Making It Fun in the Philippines

If there's one thing that Filipino Communist activists are good at doing is causing trouble and playing the victim when things don't go in their favor, right? Here's the latest news that will please any sensible minded Filipino whether they support President Rodrigo R. Duterte or not. It's all about having an arrest warrant for those idiots such as Satur Ocampo, Liza Maza, Teodoro Casino and Rafael Mariano which can be seen below.  The most recent Justice Secretary Menardo Guevara recently issued something that was never released for some time. Former justice secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre Jr. should have released it long ago too. Also, shouldn't Filipinos even have the right to put the Commission on Elections' trustworthiness to a very low scale for this reason? Why are criminals even allowed to run in Philippine politics in the first place? It's time to consider that not only do we have Gary Alejano and Antonio Trillanes IV in the legislative body (...

Here's a bit of a gag of what former president and current Manila City Mayor Joseph "Erap" Ejercito-Estrada said about federalism. This bring backs memories of EDSA-2 which led to Erap's peaceful resignation. However, there's one thing that can't be denied -- IMPEACHMENT PROCESSES are very cumbersome and costly compared to the more efficient and effective vote of no confidence . Why just be effective or just be efficient when you can be both, right? Do you remember a couple of times that Erap as president had fouled up? Perhaps the worst scandal ever was the jueteng scandal or how he chose to foolishly declare immediate war with the Abu Sayyaf. The whole jueteng scandal plus his Jose Velarde bank account led to his impeachment trial. The time-consuming process ended up leading to EDSA-2 which led him to resign from his position as president. The whole impeachment process was very tiresome to watch because of the fact that not only did it have to pass through...

It's more than time to consider the reality of Constitutional Reform's priority of what should come first. What's the use of having a federal-parliamentary government if the whole country is still LOCKED UP in the nonsense grid of economic protectionism  by the oligarchs? It would be basketcase like India in the past when a federal-parliamentary system was useless because of protectionism. It was only when India decided to open up its economy that it became a major world player in economics. A country's economic success is not always based whether it has parliamentary and federalism. Some countries that aren't federal-parliamentary managed to have a good economy thanks to the use of free trade. China, Taiwan and South Korea are semi-presidential and unitary countries yet their economic success is due to one factor called  ECONOMIC LIBERALIZATION . Deng Xiaoping lifted up China from the pits of poverty by getting rid of Mao Zedong's nonsense protectionism. Jap...

It's indeed true that the Dilawans are indeed diminishing in numbers. What some idiots from other non-Yellows fail to realize is the much bigger picture -- why do you think the Dilawans managed to exist in the first place? The argument that you should just change the people but not the system and that Filipinos must "evolve with the 1987 Constitution " because there's supposedly hundreds of years experience in one and zero in the other other  is just stupid. It's because of the stupid 1987 Constitution's popularity-based, crony-driven economy that allowed the Dilawans to have their dominance for three decades to start with! The Dilawans are but a symptom or their presence shows us that the current Philippine system of governance is really defective. Do you think the crony capitalism of the 1987 Constitution could have existed WITHOUT said framework? We've had the 1973 Constitution under Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. and the 1987 Constitution under the Dilaw...

It's time to take the Yellowtard camp to its challenge in its desire to honor the 25% shading. They want to use electronic voting? Then it may be more than time to use it against them with non-tampered voting machines. Here's what I suggest. Let all those ballots that are found to contain a 25% shaded circle for Leni Robredo be allowed to pass through non-tampered PCOS Machines. Here's the basic rule. Anything less than 100% in the shading is against instructions. The reason why these circles have to be fully shaded is because there's a code that follows with it. This may be the best scrutiny against the 25% shaded ballots. Get those non-tampered voting machines and have those ballots that contain a 25% shaded vote for Leni pass through them. It would be time to see if the voting machines will even honor votes for Leni that didn't pass the proper shading guideline to start with.  So what's next? Will Leni and her group ask the non-tampered voting mac...

One of the biggest arguments that a certain old fool can bring up is his fallacy where he cites that the Philippines supposedly had hundreds of years in experience in the presidential-unitary and zero in the federal-parliamentary. It's his favorite line of reasoning which he says isn't even fallacious or that the Philippines should just stay as it is even a thousand years from now. But did he ignore the fact the Philippines even had more experience in not being a united archipelago than being one? Hmmm... that old fool just thinks he's "older and wiser" when that's not always the case. I agree with the fact that experience is important. Experience is so important that one will end up knowing how good or bad the system is. Unfortunately, the Philippines has had a taste of the defects of the presidential and unitary system for a very long time. The presidential system keeps producing really stupid leaders through a popularity based system . The unitary syst...

