A Social Entrepreneur for President?

I came upon an article in the Inquirer.net blogs from a relatively young Filipina writer who likens an ideal Philippine president to a social entrepreneur. I'd rather let her article do the talking instead:

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Wanted: A president who can run the Philippines like a social enterprise
By Niña Terol
Author’s note: This is an abridged version of a blog post originally written for the Young Public Servants website. To view the full article, click on http://www.yps.org.ph/blogs/guest/?p=4

I recently posed this challenge to some like-minded colleagues: draft a want ad for this country’s next president, then let’s see how we are able to articulate the skills, qualifications, and necessary track record of the Philippines’s Chief Executive. After all, we cannot even begin to seriously assess our current crop of presidential hopefuls if we don’t know what we are looking for in the first place. I honestly thought that it would be quite easy because the exercise had to be somewhat similar to writing an ad for a CEO of a large corporation. How hard could that be, right? (The power of Google, and cut and paste…)

Well, I apparently underestimated the task. While doing some online research on the subject it occurred to me that maybe my entire premise was wrong in the first place. The Philippines is not a large corporation. It is not large geographically, politically, economically, or even diplomatically the way the First World countries, or even China or India, are. It is not even a dark horse the way Russia is often viewed. In the local setting, the Philippines is not like one of those multinationals that are housed in one of the ritzier office spaces along Ayala Avenue. It might not even be located in any of the central business districts. If the Philippines were an enterprise, it could probably be considered a startup, or a relatively young SME at the most.

Therefore, the kind of president that we need is not somebody who will saunter into the office in an extremely expensive suit — with an army of executive assistants, senior vice presidents, and consultants in tow — and be a “boardroom executive.” We need someone who has the mindset of an entrepreneur and who will be able to dig through the mud (literally, sometimes) to get things done.

But because I’m a fan of social enterprises and social enterprises, I’d take it up a notch and venture to say that the Philippines could be likened to a social enterprise, and therefore needs a president who has the mindset of a social entrepreneur.

What’s in a social entrepreneur?
According to the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurs are “unusually courageous men and women that pursue their vision of a better world by applying extraordinary creativity and resourcefulness to some of the world’s most challenging issues. They are not just dreamers… They have the rare ability to ground their dreams in reality and translate them into pragmatic, goal-oriented and measurable action. As a result, they have produced some of the most innovative approaches to social, economic and political problems that continue to defy conventional means of action [boldface mine].”

On the other hand, Stacey Childress (2006) of the Harvard Business School, talks of the need for a “Theory of Change” — a belief about how actions will contribute to the fulfillment of a larger vision. This “theory” could be focused on either local or systemic change, but it has to define how the social enterprise’s activities will contribute to the big picture.

Social entrepreneurs, therefore, are visionaries — wild, passionate, big-picture thinkers — first and foremost. They are unafraid of dreaming of WHAT COULD BE; to them, “impossible” means “I’ll Make it POSSIBLE.” Who in our current crop of presidentiable-wannabes thinks that way?

Moreover, social entrepreneurs are able to link current gaps with current givens and future possibilities in ways that are extremely innovative, creative, “out of the universe” and yet very, very logical. They are unafraid of asking the important question — “Why not?” — and going, “What next?” For instance, one of my favorite social enterprises, Rags 2 Riches, linked the existing realities of dismal economic conditions in Payatas and the nanays’ current means of livelihood — rag-making — to the big dream of making “designer rags.” Throw renowned fashion designer Rajo Laurel into the mix, and you’ve got a kick-ass concept (which just recently won an international business plan competition) and beautiful bags that even Angelina Jolie will buy because (1) they’re great products and (2) they support fair trade.

Imagine this: If we could reinvent the Philippines using the social enterprise model, what would it look like? More importantly, are any of our politicians willing to take the risk of painstaking — but powerful — transformation? Or are they simply promising the same old Spartan slippers and simply rebranding them as Havaianas?

Social entrepreneurs also know what their goals look like and, therefore, how to know when they’ve already achieved them. Social enterprises are not just lofty causes filled with empty promises. At the heart of it all, social enterprises are income-generating operations for which metrics, indicators, and impact are very important. At the end of the day, we will know where we stand and what else we need to do to fill in the gaps.

Think about it: if we had a president who at the very least was as entrepreneurial, as passionate, as savvy, as creative, and as progressive as some of our country’s top (social) entrepreneurs, wouldn’t you feel a tad more hopeful about our future and more willing to help make things work?

Niña Terol, 28, is a writer, editor, communications consultant, and emerging social entrepreneur. She is also the Vice Chairperson for Internal Affairs of Team RP, a youth-led movement for truth, accountability, and reform in Philippine governance.

Change of Uniforms: the Sulpicio Lines Spectre

This news came as a shock to me. All this time, we've been counting the number of ships under the Sulpicio Lines fleet that sank with a high mortality rate, and we came up with four: the M/V Doña Paz, the M/V Doña Marilyn, the M/V Princess of the Orient, and most recently, the M/V Princess of the Stars.

Little do we know that there have been other ill-fated vessels carrying the Sulpicio Lines banner. Much of these accounts have already been buried under heaps of Philippine maritime history, but probably for the sake of everyone, especially for those who were lucky to have survived those tragedies, we shall unearth them.

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GMA News Research found out that Sulpicio Lines owned the M/V Princess of the World. According to the report, The ship was near the Zamboanga peninsula when it caught fire on July 7, 2005. Fortunately, all 200 passengers of the vessel were rescued.

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Here's something a little more spine-tingling coming from a survivor with a tale to tell. I found this from the Letters to the Editor section of Inquirer.net. I'd rather let her tell her story through her article:

I wonder why the vessel MV Boholana Princess, also owned by Sulpicio Lines, is never mentioned among the Sulpicio vessels that sank. I also wonder why there was no news of the sinking at that time.

I was a passenger on that ill-fated voyage and here’s my first-hand account: MV Boholana Princess left Cebu for Ormoc at 11 p.m. on Dec. 15,1990. Past midnight, the boat suddenly tilted to the left at an angle of 45 degrees. Passengers were startled out of their sleep, wondering what was happening. But there was no announcement through the public address system, or word from the ship’s captain and crew, about what was going on.

The passengers then scrambled to get life jackets. It was so dark outside the boat that jumping into the sea never crossed our minds. We were stranded for hours. Fishermen arrived to rescue us. But up to that point, there was still no announcement from the captain or from any crew member about what was happening. Finally, we started to evacuate the sinking vessel—with help from the fishermen, but none from the crew. Eventually, we all made it out of the ship.

