Ways to Win an Election # 1: Take Advantage of Your Position

This sign came up early this week. After more than a year of endless banners and posters all over the city, the City passes an ordinance prohibiting the display of such paraphernalia  in major roads and streets.

And like true civil servants, the city street cleaners swooped down the streets and tore down the banners of Defensor, Susano, Lagman and almost everyone else.

Everyone's that is except those of the mayor's anointed successor and his running mate who happens to be the mayor's daughter, and of course, the mayor himself who is running for Congress.

I guess being in power has its privileges.

Sad.

May They Rest in Peace

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord ...

Ian Sublang – Gensan Newsprint

Lea Dalmacio – Gensan Newsprint

Gina Dela Cruz – Gensan Newsprint

Marites Cabunes – Gensan Newsprint

Bart Maravilla – Bombo Radyo

Jhoy Duhay – Peoples Tonite

Henry Araneta – DZRH Correspondent

Andy Teodoro – Mindanao Inquirer

Neneng Montano – Gensan Newsprint

Alejandro Bong Reblado – UNTV

Victor Nuñez – UNTV

Mac–mac Amola – Gensan Newsprint

Jimmy Cabello –  Midland Review

Councilor Razul Daud – SK Newspaper

Joel Parcon –  Prontera News

Val Cachuela –  Prontera News

John Caniban

Art Baloya – Punto Periodico

Noel Decena – Punto Periodico

Rany Razon – Punto Periodico

Bienvenido Jun Legarta – Punto Periodico

Jovy Legarta – Punto Periodico

Rey Merisco – Punto Periodico

Boyet Dela Cerna – Escalera News

Art Mascardo – GSC

Embarassment

Worse than Iraq. Worse than Afghanistan. Worse than Pakistan.

Watch the following video as "Journalists Without Borders" Speaks Out on the barbaric murder of 57 individuals  last 23 November 2009 in Maguindanao..

The Philippines is now the most dangerous place to live for journalists.

What a fitting feather on the administration's cap. Will this finally wake the government from its seeming indifference to all the heinous crimes happening around it? Or will they continue to belittle this incident as a mere fight between two families.

A True Hero

So where are YOU watching?

Everyone will be watching the Pacquiao vs. Cotto match Sunday morning, 15 November. No doubt about it. And most everybody will watch the fight live for there's no sense in waiting for it on free TV, only to be barraged by the endless commercials.

But where will people be watching? The options are aplenty.

The cinemas are an obvious favorite. Watching the fight on a large screen in an air-conditioned theater in the company of a large, boisterous partisan crowd is an experience in itself. Very much like watching an Ateneo La Salle basketball game. Except this time, there's no La Salle (or no Ateneo, if you belong to the other school). And this time everyone's cheering for the same guy.

Movie house tickets for the fight range from P500 to P650 and come with reserved seating. But no popcorn.

Some cinemas, like the one pictured here, even have raffle promos to entice fight fans to watch there. I for one, would like to get my hands on a Team Pacquiao jacket.

Restaurants are another option. The TV monitors or projection screens may be smaller than those of cinemas but food is always included in the ticket price. And if food is your fancy then perhaps the champion of buffets, the Triple V Group,  may just have an edge over everyone else.

For P750, you get to watch the fight AND enjoy DAD's ultimate buffet. With bottomless ice tea at that.

Now if you're more the drinking than the eating type, then better head off to the nearest bar. That is if you don't mind drinking at 8 in the morning.

Like restaurants bars include breakfast with the entrance fee but make most of their money on the beer buckets and bundles they brandish. Given the BPO phenomenon, many may already be used to booze in the morning. But for me, I'd still rather just have coffee with my ham and eggs.

Finally, to my surprise, the fight will now also be shown in comedy bars! Yes, those places where merry men and loud women who call themselves artists are paid to insult, ridicule and make fun of  their audience. Yes, these so called comedy clubs have joined the Pacquiao bandwagon.

I wonder what their come on is? I hope they won't have female impersonators performing between rounds.

And me? Where will I watch and why?

I'll be watching in the new Eastwood Cinema. Because Patty wants to have lunch after in one of the new restaurants that just opened in Eastwood Mall.  In the end, the wife decides. Unanimous decision.

(Sometimes) The Government Works!