It's really shocking at how Cynthia Patag is really aging so horribly -- hence she's also nicknamed as Cynthia PATAY which means dead in English. In this latest update from GMA-7 -- it's really obvious how the Liberal Party (or the presidential system for that matter) could care less about credibility as they care more about popularity. Who can remember her when she was in the 90s hit sitcom Palibhasang Lalake? It's really something how she went from a comedian for the television into a CLOWN in real life.  She's now joining among those who want the Supreme Court who are taking care of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal to honor the 25% shading which is INVALID. It's time to use some common sense in order to show how she's really just patay ang utak or brain dead with her joining the protest to honor the 25% shading.  It's time to consider the BASIC GUIDELINES of shading ballots or any shaded exam. I remembered taking my College entrance e...

I remembered back in the 90s when there was the hype that former president Fidel V. Ramos wanted to be a dictatorship because of his desire to replace the 1987 Constitution with a parliamentary system. Back then, I was still under the influence of the Yellows, I still admired Benigno Aquino Sr. as a hero, I believed that Cory C. Aquino supposedly restored democracy and that martial law was always a bad thing. Later, I found out that the problem of the Marcos Years wasn't the declaration of martial law but its misuse and abuse. President Duterte's declaration of martial law in Mindanao was fully approved and constitutional in contrast to the sudden declaration back in September 21, 1972. This was all the hype that charter charge or constitutional reform equals a threat to Philippine democracy? Do you remember the anti-Cha Cha or charter change really back during the term of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo? It was a series of scare-mongering not just by the Yellows ...

It's more than time to consider the scare mongering tactics by the Dilawans, isn't it? What's the whole reason to why they decided to even post that tarpaulin that says, "Welcome to the Philippines PROVINCE OF CHINA" with some Chinese characters underneath? This is really uncalled for. As much as I do believe that the Chinese government should pay damages to every country they've harassed (and that includes the Philippines) but I guess it's possible to get Spratlys via peace talks, right? She's been claiming that she's actually fighting "fake news" (but it's only fake news if it doesn't agree with her side of the fence) or that she's doing it for the Philippines when she's simply doing her work for the Dilawans. Instead, it's all about fact-filtering one way or another where facts that don't agree on her side are "fake news". Her participation in a strong maligning campaign against President Rodri...

This is really the stupidity of #SilentNoMorePH where they finally decide to set Antonio Trillanes IV as a possible "new hero". Whether we like it or not but there's the tendency in the Philippines to make heroes out of the wrong people . Let's face it how can they declare Filipinos who were rightfully executed for certain crimes such as murder and drug trafficking as heroes? Not to mention, why is it that Ninoy Aquino was even made a hero in the first place  when all he did was talk and talk -- not to mention he like Trillanes was a convicted mutineer? The only difference is one's under a real dictatorship (Marcos) while the other is fighting an imaginary dictatorship. I don't know what's in the minds of those who are now suggesting that Trillanes' police security is moved to get him assassinated or that it was President Duterte who supposedly killed Mayor Antonio Halili? Hmmm blame it on Digong as the most convenient scapegoat? This would be t...

Democracy is a very easy word to misuse and abuse, isn't it? What does democracy really mean or do we know what's a democracy? A simple definition of democracy from a very HIGH SCHOOL or ELEMENTARY lesson from one's Civics and Culture subject that it's a government of the PEOPLE, by the PEOPLE and for the PEOPLE. It's not defined as a government that's only of the majority, only by the majority and only for the majority where their demands must always be catered to regardless of the consequences. The minority is still part of the PEOPLE in a democratic government and they have the right to protection and free speech. In short, they still have a right to a voice but how is it working? A basic definition of democracy An article from Stanford has this to say about what makes a democracy with its four key elements which would and should definitely include the MINORITY as part of the people: 1. A political system for choosing and replacing the government th...

I admit Leni Loud Robredo is partly right in telling President Duterte about taking care of economics but the problem is does she really know basic economics ? This is a challenge that would certainly continue to discredit her position. What does she know about basic economics and does she see that the 1987 Constitution's pro-oligarch constitution is indeed a major contributor to bad economics?  Does she want to address the "presyo ng bilihin" or the prices of commodities? She should go back to the rule of supply and demand which includes the world market. No president can control the prices of gasolines from rising or falling -- though I think the excise tax needs to be considered on how much. She wants to address the prices of commodities in the local scale? Why not focus on agriculture programs  and improving the rural farm areas? We could start by abolishing 4Ps and reallocating the budget to agriculture programs around the Philippines. This would start to allow...

If there's any reason why the Philippines has long resisted charter change or constitutional correction then it can be summed up to this according to Orion Perez Dumdum -- it's the fear of the unknown! There's always the problem using the hundred years fallacy  where one says that the Philippines shouldn't shift from presidential to parliamentary and from unitary to federal because we've got more experience in one and zero in the other. Worse, some old fool even dares to say that the 1987 Constitution should be kept even a thousand years from now based on the hundred years experience in one and none in the other argument. It means, "Kapit lang sa nasanayan kahit mali." or "Holding on to what one is used to no matter how wrong it is." Let's take a look at a number of stuff that existed years ago and will no longer sell because they're obsolete. Do you want a fax machine where anyone can easily get the document in your workplace or do yo...