Oh, by the way, before we left the boat, a guy asked us to surrender the vests we were wearing because they belonged to Sulpicio Lines. Yes, this happened many years ago, but everything is still so vivid in my mind because that incident made me scared of riding boats. This may be hearsay: while we were still on board, there was talk that the boat had hit a reef while the crew were in a drinking session. Still, we were all just grateful to God that nobody perished in that accident. It was all that mattered to us then—that we all came out of the accident alive.

In retrospect, we could have filed a suit against Sulpicio Lines because there was no announcement from the captain and crew about what had happened, and there was no rescue effort initiated by Sulpicio Lines.

Maybe the incident was never reported because there was no casualty. But all the passengers felt that the accident was caused by gross negligence. I hope an investigation into this incident will be conducted, because that will establish that MV Princess of the Stars was the fifth—not the fourth—Sulpicio ship to sink.

—GARDENIA LARRAZABAL, via e-mail

We checked this account with the Philippine Coast Guard. It is indeed on record that MV Boholana Princess, among 14 Sulpicio vessels that figured in an accident between 1986 and 1998, ran aground in 1990.—Ed

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Maybe Sulpicio Lines should try batting for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the shipping company with the most passenger deaths? Oh, wait: I think they already got a slot from the Doña Paz sinking alone. I think that incident was recorded as the worst-ever peacetime sea tragedy.

I should know. the Doña Paz and the Doña Marilyn brought down with them people from my province in Leyte. These two ships were plying the Manila-Tacloban route when tragedy struck.

I will always remember that December in 1987 when Doña Paz sank. Everyone from Region 8 (Leyte, Samar, and Biliran) had a relative or two who went down with the ship. That was a very dark Christmas for all of us. Instead of celebrating the Yuletide season, days were spent attempting to identify bodies that were charred beyond recognition. For those who went to the Rizal Memorial Stadium where the bodies were brought, the stench of death and formalin was simply too overpowering.

Now, I am seeing the same situation with the M/V Princess of the Stars.

Apparently, the people of Sulpicio Lines still aren't affected by the fact that their hands are stained with the blood of all the victims of their negligence and greed. For them, paying up would somehow absolve them of their sins.

But tell me: how can you possibly equate a measly P200,000 with, let's say, a student who will never be able to complete his/her studies because he/she went down with a Sulpicio Lines boat?

These people of Sulpicio Lines may just as well be exchanging their uniforms for black cloaks while holding a scythe. For as long as their passenger vessels are still on the water, we'll never know who these Grim Reapers' next set of victims will be.

Is a News Story Worth Dying for? (The Ces Drilon Hostage Drama)

I already mentioned before that there was a time in my distant past when I got to work with the now-famous ABS-CBN senior reporter Ces Oreña Drilon. I got to know Ces as a go-getter, a "babaeng bakla," and a woman who knows no boundaries when running after a story. These are all the ingredients that made Ces the respected broadcaster she is today.

However, this time Ces has finally recognized her own boundaries.

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I think it was last June 9 when I first heard the news about the abduction of Ces and her news crew in Sulu. When ABS-CBN initially aired the news about their missing crew without giving too much detail, the first thing that came into my mind was, "Uh-oh, Ces has really done it this time."

Ces has survived so many life-threatening situations in the past but this time, I was really doubting that she was going to successfully get out of this recent scrape alive. She outran a cascading pyroclastic cloud during the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption. She escaped a fiery death after their OBB van was tipped over and set on fire by thugs. She braved tear gas during the more recent Manila Peninsula siege. All these instances paled in comparison to her brush with the terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf. Basing my idea on past reports of Abu Sayyaf hostage takings that usually ended up in one fine bloody mess, I was fearing the worst for Ces and her companions. I mean, this is a freaking terrorist group we're talking about here, not a volcano or a bunch of disgruntled military officers.

All throughout the crisis, the combined forces of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and the PNP (Philippine National Police) as well as senior executives of the News and Public Affairs Division of ABS-CBN stood firm on their no-ransom policy. However, days after the release, news floated among media circles that there was actually an exchange of ransom money amounting to millions just to get the hostages out of the terrorists' lair. Whatever the truth is regarding this, we will never know.

Everyone sighed in relief after Ces et al were released about ten days after their abduction. However, another personality stepped into the limelight: Sen. Loren Legarda. While some were suspicious of Loren's presence in the resolution of the hostage crisis, I'd like to believe that Loren was there not as a politician but as Ces' long-time friend and former ABS-CBN colleague.

Ces later revealed that there was treachery involved in their abduction. Apparently, someone literally "fed them to the lions," so to say. At present, the father-and-son tandem of the Isnajis -- a political clan in Sulu -- who acted as negotiators are now being suspected as being in cahoots with the hostage-takers.

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What struck me the most about this entire hostage crisis was Ces' admission that she became too bold and reckless in her desire to get a good story. She went to Sulu with plans to interview a notorious rebel, and in the process of getting a news exclusive, she eventually ended up becoming the news. "It was a humbling experience," she said as she wiped away tears during their first press con after their release.

Ces learned her lesson the hard way. But have other gung-ho journalists learned theirs?

The local media has many other journalists out there who may probably be more ambitious than Ces. They are the kind who would destroy their own friends or would even kill just to get ahead on the news. I know some of these people, but I'd rather not name them. They know who they are.

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From what I remember in media ethics, a journalist should know whether or not to divulge certain information they come upon. The easiest way to determine whether to come out with potentially-dangerous news items or not is through asking oneself: how many people will benefit from this information? If a vast majority is bound to benefit from one's information, much to the detriment of a few, then this news item is worth pursuing and releasing.

However, such a rule also has its limitations. If a media person's life becomes at stake with the release of potentially-dangerous information, then this mortality factor must seriously be considered. This is something the ABS-CBN news team overlooked in their ill-fated visit to Sulu -- their safety.

I have always believed in the tenet that there is no market for dead professionals, no matter how brilliant or dedicated they are. The same tenet goes to our over-zealous media people. However, I'd rather let my school mentor and former dean of the UP College of Mass Communication, Prof. Luis Teodoro, put it more eloquently: "There is no news story that's worth giving one's life for."

Maybe Juday Knows: The Meralco Scuffle

Just a short take on the present scuffle for ownership of Metro Manila electric cooperative, Meralco.

