tête-à-tête
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
politics 101
Yesterday, I watched some politicos talk. But I wasn't impressed. Maybe because whenever a politician opens his mouth I have this reflex to protect my reality from being distorted by his gobbledygook.
Many politicians intoxicate voters by bragging about their "achievements" so that when tipsy, as many Filipinos already are for decades, they irrationally vote for inexperienced actors or help extend the terms of mercenary officials. And so when these flagrant parasites get yet another chance to suck out from the taxpayers' money, they unabashedly publicize themselves through colossal banners on a pretense of thoughtful greetings to graduates and exam passers. As if they care that only 3 out of 10 high school students actually get to go to college and board passers can't find decent jobs. And yet these shape-shifters know when and how to polish their image because their political evolution had taught them how to be bogus agents of change.
Other politicians capitalize on their appellation. If they are the opposition, they present themselves as every good thing that the administration is not. If that doesn't work, they dichotomize the political arena further, take the safe side, then paint messianic images for sure outpour of support. They distance themselves by lambasting their colleagues as if the latter haven't done anything good at all. But they, too, don't walk their talk. They oppugn plans but they cannot offer alternatives. They orchestrate a charade where they all compete for the lead role. But when their stratagem fails, they resort to being pictographic. Can you understand why the waiting sheds' pillars in your city form the initials of your governor or congressman? Why engraved on the walkways are the first letters of your mayor's first and last names? Can you understand why they have to embed their names on projects we paid for? Do you know why they are willing to spend a fortune on political ads just to get elected to an office that pays little salary?
Months from now, we are going to vest power. Is it going to be in someone who exploits the failures of others to gain credibility? Someone who has good intentions but may not be good enough for the position he prays for? Someone who promises the stars? Someone whose idea of leadership is his leadership? Someone who may plan to simulate the past regime? Someone whose credibility is impugned for his alleged offenses? Someone whose visions are not so clear? Let's not be deceived by political shenanigans and fallacies. Let's take our time to choose because a mistake done in a day will be six years of nightmare.
Copyright © 2009 by DenniSinned2. All rights reserved.
Many politicians intoxicate voters by bragging about their "achievements" so that when tipsy, as many Filipinos already are for decades, they irrationally vote for inexperienced actors or help extend the terms of mercenary officials. And so when these flagrant parasites get yet another chance to suck out from the taxpayers' money, they unabashedly publicize themselves through colossal banners on a pretense of thoughtful greetings to graduates and exam passers. As if they care that only 3 out of 10 high school students actually get to go to college and board passers can't find decent jobs. And yet these shape-shifters know when and how to polish their image because their political evolution had taught them how to be bogus agents of change.
Other politicians capitalize on their appellation. If they are the opposition, they present themselves as every good thing that the administration is not. If that doesn't work, they dichotomize the political arena further, take the safe side, then paint messianic images for sure outpour of support. They distance themselves by lambasting their colleagues as if the latter haven't done anything good at all. But they, too, don't walk their talk. They oppugn plans but they cannot offer alternatives. They orchestrate a charade where they all compete for the lead role. But when their stratagem fails, they resort to being pictographic. Can you understand why the waiting sheds' pillars in your city form the initials of your governor or congressman? Why engraved on the walkways are the first letters of your mayor's first and last names? Can you understand why they have to embed their names on projects we paid for? Do you know why they are willing to spend a fortune on political ads just to get elected to an office that pays little salary?
Months from now, we are going to vest power. Is it going to be in someone who exploits the failures of others to gain credibility? Someone who has good intentions but may not be good enough for the position he prays for? Someone who promises the stars? Someone whose idea of leadership is his leadership? Someone who may plan to simulate the past regime? Someone whose credibility is impugned for his alleged offenses? Someone whose visions are not so clear? Let's not be deceived by political shenanigans and fallacies. Let's take our time to choose because a mistake done in a day will be six years of nightmare.
Copyright © 2009 by DenniSinned2. All rights reserved.
Labels: comelec, elections, may, philippines, politicians
Monday, September 28, 2009
first flood
I wish I had a camera last Saturday so I could record how the floodwater brought by tropical storm Ondoy paralyzed transportation and commerce, how much it devastated houses and other structures, let alone the pain and trauma it brought to many people.
What was thought by everybody as an ordinary weather disturbance the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) announced the night before that would bring sporadic rains and eventually, traffic jams, caused a ravaging deluge instead. It brought gusty winds and poured in just hours an overwhelming amount of rain that entire Metro Manila should be receiving in a month! Experts said that at 450 mm rainfall in such a short time, Ondoy was far worse than Katrina. Dams and rivers swelled and inundated low lying areas which meant virtually all of the metro. And so for the first time, I had to forget that floodwater is murky and gross, a brew of all bacteria and harmful Monera known to man...just to get home.
