A Distressing SONA

Gloria's "I care" speech was a futile attempt to caress us into believing in her. It was so callous of her to say that she cares when her economic programs directly affect the lives of the poor. The EVAT clearly hits the poor and the struggling middle class than those in the higher echelons of society. The rich can easily make ends meet despite the inflation while the common man has to struggle more. The EVAT is the only gains this government can boast of but the more pressing need to increase actual collection has not been addressed.

Her SONA showed GMA's weakness. She clearly cannot inspire the people to agree with her. With her dismal ratings, she is now moving to the realm of fighting for her popularity more than ever. I believe that cha-cha is now inevitable as her future becomes more uncertain. Her "Pantawid Porgrams" is a clear indication that she is out to buy the support of the masses. One-time dole outs without clear and solid sustainable plans is vote-buying in its purest form. Could it be in preparation for 2010? I don't think that with her situation now, stepping down is option.

This I think is one of the most expensive SONAs to date. With a face lift budget of P200million to refurbish the Batasan's stinking toilets, the funds could have been used for other socio-economic programs. The congress stinks anyway and no amount of makeover will deodorize the institution. Gloria passed the blame on international crisis to cloak the gravity of the situation we are in. As usual, she took credit for programs long laid out by previous administrations. She did not present any concrete legislative and economic programs that would lead to improving our lives.

I will not be expecting any changes with her administration. Still in a state of denial, Gloria chose to close her eyes to the realities on the ground. Corruption in her administration is widespread. All they have netted are the small fries with the Bolante case still unresolved. It was a feel-good SONA and nothing more. She is after all entitled to her opinion no matter how unrealistic it is. She has to live her lies so she can believe it and what better way to do it than through her SONA.

"Anything is better than nothing", Gloria says. Are we this low to just accept scraps and cultivate a culture of mendicancy? I hope we are not this desperate to just swallow whatever GMA throws at us. Gloria spoke to her minions and not to the people. She after all is a master of speech and not of deeds. She practically made a goddess of herself in the midst of despair.

2010 is still a distant future and I am sure she and her battalion of corrupt "chefs" are busy cooking up something to save their skins. There is simply too much at stake not to consider their options this early. So I think that the dead shall rise again to push for charter change. The congress was given their marching orders and will now buckle down to "addressing" political reforms through legislation. We all better watch out as this may bite us in the ass. She has a knack for going back on her words. I can still remember clearly how she promised never to run only to announce her presidential bid.

*I'm back in fighting form with my health issues done away with. Sorry for the sudden silence. Thanks to those who showed their concern.

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PUBLIC SERVICE

I grabbed this from Nightdreamer's blog. After visiting the site and being a husband myself, I cannot help but feel sorry for this very loving husband. I don't know this man personally but I hope you can help in whatever way you can. For more information on how to donate and to learn more about his predicament, please visit: http://rescuemywife.blogspot.com/.

"If only love can settle hospital bills..... Sadly it cannot. So I'm reaching out to your kind hearts to please help a wonderful and loving husband."

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A Stinking Hellhole

School is suppose to educate and energize the youth. It's the least we can do to give our kids a brighter future. But the government's lack of foresight and penchant for kickbacks have caused serious harm to our once great education system. With life getting harder by the day, migration from private schools to the public has been rising every year. As more and more transfer, it overcrowds our public schools. Lack of classrooms, tables and chairs to the very latest shortage, comfort rooms!

To address the shortage of classrooms, public schools have three shifts a day to be able to accommodate the students. Up to 80 students are packed into classrooms built for only for 45. Construction of classrooms is overtaken by the huge population of every school. Teachers are overworked as well as more and more of their ranks are forced to seek employment elsewhere.

But schools have learned to adopt to the changing times. To address the growing numbers of enrollees, no space is wasted. Every square inch of school grounds are used just to accommodate the kids. The quality of education is dropping fast. With it is the lessening proficiency of our students. Teachers are swamped with too much work and with very little pay. They are left to their own devises just to be able to remain true to their unholy vows. The sufferings do not end there, with the lack of rooms comes the lack of comfort rooms as well. Certain schools have make do with 600 persons for every comfort room. This is simply unimaginable with many more unusable.

The school is our children's second home. It is a place where our children should learn. The government both local and national is duty bound to see to it that the needs of the students are met. Despite the numerous taxes we pay, the government is unable to construct the needed facilities for our students. Already cramped like sardines, the last thing they need is a stinking CR. Because of our governments ineptness, our public schools have become stinking hellhole!