Got a pleasant surprise this morning. Efficiency can and does exist in government. Or at least it did in the DFA this morning when Patty and I renewed our passports and got new ones for Gabi and Bela. The whole process took us all of 23 minutes! Twenty-three minutes for four passports! Wow, I was truly impressed.

We went to the DFA fully expecting a tedious process and a long wait, much like the registration marathon organized by the COMELEC.

The secret? To course everything through a reputable third party service provider.

We chose LBC's Telephone Passport Express service. We simply logged on to their website, downloaded the forms, had our photos taken and submitted all the needed documents to the nearest LBC branch.

Other service providers are Pilipinas Teleserv Inc. and DHL. The DFA itself offers this fast track service through its online passport appointment system.

We were informed of our appointment schedule in the DFA via SMS and told to go to the LBC booth "at the DFA basketball court beside DHL and look for Renato Frogosa."

There was already a large crowd when we got to the basketball court. These were the applicants who didn't go through LBC or any of the other service providers. It looked like these applicants were going to spend the whole morning here.

There were about ten of us who were given the same appointment. We were briefed on the rather straight forward process and in 5 minutes we were already ushered into the passport processing section across the street.

We were then asked to sign our application form in the presence of a DFA officer and our thumbprints were taken. That was it! We were done and free to go. The passports will be delivered to the house in a week's time. Wow.

I walked away from there thinking, for just a split second, that sometimes we get the right service for the taxes we pay.

Yet Another Text Scam

This time it was my son's yaya who won big, P450,000! She received a text from someone who identified himself as Atty. D.A. Cruz of the Vice President's Charity Fund.

 

She was so excited she even stored the number on her phone.

Poor girl. We had to tell her that it was a scam.

Text Bomb, Text Bomb

Text scams have turned even nastier. Not only do these attempt to con people into forking out money but now they are even used for political ends, to tarnish the names and reputations of politicians.

I got the following this morning from +639268225950:

Congrat's ur sim # had won 2nd prize winner worth of [Php 750,000] via electronic raffle last Oct/17/09! to claim ur prize call me now! Im: Atty. Mark D. Mendez Per dti#3302 s'09! ito po ay pamaskong handog ng AQUINO FAMILY!

Hmm, maybe I should text this to KRIS and send to 2366.

Too Cheesy for Me

My wife saw this tucked under the car's windshield yesterday afternoon in S&R the Fort.

I guess he's hell bent on seeking the presidency this 2010.  Despite his dip in popularity in the latest surveys.

Last Monday, 12 October, when he was supposed to announce his plans for next year's elections, he instead announced that he was postponing his announcement because he was prioritizing relief efforts for victims of Typhoon Pepeng.

That was the right thing to do. But why make the announcement on TV Patrol through an exclusive interview by Karen Davila? Is it because his new 30-second commercial was launched on the same evening telecast?

You're a good man, Mr. Senator. And you're still young. Why the rush?

Remember, cheese only gets better with age.

Save your energy and resources for 2016. Take it from Spencer Johnson --- whose bestselling book you've obviously taken the liberty to copy --- and read "the handwriting on the wall."

"The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese."

Too Close for Comfort

I saw this as I was on my way back to the office last Friday at around 1:25 pm. At the corner of Tomas Morato and E. Rodriguez Avenue, just one block from the village where I stay.

I thought it was just a car accident, someone losing his brakes and crashing into the wall. It was only during the evening news that I learned that it was a botched up robbery attempt. That a shootout occurred. And that the victim was killed.

And this is not the first time it has happened in the area. Earlier this year, a woman executive was gunned down in broad daylight as she sat in traffic in an apparent carnapping attempt.

This is just too close to home. Tomas Morato is where I work. It is where my son goes to school. It is where I spend most of my week days.

It is a neighborhood that I now share with robbers and murderers.

Muchas Gracias, Alejandro!

Thank you very much, Alejandro. Thank you for donating all your savings to the Filipino children who have been victimized by the recent typhoons.

You have such a big heart. And a kind soul. You simply prove that kindness and hope still exist in this world.

Que Dios te bendiga para siempre.

------

See the news item on the DFA web site.

Akalo Mo Trapo, Yun Pala... Totoo!

Amidst all the destruction and sufferings brought about by Ondoy and Pepeng, some politicians still took advantage of the situation to further their presidential ambitions.