Walking home after buying some groceries, I noticed that the cars on the street connected to the national road were going the opposite direction. I thought it was just some sort of re-routing to ease the heavy traffic but when I reached the intersection, all I could see was water with everything from cabinets, branches of trees, garbage in it. Many people were on their cellphones obviously informing and asking help from families and friends while others in huddles were trying to figure out how to cross. Some stayed under the entrance canopies of shops because the heavy downpour was nonstop. One guy found a floating fridge and held on to it as he hand-paddled his way to the other side. Every minute, people in total disbelief would arrive. I overheard an old woman say it was the first time that their barangay got flooded. She said that it had such a high elevation. So, what the heck? I gave the same reason to my colleague when she called the school earlier because she got stuck in their village near mine. I instructed her to take that route thinking that it was too high for water to accumulate. I was wrong.
After an hour, a rescue boat from the Philippine Coast Guard arrived to help. Everybody cheered! But it could only accommodate a few people at a time. I wanted to wait for the water to subside but it was getting dark. As I stood in the middle of rain for hours, I could sense a potpourri of worry, confusion, shock, and feeling of helplessness. It is however, in such difficulties that the goodness of the human spirit comes forth and the resilience of the Filipinos is seen. Some able-looking men set up a rope that people could hold on to as they negotiated the flood. Others stayed in the water to guide everybody else where to go. Those who could swim helped some residents salvage and relocate their belongings. I was moved to hear how an old woman thanked a middle-aged guy for carrying her merchandise to safety. Then they shook hands.
But the inconvenience and discomfort I experienced that day is puny compared with the dire conditions and heartbreaking stories of thousands from Marikina, Pasig, Quezon City, Rizal, and Pampanga. On TV, I saw a haunting footage of people on water lilies and garbage floating on a raging river. Then they just disappeared when they hit a bridge. There was an eerie video of two siblings hugging each other who were unearthed a day after the flood. A woman was frantic as she described how her son heroically rescued pets and other people including a baby but failed to save himself. There was a man rescued from the roof of his house on his birthday. He was trapped there for two days without food and water. A guy was crying as he was asking for forgiveness and support from his parents-in-law because he tried but wasn't able to save his wife and baby from drowning. A teenage girl appealed on national television for help because her four siblings and parents were still missing. There were old and sick folks asking for medicine and clothes. And yet there are more. I have no idea what new poignant and horrible stories I will see as I turn on the TV again. The only thing I'm sure about is that, many aren't just watching. Help is continuously pouring in. Even ordinary citizens are chipping in whatever they have to give food and clothes, even shelter. A family opened their building to give refuge to fifty families whose houses were totally wrecked. The day after the flood, I went to the grocery store and a woman was busy dumping canned goods, noodles, toiletries, bottled water into her cart. I thought she was "panic-buying." But at the counter, I heard her ask her maid if she thought those were enough for five families. Inside, I smiled. How kindhearted of her and of those other individuals who quietly help. As I write this, even the international community is doing something. The US Embassy, China, South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Australia, Singapore, France, and other countries and organizations including the United Nations have all sent assistance for the victims.
The physical and emotional pain that this tragedy brought upon these so many people is more real to me because I was there when it happened. But I hope those suffering find solace in compassionate gestures and in their faith in a bright future just like the couple who was asked what they would do now that they have lost everything. They said, "We're alive!"
Copyright © 2009 by DenniSinned2. All rights reserved.
What was thought by everybody as an ordinary weather disturbance the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) announced the night before that would bring sporadic rains and eventually, traffic jams, caused a ravaging deluge instead. It brought gusty winds and poured in just hours an overwhelming amount of rain that entire Metro Manila should be receiving in a month! Experts said that at 450 mm rainfall in such a short time, Ondoy was far worse than Katrina. Dams and rivers swelled and inundated low lying areas which meant virtually all of the metro. And so for the first time, I had to forget that floodwater is murky and gross, a brew of all bacteria and harmful Monera known to man...just to get home.
Walking home after buying some groceries, I noticed that the cars on the street connected to the national road were going the opposite direction. I thought it was just some sort of re-routing to ease the heavy traffic but when I reached the intersection, all I could see was water with everything from cabinets, branches of trees, garbage in it. Many people were on their cellphones obviously informing and asking help from families and friends while others in huddles were trying to figure out how to cross. Some stayed under the entrance canopies of shops because the heavy downpour was nonstop. One guy found a floating fridge and held on to it as he hand-paddled his way to the other side. Every minute, people in total disbelief would arrive. I overheard an old woman say it was the first time that their barangay got flooded. She said that it had such a high elevation. So, what the heck? I gave the same reason to my colleague when she called the school earlier because she got stuck in their village near mine. I instructed her to take that route thinking that it was too high for water to accumulate. I was wrong.