Backgrounder. Meralco is currently serving electricity needs of the Greater Manila Area. It is partly-owned by the Lopez clan -- a very rich and powerful clan that has primary business interests in media (ABS-CBN Network, ANC, Skycable, and TFC). The Lopezes also have formidable political clout, considering that several of their erstwhile news anchors have turned into major Philippine political figures. (Incumbent Vice President Noli de Castro and Senator Loren Legarda come into mind.) Politics considered, it is widely-known that the Lopezes tend to lean toward the Opposition side of the political spectrum.

On the other side of the Meralco ownership is Government. Among those representing the administration on the Meralco Board of Major Stockholders is Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) President Winston Garcia. This solon's integrity has been shot down several times over for his ineptitude in doing typical GSIS functions. He attempted to "streamline" functions in GSIS through the creation of an e-card for its members. Instead of the intended "streamlining," it actually caused major delays in the release of pensions to several retirees, and up to the present this problem has yet to be resolved.

Now, Garcia has found an issue that would essentially sweep his GSIS boo-boos under the perennial carpet and turn him into a "people's superhero" of sorts: the alleged high rates Meralco is imposing on consumers.

Present issue. Meralco is now under fire for placing too many charges in the bills of their consumers. Among the charges under question is the systems loss charge which the said electric cooperative is making the consumers absorb. Garcia contends that systems loss should not be passed on to Meralco's consumers and instead, the company should be the one absorbing this.

Meralco is also being charged for buying electricity from the National Power Corporation (Napocor) -- the country's leading power producer -- at a time when their bid prices are high. Napocor officials have since issued a flat rate to be given to Meralco to minimize the problem of overpricing by the power cooperative, as well as to eliminate Meralco officials' alibi about Napocor being a factor in the jacking up of electricity bills.

At the helm of all this noise regarding Meralco's overcharging is -- as I said earlier -- Winston Garcia. Whispers in the background say that this issue on Meralco came up as a diversion to overshadow the Arroyo administration's alleged involvement in numerous anomalous transactions, the most recent of which is the NBN-ZTE scam.

Meanwhile, Garcia seems too overly-passionate about this issue. It's as if he has some personal tiff with the Lopezes. What gives, Garcia?

Developments. During the latest stockholders' meeting of Meralco, voting was made to select its new Board of Directors. At the end of the day, results came out with the Lopezes still owning most of the seats in the Board -- much to Garcia's chagrin. In true cartoon villain fashion, he was brandishing his finger in the air, saying, "This is not the end!!!"

Oh, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also entered the Meralco fray after issuing a seize-and-desist order, contending that proxy votes should not be honored in the selection of the Board of Directors. The Lopezes did not heed the said order, saying that the SEC should not be interfering in internal affairs of companies registered under them.

Now, everything's such a beautiful mess with no resolution in sight.

My take. Probably it would be best (and more readable) if I just stated my case in several bullets.

• If Winston Garcia thinks that Meralco would be better off in the hands of government, thene's dead-wrong! The Lopezes may be running Meralco like a business (a losing business at that), but if government took control of this entity, it may just turn into another tool for graft and corruption.
• Maybe Garcia should be concentrating more on the problems in his own company than on an electric cooperative of which he has no idea how to run. Or probably that's the same problem he has with GSIS: he doesn't know how to run it.
• I remember from my days in media that when there's a block sale in the Philippine stock market and the source of this sale cannot be traced, people in media circles know that government through GSIS or SSS has been playing with members' money in the stock market without their knowledge. Paging Garcia...
• I'm not much of a Kapamilya, and I know for a fact that the Lopezes are very frugal when it comes to money matters. Their acquisition of Meralco was a bad move from the start, but at least they managed to keep this losing cooperative alive. I doubt it if government people can even equate what they have already done.
• Regarding systems loss charges, I have to agree with Garcia in the sense that consumers should not be paying for this. Meralco officials state that all other electric cooperatives in the country are letting their respective consumers absorb these charges -- so why can't they? Like duh: bandwagon mentality! It's not the consumers' fault that there are some enterprising people out there who decide to steal electricity instead of paying for it. Meralco now even has Judy Ann Santos taking the cudgels for them regarding systems loss charges. I'd really like to see that "law" which discusses consumers absorbing systems loss charges. Or maybe we can ask Juday.

To conclude. Meralco under the Lopezes may be a burden to its consumers, what with the exorbitant and sometimes unnecessary charges. However, I'd take Meralco under the Lopezes anytime than a Meralco under government control -- much less, a Meralco under Winston Garcia's control.

Postscript. Well, what do you know? Winston Garcia is now being considered as a senatorial bet for the administration come 2010! Now I understand the reason behind his less-than-discrete "paperings" (in Tagalog, pagpapapel) with regard to the Meralco issue.

I should have known...

Swimming in Muck: the Philippine Medical Profession

Transplant tourism, the rectum surgery scandal, last year's brouhaha over leaks in the nursing board exams, and now, Filipino hospitals involved in the US veterans' insurance scam.

Just when will all these controversies regarding the Philippine medical profession end?

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Let me give my dear readers an overview of these said scandals, starting with the Philippines being a premiere destination for "transplant tourism."

Early this year, it was revealed through media that several jail inmates, as well as people from the more impoverished areas of the country, have been living with only one kidney. As it turned out, these people sold their other kidneys to foreigners who paid them with quite a substantial sum of money. They were made to believe that since they still had one kidney left, their bodies can still function normally.

Blinded by money that could support their respective families for some time, these individuals are now slowly finding out the repercussions resulting from the loss of their other kidney. Most of them are no longer as physically strong as they were, and some of them are now deprived of specific food and beverages that could otherwise make their weakened condition worse.

The Department of Health (DOH) has already stepped in on the matter, banning the continuation of such a trade perpetrated not only by foreigners but also by wealthy Filipinos in need of kidney transplants. Both the kidney "transplantees" and "receivers" are up in arms regarding this issue, and debates on this matter have yet to be resolved.

It's creepy and somewhat twisted to think that people would be so desperate so as to sell their vital organs just for a few months' release from financial deprivation.

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The rectum surgery scandal, of course, is the one where an admittedly-gay person underwent surgery for removal of a six-inch long body spray canister which was inserted in his rectum by his lover. The said surgery could have gone on smoothly and quietly -- but medical personnel of the Vicente Sotto Medical Memorial Center (VSMMC) decided to do otherwise. All throughout the procedure, the poor patient became victim to jeers and cajoling from these beasts in white. Several of them even brought in cellular phones to the surgery room and took pictures and videos of the procedure. One of these cellphone videos even made it to YouTube and registered a whopping two million hits. For more details of this, just click on this link to my earlier entry pertaining to this issue.