Yup, here's Leni Loud Robredo on CNN Philippines. Here's the latest updates that would actually show how people still "love" her as evidenced by all the angry faces. But let's see what if this was Leni Loud Robredo acting as the Deputy Prime Minister of the Philippine parliament. Can she survive the scrutiny that will be set there especially with her latest claim that she's sourced her budget for six advocacy areas for benefiting the poor? As I love to stress it is that the parliamentary has an opposition or minority backbench to keep things in check. The majority and minority have to challenge each other in a debate. Right now, let's imagine the set-up of how Deputy Prime Minister Leni Loud would have to contend with the opposition. Here's a possible set-up that could have been done. We have Deputy PM Leni Loud vs. Deputy Opposition Leader Richard Gordon. A parliamentary would require frequent scrutiny between both sides. Deputy PM Leni Loud ...

This just in, the Philippine Star has finally revealed something that should also be a ground to remove Chito Gascon from his position as chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights: MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has called the attention of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) over its supposedly expensive seminars and similar training activities held in various hotels last year. In a 2017 report released recently, state auditors said the agency “could have minimized the incurrence of substantial amount of training expenses totaling P5,404,543.80 ” if only the same were held within office premises or other government facilities . The COA report said the CHR could have also saved money on the 20 seminars or workshops it held if it decided to conduct the same on a live-out basis instead of having participants booked in hotels. State auditors noted that Section 2 of Presidential Decree 1445 or the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines provides that it i...

It should really be a call for national shame in the incident where Gilas got into an ugly fight with an Australian basketball team. I may not be into sports myself and I don't really care about the number of wins or losses any nationality plays -- but this is where I feel like the need to write about the problem where people tend to view competition as a battlefield. Yes, that one. The Gilas players broke out like angry, rage-filled teenagers in a petty quarrel against the Australian team. They could have just avoided the fight but they decided to further aggravate it. This ends up showing yet another problem in the Philippines -- the problem of viewing all competition as if it's a battlefield. We can't deny that there are scenarios where you need to win. In a war, you need to win it especially if it's against an invading force that could destroy your country. But that is not always the case with competition. Competition doesn't necessarily mean it's a b...

While it's true that there's some lessons or a lot of valuable lessons that youngsters can learn from our elders due to the amount of experience they've had but can it be said of all old people? Such is the case of a foolish 4Ps obsessed old man who seems to think that his getting older automatically means that he's getting smarter . Old age tends to bring wisdom but do we forget that sometimes that growing old means one's in the risk of becoming a senile old fool at the same time? An old person could start resisting all forms of changes because one has either Parkinson's or Alzheimer's to deal with. It's like the situation of my late paternal grandmother who doesn't understand world economics. She was upset that no president could lower the prices of gasoline. I had to explain to her why it's so. Fortunately, she was able to at least understand something all the while I learned a lot about life from her. Grandparents can be right when they...

One of my favorite channels on Youtube called "Strictly Dumpling" by American-Chinese video blogger known as Mike Chen. You can try watching all his videos from different countries while if you're Filipino -- then try watching his videos on the Philippines and see how food tourism plays a part in the tourism industry. Whoever says tourism is just all exploitative and negative (like that sore loser Peke Aeta ) has got to be wrong. Tourism plays a part in the economy as long as there's some good preservation measures like land rehabilitation and setting reasonable limitations to the rights of foreigners like not allowing them to throw their garbage or clean your mess up like everybody does whether you are a Filipino or not.  So how could food tourism work for the Philippine economy? It's really hard to dissociate tourism from food, isn't it? Why not remember the videos of the late Anthony Bourdain? Promoting delicious Filipino food is part of the Phili...

It's crazy for people to think that all the Philippines needs are change in people but not in a change in system . It's almost like saying that Cambodia should have remained in the Khmer Rouge or Germany should have remained in Nazism until today. The same can be said with the Philippines' current presidential-unitary system  where both systems turn out to be inefficient. The presidential system hardly has scrutiny and accountability where it prefers popularity over credibility while the unitary system is definitely not fit for huge territories. A good example of the unitary system's failure is how Imperial Manila's traffic may soon beat the traffic in China's Beijing sooner or later. First, let's consider a basic understanding of the system of the parliament. What I didn't consider or know before was how the opposition in the parliament is built with two sides -- the Majority Backbench and the Minority Backbench in the parliament. The job of the op...

One of the biggest flaws that's now more evident in the presidential system is from the Office of the Vice President. It's not just a matter of change of people as there's less scrutiny between the president and the vice president with the legislative body. But that would not be the case of the parliamentary with how it deals with both the prime minister and the deputy prime minister. The beauty of the parliamentary system is that Leni Loud as a Deputy Prime Minister would be at much bigger scrutiny. She would be scrutinized for doing yoga at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister since her office in the parliament isn't a place for her to do yoga. Not only that, the opposition will be keeping an eye on her expensive trips and that it'd be much easier to trace whatever transactions the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister had made. Let's say that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in the Philippines spent PHP 27.4 Million just for trips alone. This would...