After an hour, a rescue boat from the Philippine Coast Guard arrived to help. Everybody cheered! But it could only accommodate a few people at a time. I wanted to wait for the water to subside but it was getting dark. As I stood in the middle of rain for hours, I could sense a potpourri of worry, confusion, shock, and feeling of helplessness. It is however, in such difficulties that the goodness of the human spirit comes forth and the resilience of the Filipinos is seen. Some able-looking men set up a rope that people could hold on to as they negotiated the flood. Others stayed in the water to guide everybody else where to go. Those who could swim helped some residents salvage and relocate their belongings. I was moved to hear how an old woman thanked a middle-aged guy for carrying her merchandise to safety. Then they shook hands.
But the inconvenience and discomfort I experienced that day is puny compared with the dire conditions and heartbreaking stories of thousands from Marikina, Pasig, Quezon City, Rizal, and Pampanga. On TV, I saw a haunting footage of people on water lilies and garbage floating on a raging river. Then they just disappeared when they hit a bridge. There was an eerie video of two siblings hugging each other who were unearthed a day after the flood. A woman was frantic as she described how her son heroically rescued pets and other people including a baby but failed to save himself. There was a man rescued from the roof of his house on his birthday. He was trapped there for two days without food and water. A guy was crying as he was asking for forgiveness and support from his parents-in-law because he tried but wasn't able to save his wife and baby from drowning. A teenage girl appealed on national television for help because her four siblings and parents were still missing. There were old and sick folks asking for medicine and clothes. And yet there are more. I have no idea what new poignant and horrible stories I will see as I turn on the TV again. The only thing I'm sure about is that, many aren't just watching. Help is continuously pouring in. Even ordinary citizens are chipping in whatever they have to give food and clothes, even shelter. A family opened their building to give refuge to fifty families whose houses were totally wrecked. The day after the flood, I went to the grocery store and a woman was busy dumping canned goods, noodles, toiletries, bottled water into her cart. I thought she was "panic-buying." But at the counter, I heard her ask her maid if she thought those were enough for five families. Inside, I smiled. How kindhearted of her and of those other individuals who quietly help. As I write this, even the international community is doing something. The US Embassy, China, South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Australia, Singapore, France, and other countries and organizations including the United Nations have all sent assistance for the victims.
The physical and emotional pain that this tragedy brought upon these so many people is more real to me because I was there when it happened. But I hope those suffering find solace in compassionate gestures and in their faith in a bright future just like the couple who was asked what they would do now that they have lost everything. They said, "We're alive!"
Copyright © 2009 by DenniSinned2. All rights reserved.
Labels: cainta, flood, manila, marikina, metro manila, pag-asa, pasig, philippines, quezon city, relief, rizal, storm Ondoy
Friday, June 12, 2009
shenanigans
With the virtually melodramatic ads by some known personalities and ordinary people on the boob tube, you would think they are harbingers of good news. And by good news they mean that Filipinos are about to reach some kind of a finish line in our quest for excellent leadership and corruption-free bureaucracy. At least at first blush. These are sham movements in true form that advocate "change" in favor of some politicians eyeing higher positions. They appeal to our thirst for reforms by associating their image with our cause. In that way, we identify with them and support them by voting for the candidate they tacitly endorse. Such propaganda is not very different to how advertisements work. They are premised on swaying public perception through emotion rather than reason. Have you ever wondered why whitening products sell like hotcakes in the Philippines? Because cosmetics companies tell us white is right. It is the way to go. You are unattractive if you aren't on the bandwagon. So, you end up buying their products that guarantee you a spot in the world of melanin-haters. In the same way that politicians come up with ingenious electoral campaigns in the guise of love of country. They create a bandwagon of "nationalists" of which they are the leaders we can count on. Or count in at the time we cast our votes.
The elections are barely a year from today. I wouldn't be surprised to see more footages of politicians serious-talking with a comedian or comedienne, or maybe running across EDSA in slow motion to save a kid from...say, a cat, or perhaps giving relief supplies to residents of...Makati, or desperately mud-slinging their opponents, or resorting to marital help which sometimes doesn't work. These are cheap shots. What aren't are debates where candidates lay their cards and go through the dynamics of argumentation. It's a way where people can clearly discern conscientious candidates from the nefarious, qualified candidates from overrated ones, visionaries from illusionists. The series of US Presidential debates in 2008 were a great display of how democracy empowers people to make sound choices because they get to know their options. Obama, Clinton, Biden, McCain, Edwards, Richardson, Kucinich, and Dodd were courageous enough to address tough issues through nationally-televised debates. Why don't we have those here? If candidates have the caliber and patriotic intents, why of their own volition not get into it?
Just like the proverbial false prophets, political trickery takes different forms. But we should know better now. Are we going to vote for a candidate just because he sponsored a concert and gave us free shirts? Are we going to support a candidate just because he is an eloquent speaker? Are we going to favor a candidate whose pictures and initials are in every corner of our city? Are we going to retain a candidate in power just because he did "fine" during his term? We may have different criteria for choosing but my goodness our country cannot afford to have another posse of parasites!
Copyright © 2009 by DenniSinned2. All rights reserved.
Labels: ads, biden, candidate, clinton, debate, dodd, edwards, elections, makati, obama, philippines, propaganda, richardson, voters