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Ramdam Ko Ang Kalayaan

Ngayong araw ng Kalayaan, isang tanong ang aking ibabato sa inyo. Tunay nga ba tayong malaya? Ang kalayaan ang adhikain ng bawat tao saan mang bahagi ng mundo. Ilan daang taon na patuloy na nakikibaka ang Pilipino para sa kalayaang ating minimithi. Sa kasalukuyang sitwasyon ng bansa sa pamumuno ni Gloria Arroyo, maraming uri ng kalayaan ang umusbong. Sa bawat salitang namumutawi sa kanyang mga labi, lalo kong nararamdaman ang kanyang uri ng kalayaan.

Aking susubuking itala dito ang bawat kalayaang ating tinatamasa sa ilalim ng rehimeng Arroyo. Ano ba ang mga kalayaang binibigay ni Gloria sa ating mga Pilipino? Kung ako ang tatanungin niyo ay marami. Ito ang ilan sa kanila:

Malaya akong magutom.
Malaya akong kotongan.
Malaya akong nakawan ng pamahalaan.
Malaya akong mamatay sa sakit dahil wala akong pambili ng gamot.
Malaya akong itigil ang pag-aaral dahil kailangan kong kumita.
Malaya akong buwisan ng walang makukuhang serbisyo sa pamahalaan.
Malaya akong maramdaman ang lahat ng uri ng paghihirap sa buhay
Malaya akong ma-salvage.
Malaya akong mabugbog habang ipinapahiwatig ang aking saloobin.
Malaya akong dakpin ng walang dahilan.
Malaya akong dukutin at mawala.
Malaya akong harapin ang kinabukasang pinalagim ni Gloria.
Malaya akong magtipid habang walang habas ang paggastos ni Gloria at mga kampon niya.
Malaya akong pakinggan ang propaganda ni Gloria.
Malaya akong tumabi upang padaain ang rumaragasang SUV ng mga pulitiko.
Malaya akong gumamit ng abaniko habang naka-aircon ang mga nasa gobyerno.
Malaya akong mamasyal sa Luneta habang panay ang pasyal ng mga pulitiko sa iabang bansa.

Tunay ngang ramdam ko ang kalayaan. Ang bawal ko lang maramdaman ay ang sarap ng buhay. Ikaw, ramdam mo rin ba ang kalayaang ipinagmamalaki ni Gloria?

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A Landed Congress

Gloria is a lame duck. Her recent acts proves this as she has gone a populist blitz. To appease the Catholic Church and to make it appear that she cares for the masses, she ordered congress to extend the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). The CARP was crafted to address the plight of the suffering farmers and to push for social justice. It is a known fact that majority of congress are landlords. CARP goes against their interests.

To assure that their interests will be protected, there are provisions in the CARP that could be used to circumvent the law, thereby assuring these landlords that can still keep their lands. The Dept. of Agrarian Reform through the years have protected the big landlords. The DAR distribute lands, they went after the small landowners first, then distributed public lands while allowing the big landlords to convert their lands to avoid the CARP.

Twenty years since its implementation, the farmers continue to suffer. With the food crisis upon us, the failure of the CARP is more evident. The lower house with its powerful Negros block was able to force a deadlock. The case of the Sumilao and Calatagan farmers exposed the weakness of the CARP law. These are the only prominent cases with dozens more unexposed to the public's eye. Groups are now at loggerheads as they push for different advocacies. Some are opting for the CARP's extension while some want reforms with extension. This has created rifts between advocates which has led to accusations being hurled.

The main issue here is social justice. Regardless whatever means the CARP should be extended, one thing is clear, the house with its landed members will never allow an honest to goodness agrarian reform. Gloria was giving lip service to the farmers when she asked her allies to pass the CARP's extension. Her husband's family are landlords too and has managed to evade the CARP. The NPC headed by one of the biggest landlords, Danding Cojuangco will fight tooth and nail to prevent the extension of the CARP. Cojuangco owns San Miguel and thousands of hectares of land. To keeps his land, he opted to implement a stock option scheme. His cousin Peping controls the Hacienda Luisita which was the scene of a bloody confrontation between the military and farmers. Both are very close allies of GMA.

Social justice will continue to be an elusive dream for our hapless farmers. While we continue to allow landlords to control the legislative, genuine agrarian reform will never be implemented. Unless our legislators have a reexamination of conscience, no law which would bridge the social gap will ever be passed. In our country, the tyranny of the minority rules while the majority gasps for air and fights among themselves for the little scraps thrown to them by the powers that be.

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The Real Score?