At first I gave this particular politician the benefit of the doubt when the first photo appeared on Facebook. But soon the other photos appeared too. Plus numerous press releases on his relief efforts. Many in the company of a controversial but popular noontime game show host. 

 

 

 

Sipa at Tadyak, that's what this presidential wannabe should get from us voters this coming elections. 

Goodness Prevails

We've heard it said, many times before, that tragedies bring out the best in the Filipino. And we saw it again. Again and again in the last couple of weeks. From the jetskiing judge who saved dozens from death to the little girl who donated her favorite doll so that it could give comfort to another child victimized by Typhoon Ondoy.

I saw this goodness again last night. This time in the Malanday Elementary School in Marikina where more than 300 evacuee families remain.

We went there to distribute ready-to-eat food packs that Patty had prepared at home. Our contacts were two lady officers of the nearby Filipinas Village Homeowners' Assocation, Judy and Mila.

Both Judy (above, left) and Mila (above, right) were victims too. Their houses, like most of their neighbors' in Filipinas Village, were submerged in chest-deep murky water. And though most of the water has already receded, what still remains is a foot of filthy mud.Yet despite their personal misfortunes, Judy and Mila still volunteered to help out with the relief efforts in the nearby school.

"We are the lucky ones," Mila confessed. "Many of those in Malanday lost all their belongings."

Admirable too were Jun and the other youth members of the Marikina City Junior Police (MCJP) who manned the evacuation center voluntarily as guards.

Jun (above, extreme right) too was a victim of the flooding. But like Judy and Mila, and the countless other volunteers, they chose to be here helping in the relief efforts.

"There's nothing we can do to undo the damage," Jun reasons out. "It's best to just help out."

 

Tips for a Hassle-Free Voter Registration

We've all heard the horror stories: very long lines, not enough application forms, people having to wait hours just to register for the 2010 elections. Truly an unpleasant initiation for first time voters.

But the registration process need not be a nightmare. The key is preparation and advanced planning.

I went with my younger sister Sam when she registered and it took her no more than thirty minutes to complete the process. And this despite the crowd in the Quezon City Hall.

So how did we do it? Here are some pointers:

• Fill out the application form beforehand. You can download this from the Comelec website. Fill up all three copies but do NOT sign or put your thumb marks yet.
  

• Bring a photocopy of a valid ID (driver's license, passport, school ID).
  

• Know where to go! Find out beforehand where your city or municipality comelec office is. Know your district and your barangay.
  

• Bring a pen. Even if you fill up your application form beforehand, you still have to sign this in front of the Comelec officials.

• Come early. The Comelec offices are open from 8 am to 5 pm. Avoid coming near lunch time or late afternoon.

Remember, you only have until 31 October 2009 to register. Avoid the rush and register now.

The Letter of the Law

I accompanied my sister to register for the 2010 elections this morning and saw these Bistek-branded tents outside the Comelec Quezon City office. What a blatant case of premature campaigning!

The law is pretty straight forward: it shall be unlawful for any person, whether or not a voter or candidate, or for any party, or association of persons, to engage in an election campaign or partisan political activity except during the campaign period (Ominibus Election Code, Section 80). And yet we all know that would be candidates from president all the way to municipal councilors have already been campaigning since late 2007.

And the legal loop hole they use? Section 79 of the same law that defines a candidate to be any person aspiring for or seeking an elective public office, who has filed a certificate of candidacy.

Ah yes, they are all sticklers for the law. The letter of the law, that is. No more, no less.

And so what happens to the spirit of the law? That unfortunately, does not exist for them. Their mantra seems to be as long as it is not explicitly illegal, then it's legal. To hell with propriety and morality.

So sad to have such spirit less leaders.

I hope again

The death of Cory, the outpouring of love during her wake and funeral, and the subsequent declaration of Noynoy has given me new hope for our country.

Not that I was in despair. Mine was more of apathy. Which I think is worse.

Sure there were times I was angry, indignant. Who wouldn't be? The Hello Garci scandal. The Fertilizer Scam. The NBN-ZTE Broadband Deal. But this anger would often time turn to frustration and even cynicism because those at the forefront of these anomalies' investigation didn't seem trusty worthy themselves.

But now I have hope again. Just as she did more than twenty years ago when she ran against the dictator, Cory in death has united us and has shown us that there still is hope for our country.