Making It Fun in the Philippines

While this picture is already ten years old but you can see the stupidity here. I remembered writing about playing "Akoy's Isang Pinoy" on an imported music player  (and smartphones seem to be the most common ones). Now it's time to talk about the incredible irony of this picture. They are promoting economic protectionism with the whole, "Save and create jobs by buying Pinoy and local." But do you know the IRONY of this picture? If you do have some common sense then you will realize that they're promoting economic protectionism with IMPORTED PRODUCTS. You may find an imported watch (worn by the protectionists) and more importantly, they're using IMPORTED EQUIPMENT to make that huge tarpaulin and for the sound system! Buying local does save and create jobs but as said, local businesses are not entirely enough. Foreign investors provide both customers and services for these local businesses . If the local products don't deserve to be bought by ...

I did write about the death penalty issue -- something that I always feel needs to be heavily studied upon before reimplementing it. I think it's a problem when legislators don't know their priorities. The death penalty is useless when there's a lousy system behind it. It won't do good if all issues such as the roots of heinous crimes aren't addressed. One of the biggest roots of why heinous crimes happen is poverty. Big time crooks love poor people because they're too easy to exploit. One of the biggest causes of poverty in the Philippines is not just corrupt politicians but also poor economic policies such as economic protectionism. How does economic protectionism guarantee that poverty will increase? A good question to ask is how many Filipino businessmen are there and how many Filipinos are in need of jobs. If the supply-demand gap is that huge then you know it's not a good sign. The problem with 60/40 ownership of foreign investments is that forei...

Is it me or is ABiaS-CBN really that is biased with why they air the Americanized versions of Japanese shows while ignoring the source material? I remembered watching the now-defunct Hero TV and guess what? They were airing Power Rangers as a JAPANESE SHOW when it isn't. Clarification -- Power Rangers is a localization based on a JAPANESE TV SHOW which doesn't make it   a Japanese TV show. I may acknowledge that Toei Ltd. gave Saban, Disney, or currently Hasbro the legal permission to use the fight footage but that doesn't make it a Japanese show. Note, Toei ultimately OWNS Power Rangers and not just the American side of the fence! If it wasn't for Super Sentai then you wouldn't have Power Rangers, now would you?  I remembered having been in elementary school when ABiaS-CBN itself showed Mighty Morphin'. I have to confess that I was at first, fascinated by the show. However, the more I discovered about Super Sentai -- the more I discovered what have I miss...

This is the real problem -- it's very easy to be "tough" especially when you're just known as Anonymous rather than if you are using an obvious screen name (like mine) or even one's own real name like others do. For one, I'm a person who values privacy and values the privacy of others. My tax papers aren't meant for everyone to see except those who handle it -- so THERE! I AM NOT ACCOUNTABLE to those online trolls at ANY LEVEL because they're not my superiors. I'm accountable to other people but NOT. THOSE. ANONYMOUS. TROLLS. Do they think that they own the Internet or even me?  I've decided to stop entertaining their STUPID comments. I delete stupid comments not because I'm a coward -- it's because the smart thing to do is not to feed the trolls! As Mark Twain would say that arguing with stupid people is equivalent to arguing with a pigeon. You can get all the facts straight but such people will continue to act like they won any...

I remembered learning the song "Ako'y Isang Pinoy" in Filipino or should I say Tagalog classes as an elementary student. It wasn't easy to be unfairly discriminated as "non-Filipino" because I was of Chinese descent (even if I'm born and bred in the Philippines) -- all the while said people enjoyed Jollibee, SM, and other stuff that were born of Filipino-Chinese businessmen. Now, it's time to consider the irony of the song "Ako'y Isang Pinoy" being played especially when it's nearly August which is Buwan Ng Wika or Month of the Language. The song's lyrics go as follows: Ako'y isang Pinoy sa puso't diwa Pinoy na isinilang sa ating bansa Ako'y hindi sanay sa wikang mga banyaga Ako'y Pinoy na mayroong sariling wika Wikang pambansa ang gamit kong salita Bayan kong sinilangan Hangad kong lagi ang kalayaan Si Gat Jose Rizal nuo'y nagwika Siya ay nagpangaral sa ating bansa Ang hindi r...

The death penalty can be an effective deterrent to crime if there's an effective system running it. It should be treated as a missile. It doesn't matter how effective the missile is but the wrong guiding system can cause the missile to hit the unintended targets. Unfortunately, the current Philippine system is riddled in corruption because of the system and not just the people  which makes nearly every objection towards the death penalty right now valid . The classic argument that the death penalty may end up executing innocent people by mistake is a valid argument. That's something that can be common in the Philippines due to easily bribable government functions and incompetence in criminal investigations. Do you remember the time when the late Leo Echegaray who was a POOR CRIMINAL got executed? Sure, poor criminals aren't exempt from justice but what about rich criminals? The execution of Echegaray is nothing compared to if rich criminals or even corrupt politician...