These past weeks have seen the assault on Meralco bring its stocks value down. Losing more than 20% in the stock market, the Lopezes may soon lose its grip on the electric company. What is the real motive behind the attack on Meralco? Ome would say that Gloria is trying to bring her image up, others would say the abusive Meralco has to be made accontable. I have my own personal view on the real score.

Muddled in the issue, we have forgotten that Transco is now owned by GMA's allies. With NAPOCOR yet to be fully privatized, and could be very costly for anyone to try to acquire at this time, the best option is to attack the distribution side first. With Meralco's value dropping, the GREEDY GROUP can now buy more shares to finally wrest the power from the Lopezes. With this, the monopoly will soon change hands. With taxes and NAPOCOR's inefficiencies, power rates is unlikely to go down.

Clearly the two-pronged attack on Meralco will benefit not you and me but those whose image needs a makeover and of course those who are out to make a huge profit. Utilities much like the food business can hardly ever fail. One can easily make money while sitting around. Electricity is after all an essential component of everyone's life. Prostituting advocacy in the name of greed is one of the best moves this corrupt administration has ever made. Just imagine the how "good" Gloria will look in the eyes of the masses and how rich her gang would be after they get control of both distribution and transmission sides of the power sector. Now, they can easily acquire some of NAPOCOR's assets and the circle would be complete.

This was planned from the start. With Mikey Arroyo heading the energy committee, they gave gained a very comfortable foothold in their bid to control the power sector. They now have a very influential say on where the power sector should head. So it seems that the GREEDY GROUP has yet to satisfy its hunger for more mullah. What a way of ensuring that they will enjoy a good life way past Gloria's reign.

As for Gloria, 2010 may yet be gentle to her. Her successor could be kind to her or she may opt to stay on, relying of course on a succession of events that could "force" her to seek "emergency powers". Despite the posturing of several presidentiables, greed can make one do the unthinkable and unexpected. These presidential pretenders could wake up one morning only to realize that there is no such thing as elections in the Philippines. At leats they have their product endorsements to fall back on.

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Doling Out Scraps

At a time when mistrust for GMA is growing, her strategy now is to buy out the people. The illegal tenant of Malacañang has been announcing subsidies for the poorest of the poor. Alleviating the plight of the poor should have begun on the very first day Gloria took office. With barely two years before she ends(?) her criminal reign, she will go on a bribing spree. With her economic programs clearly hitting the people hard, her only option is to dole out scraps.

Giving out cash without concrete sustainable programs is utter stupidity. One cannot close a gaping wound with band aids. With her bludgeoning EVat and the rising cost of living, empty pockets and grumbling stomachs will not go very far with measly P500 dole outs. While she avoids crossing her criminal-minded allies, she dangles P20 wage increases to the underpaid slaves. She refuses to suspend her pet, the EVat because it would expose her economic incompetence. Even investors have began shying away due not only to her corrupt bureaucracy but her unstable programs as well.

Putting the blame of her ineptitude on her critics is the only thing she can do. She has to divert the attention of the irate populace to stay in power. Now, even announcing projected increases in oil prices is being prevented. We have the right to know what we are facing so we can prepare for the worst. It is the government's responsibility to keep us informed. Gloria should suspend the EVat on oil and power if she is sincere in easing our sufferings. While the cost of oil increases, so does the VAT. At present levels, about P7/liter is being collected by the government. Removing the VAT would lower the cost of everything.

The P500 electricity subsidy should be paid directly to the power company instead giving it to individuals. We have no assurance that these monies will go to the intended recipients with this government's track record of misusing funds. I am sure that Gloria will use this for photo ops again. Just imagine her being shown giving out "gifts" to the poor? This would be a great propaganda opportunity to make it appear that she is doing something for the people. P500 would not go far, it is only good for three square meals a day. After it has been spent, the poor family will go back to its miserable life. This dole out is no different from the money given out to buy votes.

Our so-called leaders live off our taxes. We pay for their gas, their phone bills, their trips and even their power bills. While they go around with blaring sirens in big gas-guzzling luxury vehicles, we have to walk under the blazing sun bathing in our sweat while inhaling toxic fumes. They sit in airconditioned offices while more and more people ply their wares in the streets only to be taken away by Gestapo-like goons of Bayani's MMDA. At a time when we face desperation, we look for inspiration. We do not need rhetorical speeches and political gimmickry.

So what do you call these dole outs? Bribery? Maybe cover-up funds, or diversionary funds perhaps? At the end of the day, incompetence and dereliction of duty is what Gloria is guilty of. Of course her other crimes against the people should never be forgotten.

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