Recently, names of the five main members of the surgery team who operated on the hapless gay patient were released. Just to make sure they get their just desserts, allow me to name these foul creatures who took their playfulness in the operating room a little too far:

- VSMMC head surgeon Dr. Philip Leo Arias
- Assistant surgeon Dr. Angelo Linawagan
- Surgeon Dr. Max Joseph Montecillo
- Nursing attendant Rosemarie Villareal
- Circulating nurse Carmina Sapio

Just a personal note to these five people: if justice is not given to you so-called paragons of the Philippine medical profession here on Earth, then may your souls burn in Hell.

Only five people were named as participants in the rectum surgery scandal, but I am very sure that there are more. The video proves that. Even these noisy onlookers should be deemed as accessories to the crime. Not even one of them thought of at least shushing the group.

I say, take away all of their licenses! Ban all of them from the medical profession forever!

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It's been some time since the issue about leaks in the 2006 nursing board examination has been discussed, but it still haunts the local nursing profession. A shadow of doubt now hangs over credentials of nurses going abroad. Even those nurses are already working in hospitals and nursing homes abroad are being regarded with suspicion.

I can't blame foreign employers for having this state of mind. I mean, honestly, how long has this cheating been going on? For all we know, we've already been sending nurses with bogus credentials abroad for some time already.

Look at the nurses who took part in the rectum surgery scandal. They make one truly wonder about the quality of nurses our nursing schools are producing these days.

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Now, here's something new to add to the list of the Philippine medical profession's foibles. the US State Department recently revealed that a number of Philippine hospitals are involved in a million-dollar US veteran insurance anomaly.

This is very embarrassing. Imagine: Philippine medical personnel are actually involved in including names of people who aren't even war veterans in a list of those who are supposed to be eligible for insurance claims from the US government.

If they thought the US State Department wasn't going to find out, then they'd better think again.

Somehow, I believe that this is sort of a comeuppance for Filipinos who always think they can "get away with murder," so to say.

I had an uncle who served as some sort of a guerrilla in World War II. I said "some sort of" because he wasn't much of a guerrilla. In fact, he was among those responsible for the burning of our town proper, as well as the eventual looting. They rationalized that they had to burn the town so that the Japanese won't have any place to hide. (Yeah, right.) My mother's ancestral home was reduced to ashes because of that.

After the war, this uncle of mine was able to avail of benefits due for US war veterans. Well and good, except that he also listed his wife (she was the one I was related to) as a veteran -- even if she was not. Thus, they received money from the US up to the day they bit the dust.

This is just one story. I'm sure there are others who also duped the US into giving more than they should.

And it pains me to say that we once again find Philippine medical practitioners at the heart of this scandal.

When will we ever learn?

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I don't know how the Philippine medical profession can get out of the muck it has submerged itself in. One thing is sure, though: our esteemed doctors and nurses should probably recite the Hippocratic Oath again and digest the principles that this oath stands for.

The Philippine government should also probably set aside its grand plans for "medical tourism" for the meantime and instead concentrate on moves to weed out unscrupulous individuals who mar the face of Philippine medical practice and strengthen efforts to come up with a credible, dependable, and world-class healthcare industry.

Either that, or probably we should just accept the fact that Philippine health service sucks and do nothing about it. How about playing golf instead?

Fancy Photo Shoot

Now, this is what I call a fancy photo shoot! Take a look below:




How cute...all the President's men flanking her in what they term as a "solidarity walk." There's former NEDA Secretary and now-CHED Commissioner Romulo Neri at her right while Vice-president Noli de Castro wears a smug expression at Arroyo's left. What could be on the veep's mind? "Hrmph....gisingin kaya ako ng bubwit na 'to ng kay-aga-aga para lang makilakad sa kanya sa harap ng Malacañang Press Corps...buwisit!" Of course, I'm just making that up...

Honestly, who are these guys kidding? Filipinos are not as gullible as before.

Photos are supposed to tell many stories, but this one doesn't say much. People aware of the numerous controversies hounding the Arroyo administration at present will simply interpret this as an attempt to thwart rumors of several cabinet men planning to bolt out from the administration.

Photo-ops like this remind me of a very effective PR strategy former President Joseph Estrada used to employ just before he decided to run for president in 1998. At that time, he was still the vice-president under the Ramos administration. While the position of vice-president is not exactly a position of power, Estrada was already setting his sights on the highest seat of power in the land.

At the onset, the so-called Philippine literati and elite looked down on Erap for being a two-bit actor with a less-than-respectable command of the English language. (Geez, I remember all those Erap jokes circulating in schools and offices at that time! Heard the one about Erap and "violence?" Hakhakhak!) But little did these people realize that Erap had an ace up his sleeve: his relationship with the masa.

And Erap played this ace of his to the hilt in the only way he knew how -- through constant media exposure. Soon, newspapers and TV news coverages had a liberal helping of photos/news clips carrying Erap appearing in this or that function, from kissing babies in Smokey Mountain to shaking hands with foreign dignitaries in Malacañang. Sometimes, one would see Erap's face in the most unlikeliest of places -- pointing to an alleged holdupper in a police precinct or buying vegetables at the local talipapa. Talk about omnipotence...

I was still in media at that time, and I remember one of our photographers complaining about a simple photo shoot of an alleged perpetrator in a controversial rape-slay case. The said photo shoot took too long because of Erap. According to him, the media photographers were made to wait for several hours upon Erap's orders. No one understood why this was so until he finally arrived at the police precinct. He talked a little to the alleged rapist, then started instructing to the photographers to take pictures of him pointing at the poor fellow. After a few more minutes, it was all over. So in totality, waiting for Erap took about two hours; the actual picture-taking only took less than 30 minutes.

Erap's strategy somewhat conveyed to the masses that he is truly concerned about the country's situation because of his personal visits to places where all the so-called happenings were. That is primarily what catapulted him to the Chief Executive position by 1998.

When trouble started to rock the foundations of the Erap administration, he resorted once more to this PR ploy to quash the rumors. In fact, it was he who initiated this "solidarity walk" with his own men when rumors scattered pertaining to his failing health and his weakening hold on his government.

And such a cheap political trick is now being pulled off by Gloria Arroyo herself.

Thus, to borrow the immortal words of Lavinia from "Pangarap na Bituin" -- Gloria Arroyo is nothing but a second-rate trying-hard copycat.