The Dilawans may no have lost their relevance BUT do we even realize that they are just SYMPTOMS of a MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM ? The real problem of the Philippines is that the 1987 Constitution is now OUTDATED and needs to be seriously upgraded. Some people are actually in favor of removing excessive economic restrictions but still, they want to stay in the Unitary-Presidential form of government. Economic policies are just one component of success. The other involves having either the right or wrong kind of government framework in running the country. Let's just say that one day the Dilawans decided to migrate to Spratlys or they all dropped dead simultaneously. The problem is that the same system that allowed them to flourish still exists even without them. There's still the problem of other people such as the Marcos loyalists. Just because I don't like the Aquinos doesn't mean that the Marcoses are already automatically heroes. The plunder of the Marcoses is already k...

I remembered how I wrote an imagined scenario if President Rodrigo R. Duterte and Antonio Trillanes IV were both Prime Minister Duterte and Opposition Leader Trillanes. I wonder how it would be if these two faced each other every week and it's TELEVISED for all to see . The rules of the Weekly Question Hour will include a limit of 7.5 minutes per participant -- which means Trillanes can't Talk Ng Talk himself as he pleases. Opposition Leader Trillanes may get his microphone turned off to give turn to Deputy Prime Minister Leni Loud Robredo. Now, let's address the problem of the current opposition and why it's really defective . The defectiveness of the current opposition lies on one fact -- it's all fault-finding and criticizing while it fails to give useful alternatives. A good example is how #OtsoDiretso's trip to Marawi  could've been an excellent opportunity not just to point the slow pace of the work but to also give alternatives to how to make them...

I wrote about, " After elections, how's your wallet huh paid voter? " -- I decided to write about it on the side of you paid activists. I've already seen leaked screenshots for the nth time of what you're planning to do -- yet another anti-administration rally. Yes, the State of the Nation (SONA) address is now on Monday so I decided to write this next to address you people! If you're a paid activist and you're reading this (presumably from a Pisonet or Internet cafe) -- then may I ask you this question, "After the rally, where's your money?" There's the statement that says, " Rain or shine -- if there's rally then there's money! " I assume some of you receive money that's higher than the equivalent of a daily wage. Maybe, you may be receiving higher than PHP 500.00 or even higher than PHP 1,000.00 -- depending on how much the organizer is willing to pay you. Was it worth accepting that money for an entire day of ...

The Anti-Constitutional Reform people are still trying their old fear-mongering tactics like they did in the 90s. I remembered the time that I dreaded the possibility that Fidel V. Ramos himself would get another term. It was because I thought that going beyond one term of presidency equals dictatorship. I remembered believing the lie that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's plan for parliamentary will be bad for the Philippines. This was all linked in the name of defending the defective 1987 Constitution. They say that it will make Philippine politics worse or that it's just about people but not the systems. However, the real problem lies within THE SYSTEM more than it is the PEOPLE . So why would they hate the Westminster form of the parliamentary system? Let's give some valid reasons based on how this form of parliamentary system would work... The parliamentary system has never been a winner-takes-all system or popularity based democracies The problem of the presidential ...

Comprehending the logic of the typical activist (Filipino or not) is just confusing, isn't it? The same groups that demand to get U.S. troops out of the Philippines, that go against the idea of economic liberalization , that claim to be so "nationalistic" are now -- wait, what? They are asking the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) which is located in GENEVA, SWITZERLAND to intervene and investigate the Duterte Administration for alleged human rights violation? This makes me go WTF considering that they claim to be so nationalistic. Hmm... did you even know that Renato Reyes Jr. of Bayad Muna even went to the International Criminal Court in the NETHERLANDS too? If they are so nationalistic then why are they asking foreign organizations to intervene with them ? If they hate capitalism so much then why are they using products born out of capitalism ? They are using the Internet, highly-priced laptops, megaphones, and the like which are all products of again, ...

Oh the irony of Joma Sison is simple -- he hates democracy and free markets but he's hiding in where? The Netherlands  which is a country that's highly democratic and engages in FREE MARKET economics. Anybody who wants to say that the Netherlands is highly protective of its local economy (like some stupid person who says that Switzerland is protectionist) is dreaming. What are the New People's Army fighting for? To turn the Philippines into a socialist state where "equality" rules. But the fact of the matter is that "equality" is just a fantasy . If you do further research on this so-called equality when take a look at Venezuela, North Korea, and China under Mao Zedong. Venezuela's current president Nicolas Maduro eats delicious food while the rest of Venezuela STARVES lining up for a loaf of bread. North Korea's previous "emperors" such as Kim Jung Il and Kim Il Sung are very fat while the rest of North Korea starves to death. Mao Z...

