GMA's game for May 2010

While a lot of people are rallying, blogging, ranting & pulling their hair out, GMA has been laying down the groundwork for her goals for years now.

She got incompetent speakers so people will get distracted by them and it frees her to move in the back ground.

She has been courting international powers like China & the US through trade concessions and visiting forces agreements. They will support her or at least look the other way when she makes her move.

In an unprecedented move, she's running for Congress. The guesswork is that she'll make moves within the Congress to create a constitutional amendment to change the form of government in the Philippines which would consequently allow her to become Prime Minister.

She's fielding a lame candidate for President, Gibo and even lamer vice-president Edu. If they win the elections using her machinery, she can easily unseat them as she performs a coup within the Congress.

Nuisance candidates like Erap has been allowed to run again to dilute the votes further from the front runner Noynoy Aquino.

It is rumored that she also has back door dealings with second runner up, Manny Villar.

It's being set-up as early as now that with Noynoy's overwhelming popularity it's impossible for him to lose and that only cheating can prevent his ascendancy as the next President. When that happens, there could be a failure of elections and an ensuing civilian agitation, necessitating her to remain as interim President.

She's allowing agitation in Mindanao which would eventually require American intervention and consequently a US Military Base in Mindanao.

She's all over the nation, in the fields, solidifying her power base in the provinces.

She's all over the world, positioning herself as a power figure in this country whether in an elected position or not.

Whoever wins or loses, she has her foot in the door. VERY SMART. I applaud her mind games & effort.

But it won't work.

This country's nature is chaotic and contrary. It can also be aggravatingly stubborn in a passive aggressive manner. Anyone who seeks to control it's people with an iron fist or manipulative schemes is in for a huge disappointment.

So GMA, go forth and do what you think is right. But you are just being used by fate to move this country forward. Do not be surprised when within the grasp of total victory, you will lose it all.

Why I cannot vote for Noynoy Aquino

I cannot, in good conscience, vote for Noynoy Aquino.

For a long time, I really considered him because at first it seemed he was a symbol of a return to decency.

I turned a blind eye to the way he took advantage of his mother Cory Aquino's death, to launch his presidential bid. I brushed away his choice of a younger mate who's motives seem to be questionable. I tried to ignore the way he vacillated when there was a clamor to have him run for President--even if I really found it laughable that he still had to consult with his sisters & went on a retreat to 'accept his destiny'. It was charming when Cory did it, but with him it just felt choreographed. I didn't mind that his achievements personal or as senator were neither noteworthy nor relevant.

We were tired of savvy trapos (traditional politicians) who manipulate and fool us to our faces. Noynoy was the messiah against these evils the same way his mother was against the most infamous dictator of all--Marcos.

Then he started cavorting and dealing with the very politicians we were trying to reject.

Then he made this statement:

"If elected President, I will not recognize a Chief Justice appointed by the outgoing President,”

That made me sit up. How can he be that thoughtless and tactless?! The unconsciousness of the implication of his public statement is what alarmed me the most. It's not just because he's threatening the balance of power of the branches of government. It's a bad signal as to his general attitude.

His popularity right now is directly pinned on how most people hate Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. They're marketing him as the anti-Gloria. How he will be everything she is not. That would mean that he's going to be forthright, 'good' and not power hungry.

But that's his marketing. And to me it's largely untested. An honest man is not someone who has never lied. An honest man is someone who, being given the opportunity to lie, did not. At this point, I am becoming certain that it's just the image they're projecting on him.

It also came to mind that this incident is the sign of a petty man bent on vendetta more than on good governance. Just like his mother was. I am afraid of history repeating itself: That instead of using the people's rallying support to manage this country better, he would spend his time undoing and going after everything GMA-related. This is exactly what Cory exhausted her efforts on when she was President: getting back at the Marcoses and their cronies. Here is a man who could believe that popular support would give him a free hand to re shape the governmental structure as he pleases. Screw the repercussions (if he knows what they are.)

It is with a heavy heart that I came to this conclusion. I really wanted to vote for him.

But as the way things are, I have deduced for myself that Noynoy does not have the savvy, backbone nor compassion (malasakit) for this country.

You do not trash the system just because your predecessor is closely identified with it. There are ways of managing that personal directive without publicly challenging a pillar of this society.

If he lacked the foresight and tact to avoid saying inflammatory statements this early in the game, then he lost my vote.

I cannot in good conscience vote for some clueless individual as President. The margin for error is much much smaller at that high level.