Very revolting, actually...

See what I Told You?

Just as soon as I predicted Jose de Venecia's downfall from the speakership of the House of Representatives, IT HAPPENED.

And just as I expected, JDV wasn't letting go of his position without spilling the beans on the administration that first put him into power and showered him with privileges, then dropped him like a hot potato.

Privilege speeches normally last for 10 minutes at most, but JDV took the opportunity to blast everyone he felt was responsible for his downfall in his one-hour privilege speech. (Yes, read it again: one-hour privilege speech.)

JDV did not mince his words when he dropped several bombs, beginning with the tampering of results of the 2004 presidential elections that extended Gloria Arroyo's term as Chief Executive. Then he proceeded to admit what he knows about the anomalous ZTE deal that concerned none other than the First Gentleman himself, Mike Arroyo. To emphasize the gravity of this issue, he noted that he and his son, Joey (the whistle-blower of the ZTE scam) received threats to their lives after the latter's revelations, and no one from the Palace tried to do anything about it.

Unfortunately, these bombs simply fizzled out with everyone whispering: "Why reveal these things only now?"

After enumerating all the pains he had gone through in his term as Speaker of the House, JDV wonderfully capped his fiery oration with a mild threat to the incoming Speaker (Prospero "Boy" Nograles), saying: "This could happen to you."

Inspite of everything, a total of 170+ congressmen voted that the seat of the Speaker of the House be rendered vacant. That is a substantial number, considering that the number of hands needed for this is only a little above 100.

Thus, at around midnight last night, Boy Nograles was sworn in as the new Speaker of the House.

*Sigh* In the end, a trapo still lords it over the House of Representatives in the person of Nogi who, I believe, will be much worse than JDV in terms of butt-licking the President and her henchmen. With this guy's rise to power, my predictions of renewed calls for Cha-Cha grow stronger. Who knows: the 2010 presidential elections may just be cancelled. (God forbid...)

I actually pity JDV. The way I see it, his political career is so over after this. Without the powers that be protecting him, he'll just be as vulnerable as a first-time pulitiko who has to be content with grabbing leftovers from pork barrel funds.

No wonder he's now considering aligning himself with the Opposition. That's probably the only group that will take him in at this point.

Such is the rise and fall of Jose de Venecia.

Doing a Julius Caesar

After a whopping five terms of office as Speaker of the House, it looks like Jose de Venecia's world is now crumbling around him. His own colleagues in Congress are doing a Julius Caesar on him, and the main antagonist in this comedy -- er -- political upheaval is the same man he literally groomed himself to become a formidable personality in the Administration: the honorable gentleman from Davao, Prospero Nograles.

After several attempts in the past to unseat him, Joe de V managed to stand his ground. After all, there was always Malacañang to back him up. However, with his own flesh and blood bringing out into the open the controversial ZTE contract anomalies said to be perpetrated by Malacañang henchmen, JDV's grave was suddenly dug. The old man is now being made to pay for the alleged "sins" of his son toward the powers that be.

And what impeccable timing these power-hungry leeches in Congress have! Finding that Achilles' Heel in JDV's political persona that was once protected by none other than the President herself, these "honorable gentlemen of the House" -- as they call themselves -- are now preparing for a political massacre of one of the longest-standing figures in recent Philippine politics.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not exactly a JDV fan. In fact, I'm not a fan of these "honorable gentlemen" who barely get anything done, and instead waste time, taxpayers' money, and their respective pork barrels on grandstanding and other whatnots. I should know: look what happened to our former congresswoman. Well, in her defense, she never did any grandstanding. In fact, she didn't do anything at all that would prove to be beneficial for her constituents in the Leyte province.

This recent skirmish in the House of Representatives only goes to show several things: first, that when blood relatives squeal on Malacañang, one should be ready for the death of his/her political dynasty. Second, that there are no permanent allies in politics -- only permanent interests.

I believe that Nograles and his allies do have the numbers to finally topple JDV. But considering this man's trapo nature, it's just going to be a case of one set of rascals being replaced by another set of rascals. Let's just see how much of a Malacañang lapdog he's going to be.

If the issue on charter change gets revived for the nth time in the House of Representatives under Nograles' term as Speaker, then my theory is proven: that Nograles has been bestowed with the all-mighty Malacañang shield of power.

And why not? 2010 is just around the corner.

As for JDV, well...there's always golf to come back to.

Streams of Thought Again

Here's another bunch of ideas running in my head due to excessive exposure to the late-night news.
Same Old, Same Old. Exactly 21 years have passed since the infamous Mendiola Massacre that left at least 13 farmers dead from anti-riot police gunfire. And yet, nothing has changed -- except for the people in power. Or so I think.

Farmers are still pushing for genuine agrarian reform. Police are still trigger-happy. Put these two groups together in one place -- chaos ensues.

I pity these poor farmers who almost break their backs to till land that is not theirs. Up to now, it still has to sink in their minds that there is no such thing as genuine agrarian reform. Not in the Philippines, not anywhere.

For as long as our legislators and leaders are dominated by the landed elite, these people from the grassroots will simply wither away and still not achieve what they have long dreamt of: a land they can call their own.

A Question of Ethics. The recent Manila Pen siege has really brought out the worst in the Philippine Armed Forces. Not only were they exposed for their ineptitude and over-agressiveness in securing a small band of disillusioned military officers: their major faux pas was also seen on national and global TV and splashed over the pages of all major dailies.

It's no small wonder that they decided to turn the heat on journalists covering the event by detaining mediamen for several hours.

Now, the military top brass are threatening journalists that if ever the latter decides to "intervene" in future military operations, then they will not hesitate to round up these media people -- again.

Of course, the media is screaming bloody murder over the whole thing.

Isn't it enough that the military has already been tagged several times for extra-judicial killings of mediamen in the recent past?

Perhaps these officers in the military, including Department of Justice Head Raul Gonzales (a favorite of mine from the Arroyo administration -- not), may have forgotten the Bill of Rights in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Article III, Section 4 of the Constitution specifically states: "No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances." (Geez, I will always have Atty. Victor Avecilla -- my former teacher of Law in Mass Media -- to thank for literally tattooing this particular law in my mind.)

Or maybe the AFP just doesn't understand the meaning of the word, "abridge."