I don't think everyone who is against the return of the Reserved Officers Training Corps (which I think needs to be revised first) is automatically against military training. I just want to suspect that some of those protesting against the return of ROTC may also be allies of Antonio Trillanes IV and his best friend Gary Alejano. Both of these guys were once high-achieving soldiers who unfortunately became laughingstocks later as legislators. Also, these guys were also involved in two major fiascos namely the Manila Peninsula Siege and the Oakwood Mutiny. I'd like to really give a proposal that those able-bodied Filipinos who want to fight China without ROTC have an entirely new option . My proposal is that they should enroll in the Trillanes-Alejano Military Academy (which isn't real but just a joke). Didn't Alejano say that he was the soldier of the Filipino? Didn't he say that he would fight against invaders? That's what he bragged about in his failed cam...

A bad system breeds more bad people than good people. For anybody to say that there are no bad systems is just like a person who gives bad equipment and expects his or her skilled workers to do a good job. It has always been all about BOTH people and systems  and that 4Ps-obsessed old man still insists that it's just the people but not the system. I don't have to be a political analyst or systems analyst to understand systems and people at a basic level. I remembered writing about well-behaved Filipinos in progressive countries AND dysfunctional Filipinos in their home country . So what's contributing to the massive success of Filipinos in other countries vs. the massive failure of Filipinos in their homeland? I would blame the lousy system and one of its many components is the ushering of economic protectionism. If you wonder why I'm using Neri Colmenares as the poster boy here is for this reason -- he's a real loser  that fails to do anything relevant to impro...

It's very stupid that there are some Filipinos who claim to be more "manly" than other nationalities would oppose the idea of mandatory military service. There's even some of them who keep calling K-Pop guys as "faggots" while the latter have their mandatory military training. Now, a certain group of Filipinos may play the overconfidence game where they think that they are in fact the " most powerful race in the world ". I even remembered somebody even bragged that his adherence to Penoy Prayd is enough to make the Philippines survive an invasion. That is very misguided thinking. If there's any reason why Filipino soldiers once won the Battle of Yuldong -- it was because they were well-prepared and well-equipped while China's military at that time was the exact opposite. I decided to check China's military training videos on Youtube. I admit those guys (and girls) are in fact, well-prepared for any battle. It's no wonder why ...

I remembered how often the story of successful Filipinos abroad always has a ring to the ears of Penoy Praydists. There are stories of Lea Salonga-Chien, Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, Lydia De Vega-Mercado, Cecil Licad-Menenses, and the late Leandro Locsin of how they succeeded. Some may want to credit the "uniqueness" of the Filipino blood which isn't always the case. But even if there is this Filipino blood uniqueness (which may be a result of years of interbreeding between Malaysians, Indonesians, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese) but if the system is faulty then you have to expect that results won't be as good. A bad system is a guarantee that there will be more bad results than good. That's why the Filipino majority doesn't hold good while the Filipino minority tends to be better. Try to notice Filipinos who have kept a good reputation and have kept their jobs or even citizenships in those first world places. I don't want to deny that there are proble...

The problem with the current opposition is that rather than focus on helping the current government improve its performance -- it's more focused on getting rid of it. The charges currently pressed against President Rodrigo R. Duterte are usually baseless and based on gossip. It's time to think about how everything is failing. Did anyone from #OtsoDiretso win? Not even one member of #OtsoDiretso won because they failed to give relevant alternatives to how the current administration should do its job. Now, not everyone in the opposition is guilty of destabilization. But let's talk about members of the opposition who unfortunately are too obsessed with derailing President Duterte or anyone not on their side. I just read through Get Real Philippines' (GRP) latest post  about having a good old people power. While I don't agree with everything GRP (especially on sensitive issues) says but I think the whole Yellowtard people power might just work. If anything, the whol...

Here's a funny comic where you have Gilbert "Gibo" Teodoro and Joseph "Erap" Estrada talking about their losses. Gibo says that he lost because he wanted to stop mass starvation and poverty. Erap however stupidly thinks (at least in this comic) that the latter wanted to stop masturbation. This reminds me of what's wrong with the presidential system. To say that the problem is just the people but not in the system (while one is a systems engineer like some 4Ps-obsessed old man) is to refuse to see that people AND systems go together . The problem with that 4Ps-obsessed old man is that he'd rather treat the symptoms without knowing the cause or stick to what he already knows than discover new stuff for better development. He loves the 1987 Constitution and says it's among the best while he hypocritically lives in Australia which has a way better constitution. The presidential system uses popularity-based democracy . It doesn't matter how credib...