How to start solving our country's problem: Filipino-Style.

The problem with our country is that we've never had a political system that's our own.

Every system we've had has been adapted from other countries. We did not evolve with it. It was just thrust down our throats. The consequence of this ill-fit is that we tend to improperly implement it as it's not attuned to our natures, our culture.

This is the only thing I learned in the one and only class of political science I took. But I think it resonated with me because of the truth of it.

Democracy worked in Europe because they've already matured politically. They have already gone through many system of governments that changed as their ideologies did. In our country, we went straight from slavedom to democracy. There's bound to be problems there.

Given that, what would be the ideal political system for us, as of today?

I've always believed that this country's future is in our patriarchal-church-led-feudal culture.

That sound's rather backward, doesn't it?

I have and will always blame the church's role in colonizing us and enslaving our minds to a point that generations after, we're still not free from our feudal thinking and roles.

But think about it, we have ingrained habits & values from our feudal and colonial past spanning generations of Filipinos. We are not a democratic nation in the truest sense of the word. We are not equals. Each man's vote does not count as one but as a commodity available to the highest bidder.

However, I also know that changing habits and status quo takes time. I believe in harvesting existing ways of thinking and living in a smart and enlightened fashion by people who really have this country's best interests at heart.

Our people are still feudal - clamoring for a patriarch/matriarch to guide them & lead them. It is sad but I have noticed no matter how talented a person is, if she or he has no claim to fame or famous ancestor, people do not see him/her as a leader. On the other hand, the witless son or daughter of the richest family in town is followed unquestioned because of their status.

It is because of this that I believe the future of this country lies in the enlightened elites of our society: Those who are thrust above others by default because of feudal conditioning. These are the spiritual leaders, businessmen, intellectuals and most specially the sons & daughters of rich and prominent families in their area.

The key is that they must have no ego problems. What we need are the people who are well-educated and forward thinkers to enter the system and work within in to transform it. And they do this because they really care about the country. Also, they will be less prone to corruption because they cannot be tempted by money, power or recognition as they already have it.

A few exist. I know that a few who really know better are out there and I implore them to get our of their cocoons and help in the best way they can.

They don't have to enter government. They can be centers of influence in their offices, baranggays, schools and the home.

At the very least, where they are, all they have to do is take a moral stand and direct people's values. It can be as simple as teaching children of today to be respectful to their elders, be mindful of their manners and to pick up their trash. The important thing is those whom people automatically look up to because of feudal perceptions should be conscious of their roles to serveas models for citizens.

For now, this will do. Enlightenment will take time. I eagerly await the next stage in our political evolution where wisdom can rule us, not crude magic or threats. (To paraphrase from CS Lewis' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) . We have to start somewhere, and I believe this starting point is sound.

The Oligarchy in the Philippines

Forget issues on population, education, environment, pollution, crime & recession.

The number one problem in the Philippines is the prevalent oligarchy: the concentration of power in a few members of the elite.

To be clear, let me enumerate whom I think are the modern members of Philippine oligarchy:

• Political families that have members in different positions in local or national government for generations.
  
• Politicians and their relatives who have been there for the past 4 administrations (since the time of Marcos).
  
• Movie, TV, Sports celebrities/politicians.
  
• The richest families in the country that support some or all the political parties equally to make sure their interests are protected.
  
• The emerging "Lords": Drug Lords, Kidnap Lords, Smuggling Lords & 'Praise the Lord's.
  
• The leaders of different churches and religious sects.
  
• The business sector leaders
  

Basically, people who by reason of birth or circumstance belong to the elite circle that decides this country's fate.

I wouldn't mind if they would decide on things that would benefit the country. 

(Ok... that's being unrealistic. Let me revise that.)

I wouldn't mind if the corruption to benefit ratio is at least acceptable, but as time passes the ruling elite are starting to act with impunity and thoughtlessness as to the general plight of the majority.

They argue like fishmonger's wives in the market as to who's the top dog often using the 'poor masses' as banners to further their own interests. Oftentimes they just broker power amongst themselves anyway throwing aside whatever causes they used to get there.

Masses, I hope we all wake up to the fact that we're just being used as body count in this travesty of Democracy.

Sadly, I know we won't or we will only when loved ones start disappearing, getting tortured or killed. I attribute this to our tendency to keep our heads down brought by historical and cultural blah blah blah...

That leaves me only one recourse.

I'll just kill the really bad or prominent oligarchs with the curse of THE GINOSAJI