On the other hand, there is also an ethical dilemma present in this situation regarding military operations. More specifically, it borders on the age-old clash between effective insurgency operations and the right of the people to know. For example, the military intends to launch an attack on an Abu Sayyaf stronghold, and details of this are kept in confidential documents. If a journalist either gets a hand on these said documents, or tails the military -- complete with camera crew -- all the way to the venue in question and catches live on camera the said offensive, then the military's cover is blown. Those Abu Sayyaf members who manage to lock in on the news can easily escape before any harm is done to them. At the end of the day, the planned military offensive becomes a failure, all because of over-eager media people trying to get ahead on the latest scoop.

Another former teacher of mine, Atty. Romeo Candazo, taught us in our Media Ethics class that journalists conform to a strict code of ethics. However, when an ethical dilemma like this comes about, one question must be answered: "Will your action prove beneficial to the majority, or only to a chosen few?" Actions based on their potential beneficial effects on the majority should be the ones undertaken. It is the benefit of the majority that has to be upheld, no matter what kind of ethical dilemmas are posed.

This only goes to show that the military's decision to deter journalists from military operations are not at all that spaced-out. Or maybe just a little.

Destabilization Plots. Still on military boo-boos, these guys are getting all paranoid again, saying that there are recent reports of destabilization plots against the Arroyo govovernment.

They can't even provide solid evidence to prove their paranoia.

Honestly, who wouldn't want to go against this present administration? A lot of Filipinos are still going hungry while these well-heeled people in Malacañang are celebrating over the strong performance of the Philippine peso over the dollar.

Geez, these people are talking about statistics, while there's still no food on the Filipino family's table.

If statistics can only be eaten...

Cat Murder. Okay, so I'm a little delayed in making a ruckus out of this news article (see GMA's Saksi video here) that happened during the early part of January. More than 20 cats -- all former strays -- living in a shelter inside the posh Dasmariñas Village in Makati were found killed inside their cages early one morning. Autopsy reports on the dead cats showed that they were gunned down using a pellet gun. Thank God, eight of them managed to survive the massacre.

The last I heard about this incident, the suspected gunman is the shelter caretaker. Probably sick and tired of cleaning cat poo and pee, this guy decided to end his suffering by using the poor cats as target practice.

Of course, animal welfare groups are up in arms over this gruesome incident. Even the residents of the village were concerned -- but not much for the cats but for themselves. According to them, if this cat-killer has the guts to do such a thing to caged animals, then what will keep him from killing people next?

Talk about false concern. In this case, I'd rather have them placed in the cat cages instead of the cats.

Whenever I encounter stories like the Makati cat massacre, I would sometimes think of the concepts of karma and reincarnation. If ever these are really true, I wish that perpetrators of cruelty to these gentle animals would eventually die and turn into the very same animals they were cruel to in their next lives. And I hope the very same pain and torture that they inflicted in their past life would also be inflicted on them.

This cruelty to animals is no longer new to us human beings. In the provinces, cats and dogs are being skinned alive and eaten. Roosters are pitted in cockpits to fight to the death. Pigs are brought to the slaughterhouse in the most inhumane way -- tied down in groups and hung at the back of a motorcycle, placed in a sack and thrown inside the baggage compartment of a bus, etc. Unfortunate dolphins that get caught in fishermens' nets end up sliced up and sold in the wet market. And we just turn a blind eye to these occurrences as if nothing happened.

No amount of information dissemination can take away the innate cruelty of some humans.

Pit Señor Sto. Niño! Cebu City was dressed up to the nines and turned into one big party place last Sunday, thanks to the celebration of the Sinulog Festival, held in honor of the said city's patron, the Sr. Sto. Niño.

This was my second time to watch the Sinulog, and this time I watched it from a very strategic vantage point: my TV in the comfort of my room.

Last year, I was still very new in Cebu and eager to see how Cebuanos party. Thus, I braved the crowds with an officemate and we trekked the long stretch of road where the grand parade was held.

While the dance steps are not that new to me (I half-hail [Is there such a word? LOL!] from Tanauan, Leyte where we have our own Pasaka Festival in honor of Our Lady of the Assumption.), I was astounded by the sheer number of contingents and their elaborate costumes.

And yes, I was also astounded by the sheer heat of the sun and the difficulty to get a ride home. But it was an experience not to be missed, so no regrets -- only lessons to be learned.

That's why this year, I just watched the Sinulog on TV.

Of course, the experience is not as exhilarating as watching the real thing -- but at least I got to see most, if not all of the contingents strutting their stuff in the Cebu City Sports Center.

However, for some strange reason, every time I see the TV footage of the Sinulog, I couldn't help but shed a tear or two. I dunno: I guess I'm just moved to tears by seeing the true beauty and richness of Philippine culture through these magnificent dancers. Or maybe I just remember my daughter when she took part in our Pasaka Festival three years ago. Whatever it is, my tears are tears of pride -- pride in the Filipino.

Network Wars

These TV network wars are getting too old.

ABS-CBN and GMA are once again at loggerheads over ratings. This time, it has escalated to the point of one suing the other for libel.

What irritates me is that they're involving the gullible TV viewers in their skirmish. Both networks have been airing station announcements, stating how one has been wronged by the other. The Kapamilya network says that GMA is behind rigging the ratings. The Kapuso network, meanwhile is screaming hogwash with a libel suit on the side. Both are saying that they have the TV audience in mind while fighting for the so-called "truth" behind this ratings hullabaloo.

Hypocrites!

The ratings game is not about truth "in the service of the Filipino." At the end of the day, it all boils down to money. You see, ratings play a big part in advertisers' selection on where to place their advertisements. These people will pay big bucks to the network that has the most number of televiewers because this will also translate to their ads reaching a wider consumer base. Their basis for finding out which network has the bigger audience share is through these ratings. The higher a network's ratings are, the more people are tuning in to them -- and advertisers will be jockeying for choice spots in that network with the higher rating.

At present, GMA is lording it over ABS-CBN in the ratings game, especially for evening primetime. The Kapamilya's Pinoy Big Brother which used to be their flagship program for primetime was overshadowed by the meteoric rise of Kapuso's Marimar, and the former is at a loss on how to change the status quo.

Suddenly, in comes this news about attempts to bribe target households of AGB Nielsen in Bacolod so that they would switch to GMA from ABS-CBN. This is just the kind of news ABS-CBN was looking for. And now they're screaming bloody murder.

Actually, this kind of bribery has been happening for the longest time -- and GMA is not the only station doing it. Even radio stations engage in this underhanded maneuver. I should know: I used to be part of this industry. And I'm very sure that no one is exempted from cheating at the ratings game, just as much as almost all people in the broadcasting industry receive bribes from those who want extra media mileage.

