gamit nito ay bilang laruan ng mga bata, pang juggling at pang exercise.

Sa unang tingin, parang walang kapansin pansin sa mga bolang ito. Pero sa tamang marketing at promosyon para tangkilikin ng pinakamaraming mamayan, maaari itong makapag bigay ng hanap buhay sa mga taong gagawa nito at makatulong sa muling pagbangon ng mga tao sa Zamboanga na sinalanta ng kalamidad na ang pangalan ay MNLF.

Proyekto ko sana ito para sa lalawigan ng Benguet pero sa Zamboanga yata mas may kabutihang maidudulot ito sa ngayon.

The Cardinal's Tears

(image taken from internet)

In one public engagement where Manila Archbishop Cardinal Tagle was asked about his reaction to the Pork Barrel Scam, the Cardinal was moved to tears as he appealed to politicians to be more compassionate to the poor.


Frankly, I am puzzled and disappointed at this reaction. The normal reaction of people in the face of betrayal and deceit is anger. Even Christ threw a fit at a temple when he saw how it was turned into a den of thieves. He did not cry and pleaded to the merchants to simply show more respect to the place.

Politicians who heartlessly plunder public money in the face of the massive miserable poverty of our country are incorrigible thieves. I doubt if appealing to them will do any good. The Cardinal may be trying to be like the good shepherd who will go out of one's way to find a lost sheep but in this case, these thieving politicians can not be considered as sheep but wolves. The good shepherd will try to protect his flock from predators instead of inviting these predators to mingle with his flock.

That Janet Napoles, the central figure in the scam was so close to church leaders and yet so mired in an evil enterprise of plunder - that should be the source of grief for the Cardinal.

Abolish the Sangguniang Kabataan

I stand with those who call for the abolition of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK).

The SK is a needless costly political creation without any convincing public benefit to merit its retention. The argument against the SK that it has only served as a training ground for traditional and corrupt politics far outweighs the rhetorical justification that it is a means for the youth to be heard and take part in nationbuilding.

Those who defend the SK, mostly politicians and government bureacrats have questionnable motives. If they truly want to give the youth a chance to be heard and to contribute to the country, they should explore other more practical and significant ways of engaging them. Towards this end, only their sincerity and imagination is the limit.

While it is important to recognize the potential of the youth, the youth must first be taught the virtues of leadership without power and service without ambition before they are allowed to have a taste of money and power.

                     

At the National Food Fair

 Over the weekend, I went to the DTI sponsored food fair held at SM Megamall (August 21-25). What I noticed was the improved packaging of many local products and I was glad about it. Exhibit participants I talked to gratefully acknowledged the help they received from government for the improvement of their product/s as well as in marketing them.

I hope this collaboration continues and deepens. For the local products on display, there is still a long way to go and there is still much room for improvement. They should go for excellence and not just for passable quality (basta hindi nakakalason, ok na).

One example is the uraro cookies. Although it was packaged decently and seems to be enticing enough, there is still the problem of contaminated raw materials that sometimes give the cookies a very bad moldy taste. In fact the sample cookies I tried slightly had that unsavory taste. I talked to the stall holder about it and she admitted that they occasionally have that problem but which she tries to avoid by ensuring good preparation practices. Still the problem persists. Maybe the DOST  or our local food scientists can try to help solve this problem.

Some food finds for me:
- pure cocoa tablea from Agusan and Davao
- mango tamarind candy from Taguig
- honey dalandan concentrate product
- suman in banana leaf pouch from Pasig
- dried fish from Bicol region, specially the "newlook" fish

I wish I can list more but these are all that I found notable. Next time I hope I can list more. Our food resource and potential wealth is so vast that this food fair is but a scratch on the surface.

 Before leaving I tried out an alcoholic beverage made from coconut water. It tasted like vinegar and gave me a slight head ache. I don't know what other people who tasted this drink thought but as for me I don't think that I will ever part with my money for this.

Some food ideas and wishful thinking:
- herbal and flower teas made from hibiscus, blue pea, lemon grass, guava tips
- sports/hydration drink made from coconut sugar
- instant soups made from local vegetables and resources
- sweetened pure tablea candy
- local fruit lokums and fruit pastes
- new pili nut treats
- bottled palm sugar syrup for cooking
- local pure sesame oil
- fresh frozen marine products especially from the ARMM
- improved variety of Philippine raspberry from Quezon
-healthy breakfast/snack instant beverage
-new local cheese varieties

Remaking the Post Office

(Main Post Office Building at night. Photo from internet)

The coming of e mail and the internet age has greatly diminished the significance of the post office in every town and city. But instead of simply accepting this fate, I believe the post office should be re-invented and given a new role.

My proposal is for the post office to be made into a nexus of all travel and tourism related activities in a community. The idea is for the post office to serve as a tourism center apart from its traditional role of receiving and delivering mail. Thus in the new post office one can find amenities related to traveling such as a money exchange shop/bank, a souvenir shop, a cafe, a car or bike rental facility and even a few rooms to accommodate outside visitors who will happen to drop by. As a tourism beacon, it should ideally be located in the middle of a park showcasing the capability of the town to create and maintain beauty  and given a distinct architectural brand, look and identity recognizable everywhere it may be found in the country.

I believe that this idea will help the post office maintain its relevance in a community and at the same time help promote local tourism too. Thus, this can be a joint project of the Philipost and the Department of  Tourism with participation from the private sector.

Some people may find the idea of the post office as having a lodging component as wild. But I find this very logical and a boost to local tourism. Many towns in our country do not have inns or hotels to accommodate travelers and difficulty in finding a safe, reasonably affordable and decent place to stay can be very discouraging for tourists and travelers.

The idea for this proposal is neither new nor far fetched. In Japan, there is a historic post office building that was turned into a themed mall, inspired of course by the post office. The name of this mall is Kitte which means stamp in Japanese. The mall has a cafe that serves regional specialties thus boosting the local economies, it also has a stationery and souvenir shop where it is possible to buy an aerogramme shaped like an airplane etc.

I do hope that our Philpost and Department of Tourism seriously consider this idea. If successful, this enterprise can be a great legacy of the Aquino government.

  (The Post Office in our town looking sad and forlorn. Most people have come to accept that the Post Office is a withering enterprise. With visionary leadership and imagination however, it is possible to re-invent the post office to make it a proud central feature of a community.)

Philippine oriole

First time for me to see a Philippine oriole but sad to see it in a cage.

At first I thought the yellow color of the wings was just sprayed on the bird but the vendor told me it was the real thing and that this bird can be found and caught in Quezon Province. I asked him if it was legal to be selling those birds and he said yes.

It may be legal but I wonder what joy is there for some people to own an imprisoned bird that should be flying free.

Until I can give other options for the vendor however, I will rather not say anything about his livelihood.

Fickle Weather

Waking up to a picture perfect morning with bright sunshine and a clear blue sky, it is easy to forget that there is a storm brewing somewhere in the country.

But yes there is as this hard driving rain made me remember just a few hours later..