For Chrissakes, ABS-CBN: before you go pointing at the dirt on GMA, better try looking at the mirror first!

Sigh: this is precisely the reason why I sorely miss watching cable TV.

Lagging Behind

If we are to judge things by the numbers, ranking 15th of 23 is really bad.

This is actually the Philippines' standing among 23 developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of real per-capita income, or average earnings per person. This is according to a study made by the Asian Development Bank that underscored the disparities in the living standards among countries in the said region. For more information on this news item, you can visit this link from Inquirer.net.

In fairness, we're still ahead of Pakistan (17th), Vietnam (18th), and India (19th).

I don't even know if I can call this "consuelo de bobo." Imagine: during the Ramos administration in the mid 90s, the Philippines was already considered as the "Sleeping Tiger of Asia." Even earlier than that in the late 60s (I wasn't alive yet), countries like Thailand and Malaysia were sending their citizens to the Philippines to be schooled on the newest methods in agriculture and other developmental skills. These countries were waaaaay behind us at that time.

Now, Malaysia and Thailand are ranked sixth and eighth respectively in the said ADB report. That, despite the Thai baht's dramatic fall in recent time and Malaysia's economic and political problems that are much like ours.

What's even scarier is that Pakistan -- a land swept by the ravages of armed conflict and civil unrest -- is fast catching up on the Philippines.

Even Vietnam is also on its way to leap-frogging over the Philippines despite the fact that the red Communist flag is flying high over its capital.

As for India, this country is learning to tap its strongest natural resources: its people and its land. India is turning into a very busy exotic tourist destination. Moreover, with its cheap labor to rival China and our country as well as its fast-growing English proficiency, foreign investors are now looking at India as the newest investment hub.

It is also disturbing to note that Sri Lanka -- once considered as among the poorest nations in the world -- has landed on the 13th spot in the ADB report. That's two places ahead of the Philippines.

If I find out that Bangladesh outruns the Philippines in the race for economic supremacy......I'm transferring to Timbuktu.

Or I'll be praying to St. Antonio Trillanes IV for redemption.

So Many Events, So Little Time (to Blog)

In more or less two weeks' time, several "bloggable" events happened, I can barely keep up with them.

First, there was the spate of typhoons that decided to visit the Philippine Area of Responsibility almost simultaneously.

Lando (international code name: Hagibis) was the first to make landfall in the Philippines by entering through the backdoor in Surigao. Then it moved in a west-northwest direction, hitting almost all parts of the Visayas.

Under normal circumstances, typhoons entering the country from the East usually cut through either Eastern Visayas or the Southern Tagalog Region first before wreaking havoc on other parts of the country. However, Lando was an interesting one. It not only visited areas rarely hit by typhoons (Cebu included): it even loved the Philippines so much that it made a U-turn back into the country through what was called the "Fujiwara effect." There were even fears that Lando would be uniting forces with typhoon Mina (international code name: Mitag) which also hurtled through most of Luzon. It's a good thing Mina subsided before Lando could combine forces with her.

Lando's quickie visit through Cebu sent mixed reactions among Cebuanos. Since I come from Leyte which usually takes the full brunt of typhoons when they enter the Philippines, I found Lando to be a wimp. However, many of my Cebuano officemates who aren't used to storms lashing through their place were ooohing and aaahing at the intensity of Lando's wind and rain. ("Wala yan sa Lolo ko..." I was thinking to myself.)

It took only a little more than an hour for Lando to unleash his fury on Cebu, then by the time we left our office at 6 pm, it was all over. However, in that short span of time, Lando managed to uproot trees and electric posts, and destroy many billboards. Even the Christmas tree on Fuente Osmeña was in ruins after Lando's visit. Many areas in Cebu were without light and water, and I had to make "igib" for water on the other side of my boarding house compound in the darkness the night Lando hit.

The crazy thing about Lando's visit to Cebu was PAGASA's late weather forecasts. Just before noontime when strong rains began to fall in Cebu, several of us visited the PAGASA online bulletin for the latest on Lando's whereabouts. It stated that Lando hasn't made landfall yet, and that it was still several kilometers off the coast of Surigao. When the ferocity of the storm was at its worst at a little past 3 pm, the PAGASA online bulletin still didn't say anything new. They said they were going to issue a new bulletin by 5 pm, but up to the time that the rain and wind ceased at just before 6 pm, PAGASA still didn't mention anything new.

It was only on the next day that I realized from the news that Lando's eye did grace Cebu at about 3 pm the day before. PAGASA's ineptitude in properly tracking the storm's whereabouts caused Cebuanos to be caught flat-footed.

So...what else is new?

--------------------

Then there was the Manila Peninsula siege on the eve of Bonifacio Day.

I find it hard to get mad at Antonio Trillanes IV, despite his gung-ho attempts at changing the world through coup attempts and hotel sieges. He is the image of a soldier fed up with the corruption and excesses of a government that he is pledged to obey. And since he has the conditioning of a military man, he's fighting back in the only way he knows how: through military might.

So he loves staging his gimmicks in five-star hotels like Oakwood and Manila Pen. Then tell me: where do you expect him to implement his plans against the Arroyo administration? In Camps Aguinaldo or Crame? In Malacañang? Or in Victoria Court? He'll be committing suicide if he and his sparse loyalists storm through the first three. That's not good for a military maneuver. As for the last suggestion, what the heck are we thinking?!

Oakwood and Manila Pen are located in the heart of the Philippines' business/financial district: Makati. I'm no genius in the art of war, but if I'm to debilitate a country, I'll go for places where it will hurt the most -- like where all the country's riches are being generated. Besides, hotels are the easiest to evacuate potential crossfire victims from, and also the easiest to conquer. Okay, I admit: their food and drinks are also impeccable...

I also admit that Trillanes' foolhardy takeover of the Manila Pen was wrong, no matter how noble his intentions may have been. But the government's reaction to his siege was -- to quote Charie Villa of ABS-CBN News and Public Affairs -- an "overkill."

By golly, I could barely term Trillanes' hotel siege as a coup attempt. However, government soldiers literally crashed through the Manila Peninsula lobby, wielding any imaginable firearm one could think of. They lobbed tear gas canisters left and right, and -- horror of horrors -- handcuffed everyone in sight, even the media people covering the situation! What in the world were they thinking? It was the Manila Peninsula, for Chrissakes, not Basilan!

My suspicion is this: if only the top dogs in the AFP had their way, Trillanes, his supporters, and everybody else who was inside the Manila Pen that afternoon could have been easily killed. Then the AFP could just issue a statement saying that they were only forced to do so because Trillanes' group fought back and the rest were caught in the crossfire. They've done that many, MANY times before, and more blood on their hands can be washed off in a jiff with a few press statements and Gloria Arroyo's assurance that they will always have her support.

This scenario would've been possible if not for the recent report made by Phillip Alston, Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council, stating that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is responsible for many extrajudicial killings in the recent past. Of course, AFP Chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. is in denial, but who would be the more credible entity to believe? An AFP general who coddles cold-blooded henchmen like Maj. Gen Palparan -- or a UN special rapporteur?

With that UN report retracting their trigger-happy fingers, the soldiers simply had to be content with gassing Trillanes, Brig. Gen Danilo Lim, and everyone else present in the Manila Pen, then leading them out like crazed dogs -- cuffs and all.

If the AFP thinks that they have shut Trillanes up once and for all, they only managed to provide this aggressive freedom fighter with more supporters, not only among the soldiers but also among ordinary civilians. Even if Trillanes gets killed fighting against them, there will only be many more Trillaneses to come out of the AFP ranks. Soon, the AFP top brass may just find themselves overwhelmed by soldiers who are truly fighting for fellow Filipinos.

Esperon and his butchers should be shaking in their boots right now.

Updates on Cheating and then more...

Once again I reinforce my statement on the notoriously-Pinoy culture of cheating with a recent issue involving the latest civil engineers' board exam.

According to some news reports, civil engineer wannabes may have to repeat at least two segments of the board exam due to questionable exam results of some of the board-takers. Of the 30 questions listed in one of the segments, some were able to even get all 30 correct answers. Then there were also sketchy reports of one exam-taker who was caught with answers to one of the two controversial segments on his cellular phone. As it turned out, 21 out of 30 of the answers listed in the high-tech kodigo were correct.

Imagine the kind of engineers they will be if these cheaters do get their licenses.

No wonder the Department of Public Works and Highways is always considered as one of the most corrupt government agencies in our country.

No wonder we get substandard buildings and other faulty structures.

We only have ourselves to blame for allowing these cheaters to dominate the professional ranks and run our country to oblivion.

When will we ever learn?

Deluded Supremacist Pigs among Us

And I thought I was racist...

Check out this link to a blog with an entry entitled, "If you Hate America so much, Get the Hell Out!", supposedly written by a Jay Gould III who not only introduces himself as a CEO but is one helluva...well, I think you guys should just click on the link and make your own opinion of the sonofab****.

This Jay Gould III makes the Ku Klux Klan look like Barbie dolls in white gowns.

Please note: don't copy this guy's article and paste it on your respective blogs if only to generate more traffic. Yes, I'm fully aware of the freedom of expression -- but if this is the kind of junk that is going to be scattered online, then it would be more prudent to just make your own critique with this asshole's blog entry as reference.

Somehow I'm suspicious about this Gould's real motives. He's just too evil to be true. My guess is that he's simply a fictional character generated to build more traffic in some person's blog. This is why I didn't place his article here. It would only serve this person's devious objectives.

Well, what do you guys think?

The Oil Debacle

Recently we have experienced another round of debilitating oil price hikes. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, over the weekend gasoline prices have gone up by 50 centavos a liter, while prices of liquefied petroleum products now have an additional 56-centavo increase. Various transport groups like PISTON (Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide) -- the largest group of jeepney operators and drivers in the Philippines -- are now planning to stage a series of transport strikes to air their demands for a one-peso increase in jeepney fares.

Meanwhile, Filipinos are once again faced with the debacle of making ends meet with the rising costs of basic goods and services -- a typical after-effect of oil price hikes. What a way to greet the Christmas season.

The people so comfortably seated in Malacañang are now trying to appease poor Juan dela Cruz by saying that the situation with the oil price hikes could have been worse had not it been for the "strong economy" we are experiencing right now.

What an irony: our local foreign exchange says that the Philippine peso is now at 42 against the dollar, but I have yet to see Filipinos dancing in the streets because of its effects. C'mon, Malacañang hotshots: stop pulling our leg! The only time I'm going to believe in a Philippine economic recovery is when there are no more reports of children like Marianet Amper committing suicide over hunger and extreme poverty.

Going back to the issue at hand, local oil firms are only reacting to the continuing rise in the prices of oil, or the so-called "black gold" in the world market. As of late, world oil prices have already soared at an all-time high of $100 a barrel. The Philippines is a major oil importer since it cannot generate its own oil resources. Thus, it becomes prone to any price fluctuation in the world market.

In the meantime, members of the OPEC as well as non-OPEC but oil-producing nations garner a windfall over the plight of numerous oil-importing countries -- the Philippines included. Such is the vicious cycle of dependence between these oil-rich countries and the Land of Pinoys.

In fairness to the Malacañang people, one of them managed to share a nugget of wisdom in the light of recent events. Palace Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye stated last Friday that -- well, maybe I should quote him verbatim: "...Now is the time to pool our collective patriotic efforts to intensify the search and development of alternative energy sources, as well as provide the appropriate legal environment to accelerate such initiatives." Nice quote. Whether there's a follow-up to that or not is another story.

Once and for all, we must face the fact that this dependence on a non-renewable resource like fossil fuel -- oil being one of its by-products -- is causing all of us Earthlings more harm than good. On the global scale, oil is now becoming a politically and economically viable bargaining chip in the race for supremacy. He who owns the oil has the oil-driven machines and weapons at his disposal. And oil eventually becomes a tool in the quest of some quarters for world domination.

On local shores, some government solons still insist that oil is the lifeline that keeps the Philippines alive. In fact, inspite of several environmentalists' warnings that it could destroy marine life and habitat, the government through the Department of Energy (DoE) proceeded with its project to drill for oil off the coast of Aloguinsan and Pinamungahan (Cebu).

It shocks me that DoE Secretary Angelo Reyes himself is supportive of such a move. Once again, it has boiled down to a question of economics versus the environment. And we know what this government chose. Apparently, Reyes and Bunye are not seeing eye to eye with regard to this issue.

And so Filipinos are back to another round of belt-tightening, especially this holiday season. Plans of having roast pig (lechon) for Noche Buena may well end up with roast chicken (lechon manok). Others may not have anything for Noche Buena or Media Noche at all.

Oh well, come to think of it: we won't be the only ones in this world to suffer this Yuletide. Take solace in this fact -- if there is any.